Breastfeeding and popular aetiology in the Sahel

Two views about breastfeeding and the resumption of intercourse after a birth are found to prevail in Bamako and Bobo-Dioulasso, two cities of the Sahel region of Africa: that sexual relations may spoil the milk; and that a child should be weaned when the woman is pregnant again. Both beliefs provide a rationale to abstain, but the postpartum taboo has been greatly reduced in the area, and the second belief is the most important. ‘Bad milk’ serves as an explanation for many of the diarrhoeas and diseases of nutritional origin that affect infants and children. Traditional medical treatments of diarrhoea and protein calorie malnutrition are consistent with the popular aetiology. The acceptance of modern techniques of infant care in this area may well be predicated on the diffusion of an alternative model of disease causation

Postpartum sexual abstinence in tropical Africa

Postpartum taboos on sexual intercourse have been encountered in many countries throughout history. They were once advocated by medical authorities in Europe. The Greek and Roman doctors of antiquity were opposed to sexual relations during nursing and their opinions were quoted until the nineteenth century. Galen (1951:29) thought that the milk of the nursing mother would be spoiled because of the admixture of sperm in the mother\u27s blood. Soranos and Hippocrates believed that coitus and passionate behavior provided the stimulus that reactivated menstruation. Prior to the eighteenth century, there was no medical knowledge of the biological effect of bring on inence, and not the action of breastfeeding, was thought to delay the return of menses. This interpretation was still vivid in Europe in the eighteenth century

Demographic trends in Sub-Saharan Africa

The study of demographic trends in sub-Saharan Africa though crucial in the assessment of the impact of population size and growth on the overall socio-economic development in the region, has received the least attention due to lack of reliable data for most of the countries. This paper focuses on the utilization of available data secured through population censuses and demographic surveys particularly the World Fertility Survey to ascertain trends in fertility and mortality. The estimates derived from the above sources should be interpreted with caution since they suffer from diverse deficiencies in the data base particularly coverage, content and consistency. It is apparent, though debatable, from the available estimates that fertility has increased in some countries--Kenya and Cameroon; has remained almost stable in Benin, Ivory Coast and Lesotho; and has slightly declined in Ghana. The underlying factors with regard to the apparent increase hinge on the improvement in the socio-economic indicators i.e. education and health services; relaxation of traditional controls i.e. breastfeeding and post-partum abstinence; and a reduction in the level of sterility. As far as trends in mortality are concerned, the estimates posit a decline in both infant and child mortality in Kenya, Benin and Ivory Coast; infant mortality in Cameroon; and child mortality in North Sudan and Senegal. Overall mortality levels are high in Western and Central Africa and low in Eastern and Southern Africa

Sexual initiation and the transmission of reproductive knowledge

Initiation rituals are still widely practised among the Kaguru of Morogoro district in Tanzania. Young women are introduced to the digubi dance at the time of puberty, and a version of the dance is performed at the time of marriage. This form of traditional theatre serves a function of education and socialization, and the question is raised of how much of reproductive behaviour is transmitted in this medium. Our informants suggest that notions of female dependence and standard of behaviour are conveyed in the process, but that information on child rearing and postpartum abstinence are transmitted by personal contact with older women at the time of the first birth

The study of mortality in the African context

The demographic study of mortality in Subsaharan Africa is dominated by two paradoxes. The first has to do with the recognition awarded to the topic. The persistence of high mortality levels--higher probably than in any other large world region--makes it a potentially burning social issue. The people of the area are concerned about access to modern medicine and the eradication of diseases. If a field calls for the development of accurate statistics, this is it. We know little about mortality levels and their distribution over space; we know even less on trends, and virtually nothing about mortality differentials by social and economic circumstances. There are no major breakthroughs in morbidity and cause of death statistics. Africa is still far from the stage reached in Europe 150 years ago in the study of mortality. When William Farr organized the collection of vital statistics in England and Wales his concern and that of his contemporaries was with the fight against disease. Farr, a mere Compiler of Abstracts at the Registrar General\u27s Office, was hailed as the foremost medical statistician of his time; it was said that after him pestilence no longer walketh in the dark. The use of the data he helped to collect was decisive in the conquest of the major scourge of the time, cholera. He provided information on the location of the most unsanitary sections of the country and identified the most dangerous occupations. We doubt that the demographic statistics that are collected today in Africa are used very much in the same way, to identify areas of infection and classes of the population specially vulnerable to specific diseases. Despite the importance of these issues, and despite the universal desire to prolong life and to eliminate the human wastage of early death, little effort goes into the collection of demographic data on morta1ity. This becomes more apparent if we compare research on mortality to the much more active interest in fertility, although the latter topic is not widely recognized in the area itself as a burning issue. Out aim is certainly not to suggest that less research should be directed towards fertility and its determinants. Rather, we find it paradoxical that mortality research does not elicit more attention

EPTRI Belgian Joint Research Unit : harmonisation and concertation of paediatric research in Belgium to ensure better and safer healthcare for children

We want to put the excellent translational paediatric research in Belgium on the ESFRI national roadmap in order to participate in the European Paediatric Translational Research Infrastructure (EPTRI) project. Therefore, we are in the preparatory phase to form a Belgian national EPTRI Joint Research Unit (JRU). Academic research organisations and hospitals from both regions, Flanders and Wallonia are currently involved. The Belgian JRU partners will gather complementary scientific and technological competencies in the different EPTRI thematic research platforms: 1. Paediatric medicines discovery: with different types of “in vitro” paediatric models, placental and umbilical cord and 3D organoid cell cultures from paediatric samples and juvenile animal models such as the rabbit BPD model, juvenile Göttingen minipig, juvenile conventional pig model and developmental zebrafish model; 2. Paediatric biomarkers and biosamples: identification, characterisation and validation of the biomarkers used as prognostic tools, safety markers and diagnostic tools in paediatric diseases; 3. Developmental pharmacology: including PK (bioavaibility/bioequivalence) studies, Population PKPD analysis and PK/PD modelling; 4. Paediatric medicines formulations and medical devices: including regulatory knowledge of paediatric medical devices. The partners will ensure a strong liaison with other RI’s such as the BBMRI-ERIC for paediatric biobanking and the IMI conect4children network paediatric clinical trials. We propose an integrated paediatric research system that links together EPTRI Belgium with landmark RIs, conect4children and the many paediatric clinical research networks and institutions that provide services to paediatric research. This integrated system can provide: expertise, experienced facilities and practical support for pre-clinical and clinical paediatric research in Belgium and Europe. Sharing understanding of patients’ needs and concerted efforts in paediatric research will further enhance the health of children

Review Essay : The Family and Migration: News From the Frencn

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67023/2/10.1177_036319908601100205.pd

Marriage, Migration, and Urban Demographic Structure: a Case From France in the Belle Epoque

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67248/2/10.1177_036319908100600109.pd

Preferences for the Sex of Offspring and Demographic Behavior in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Germany: an Examination of Evidence From Village Genealogies

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68167/2/10.1177_036319908000500202.pd