BACKGROUND Stillbirth rates in high-income countries have shown little or no improvement over the past two decades. Prevention strategies that target risk factors could be important in rate reduction. This systematic review and meta-analysis was done to identify priority areas for stillbirth prevention relevant to those countries. METHODS Population-based studies addressing risk factors for s...

OBJECTIVE To measure the extent, determinants and results of bypassing local primary care clinics for childbirth among women in rural parts of the United Republic of Tanzania. METHODS Women were selected in 2012 to complete a structured interview from a full census of all 30076 households in clinic catchment areas in Pwani region. Eligibility was limited to those who had delivered between 6 w...

BACKGROUND Polyhydramnios carries a high rate of complications during pregnancy and adverse perinatal outcomes. We could find no studies of this condition in a large Asian population. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the risks of adverse perinatal outcomes in a large study population with polyhydramnios without associated fetal anomalies after the gestational age of 20 weeks in Tai...

OBJECTIVE Our goal was to evaluate the relationship between cause-specific postneonatal infant mortality and chronic early-life exposure to particulate matter and gaseous air pollutants across the United States. METHODS We linked county-specific monitoring data for particles with aerodiameter of < or = 2.5 microm (PM2.5) and < or = 10 microm (PM10), ozone, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the behavior of preterm newborns (PTNs) and full-term newborns (FTNs) using the Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO) and to evaluate the mothers' experience when participating in this observation. METHOD This was a cross-sectional study performed at a referral hospital for high-risk births, involving mothers and neonates before hospital discharge. The mothers answered the...

BACKGROUND Studies on the relationship between vegetarian diet and breast cancer in Asian populations are limited. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between vegetarian diet, dietary patterns, and breast cancer in Taiwanese women. METHODS This case-control study compared the dietary patterns of 233 breast cancer patients and 236 age-matched controls. A questionnaire about vegeta...

BACKGROUND Available evidence suggests that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear the greatest burden of severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia characterized by disproportionately high rates of morbidity, mortality and neurodevelopmental disorders compared to high-income countries. We set out to identify the risk factors that contribute to the burden of severe hyperbilirubinemia in the most...

BACKGROUND Insomnia and depression are strongly interrelated. This study aimed to describe changes in sleep across childbirth, and to evaluate whether insomnia in pregnancy is a predictor of postpartum depression. METHODS A longitudinal, population-based study was conducted among perinatal women giving birth at Akershus University Hospital, Norway. Women received questionnaires in weeks 17 an...

Studies examining hormones throughout pregnancy and lactation in women have been limited to single, or a few repeated, short-term measures of endocrine activity. Furthermore, potential differences in chronic hormonal changes across pregnancy/lactation between first-time and experienced mothers are not well understood, especially as they relate to infant development. Hormone concentrations in ha...