OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of maternal obesity on insulin sensitivity and secretion in offspring. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Fifty-one offspring of both sexes of obese (Ob group) and 15 offspring of normal-weight (control group) mothers were studied. Plasma glucose, insulin, and C-peptide were measured during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Insulin ...

background: fetal dna in maternal plasma and serum has been shown to be a useful material for prenatal fetal sex determination during early gestational ages. non-invasive prenatal diagnosis is now possible at 8th week of pregnancy, by maternal blood sample testing. objective: the purpose of this study was to evaluate two dna extraction methods from mother plasma and its routine clinical applica...

Maternal behavior is dynamic and highly sensitive to experiential and contextual factors. In this review, this plasticity will be explored, with a focus on how experiences of females occurring from the time of fetal development through to adulthood impact maternal behavior and the maternal brain. Variation in postpartum maternal behavior is dependent on estrogen sensitivity within the medial pr...

This study tested whether maternal responsiveness may buffer the child to the effects of maternal depressive symptoms on DNA methylation of NR3C1, 11β-HSD2, and neuroendocrine functioning. DNA was derived from buccal epithelial cells and prestress cortisol was obtained from the saliva of 128 infants. Mothers with depressive symptoms who were more responsive and who engaged in more appropriate t...

We observed mother-child interactions, at baseline, in 136 families of 7-10-year-old boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were part of a large clinical trial, the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD. Independent coders rated stylistic aspects of maternal behavior and factor analyses revealed a responsiveness factor that included overall responsiveness and s...

There are profound maternal effects on individual differences in defensive responses and reproductive strategies in species ranging literally from plants to insects to birds. Maternal effects commonly reflect the quality of the environment and are most likely mediated by the quality of the maternal provision (egg, propagule, etc.), which in turn determines growth rates and adult phenotype. In t...

This study tested predictions from economic and developmental theories that maternal time with an infant is important for mother-child relationships and children's development, using time-use diaries for mothers of 7- to 8-month-old infants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N = 1,053). Employment reduced time with infants, but mothers c...

In mammals, the activation of maternal behaviour depends on internal maternal factors related with parturition. The nature of these factors may vary between species, although oestradiol, foetus expulsion and intracerebral oxytocin are the most commonly encountered. They induce a period of specific receptivity to some sensory cues provided by the neonate. These cues (tactile, olfactory, auditory...

Emotion regulation and associated autonomic activation develop throughout childhood and adolescence under the influence of the family environment. Specifically, physiological indicators of autonomic nervous system activity such as interoceptive sensitivity and vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV) can inform on emotion regulation. Although the effect of parental emotion socialization on...