OBJECTIVE Offspring of mothers with impaired glucose tolerance are far more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. We tested the hypothesis that maternal glucose tolerance in pregnancy affects fetal insulin sensitivity or beta-cell function. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a prospective singleton pregnancy cohort study, we analyzed glucose, insulin, and proinsulin concentrations in maternal blood ...

The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the effect of a set of factors from multiple levels of influence: infant temperament, infant regulatory behavior, and maternal sensitivity on infant's attachment. Our sample consisted of 48 infants born prematurely and their mothers. At 1 and 3 months of age, mothers described their infants' behavior using the Escala de Temperamento do Bebé....

An adverse intrauterine environment increases the risk of developing various adult-onset diseases, whose nature varies with the timing of exposure. Maternal undernutrition in humans can increase adiposity, and the risk of coronary heart disease and impaired glucose tolerance in adult life, which may be partly mediated by maternal or fetal endocrine stress responses. In sheep, dexamethasone in e...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Preterm birth is a significant stressor for parents and may adversely impact maternal parenting behavior. However, findings have been inconsistent. The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine whether mothers of preterm children behave differently (eg, less responsive or sensitive) in their interactions with their children after they are discharged from the hos...

INTRODUCTION Differences in neonatal insulin sensitivity/ resistance markers due to the maternal impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) have not been tested. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score has been employed for evaluating pregnancy diet quality. AIMS To study, the effect of neonatal insulinemia, maternal IGT and diet HEI score upon insulin sensitivity/ resistance at birth. METHODS 176 singl...

Noninvasive prenatal testing using fetal DNA in maternal plasma is an actively researched area. The current generation of tests using massively parallel sequencing is based on counting plasma DNA sequences originating from different genomic regions. In this study, we explored a different approach that is based on the use of DNA fragment size as a diagnostic parameter. This approach is dependent...

The hormone oxytocin (OT) is of particular interest in the study of childbearing women, as it has a role in the onset and course of labor and breastfeeding. Recent research has linked OT to maternal caregiving behavior towards her infant, and to postpartum depressive symptomatology. There is also evidence that psychosocial adversity affects the oxytocin system. The present study investigated th...

Objective: To determine the efficacy and yield of tertiary center fetal echocardiography for different high-risk groups. Methods: Between January 1, 1982, and January 1, 1994, scans for anomalies were performed on 3246 women at increased risk for congenital heart disease in their offspring. Gestational age was 16-25 weeks in 83%. Maternal and gestational age as wel l as prenatal and postnatal d...

Fetal speech and language abilities were examined in 104 low-risk fetuses at 33-41 weeks gestational age using a familiarization/novelty paradigm. Fetuses were familiarized with a tape recording of either their mother or a female stranger reading the same passage and subsequently presented with a novel speaker or language: Studies (1) & (2) the alternate voice, (3) the father's voice, and (4) a...