Different perspectives of immunizations during pregnancy

Background/aim: Pregnant women and infants are at risk of severe lower respiratory tract infections induced by influenza or pertussis. The uptake of both vaccines is poor in spite of proven benefits and safety. We aimed to determine the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women and their primary healthcare providers towards immunization during pregnancy. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional and interventional study was conducted in northern Turkey in 2016. It had 3 different groups including 786 pregnant women, 146 primary healthcare staff, and 97 family practitioners. Different questionnaires were filled by each group. The intervention phase of the study consisted of education of the expectant mothers about immunizations during pregnancy. Results: 786 pregnant women aged between 17-44 years were enrolled to the study. Most of the participants had favourable attitude about vaccination, but only 1.1\% had influenza immunization, none had Tdap immunization. None of the participants joining the intervention stage were immunized. The healthcare staff and family physicians had knowledge about vaccinations, but had abstention for administration. Postexposure prophylaxis was also provided by referral centres. Conclusions: Most of the participants either pregnant women or healthcare workers were not vaccinated against pertussis and influenza. Dissemination of maternal immunization must be supported by the team work of healthcare professionals, authorities, universities, professional associations, stake holders, media and patients with current, evidence based knowledge

Young children's sleep patterns and problems in paediatric primary healthcare settings: a multicentre cross-sectional study from a nationally representative sample

Studies describing paediatric sleep patterns are needed by taking culture into consideration. The aim of this study was to identify parent-reported sleep-wake patterns in young children and explore possible factors influencing sleep problems. The mothers of 2,434 young children enrolled from well-child outpatient clinics in Turkey completed an online survey including sociodemographic variables, Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Generalised Anxiety Disorder scales. Overall, young children in Turkey go to bed late (10:00 p.m.), awaken twice per night for 30 min, and obtain 11.5 h of total sleep, showing no sex-specific differences. Distinct night-time sleep patterns emerged after 18 months of age. Importantly, although currently breastfed healthy children were 3.8-times less likely to sleep through the night, total sleep duration and exclusive breastfeeding duration were higher in children who were not sleeping through the night. Overall, bedsharing was identified in 11.5%, and only room sharing was reported in 52.9%. Parental perception of a child's sleep as problematic was 35.8%. Mothers with higher educational attainment were more likely to perceive their children's sleep as a problem. Maternal depressive and anxious symptoms and a history of excessive infant crying were the determinants predicting the likelihood of both parent-perceived sleep problems and poor sleepers. The present analysis of sleep structure in infancy and toddlerhood provides reference data for well-child visits. These findings highlight the importance of considering maternal anxiety, depression and behaviour management techniques to cope with fussy infants in addressing childhood behavioural sleep problems