Lucy Faulkner and the 'ghastly grin': Reworking the title page illustration to Goblin Market

An article that recovers the work of the craftswoman Lucy Faulkner Orrinsmith. It demonstrates her role in the re-cutting of the title page illustration to Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market’ designed by D. G. Rossetti in 1862-5

Maternal health in pregnancy and associations with adverse birth outcomes: evidence from Growing Up in New Zealand

Objective: To examine prospectively multiple indicators of pregnancy health and associations with adverse birth outcomes within a large, diverse sample of contemporary women.Design: A cohort of pregnant women who gave birth during 2009–10.Population: We enrolled a sample of 6822 pregnant New Zealand (NZ) women: 11% of all births in NZ during the recruitment period.Methods: We analysed a number of maternal health indicators and behaviours during pregnancy in relation to birth outcomes using multivariable logistic regression. Associations were described using adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.Main outcome measures: Three birth outcomes, low birth weight (LBW), pre-term birth (PTB) and delivery type, were measured via linkage with maternity hospital perinatal databases. Small for gestational age (SGA) was then defined as below the 10th percentile by week of gestation.Results: Modelling of birth outcomes after adjusting for confounders indicated patterns of increased risk of LBW and PTB for women who smoke, have elevated pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), or with insufficient pregnancy weight gain. SGA was associated with maternal smoking, alcohol use, insufficient weight gain and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Risk of caesarean section was associated with having a diagnosed illness before pregnancy, elevated BMI, greater pregnancy weight gain and less pregnancy exercise. Number of risk factor variables were then used to model birth outcomes. Women with multiple risk factors were at increased risk compared with those who had no risk factors.Conclusions: Women with multiple health risks are at particular risk of adverse birth outcomes

How do you recruit and retain a pre-birth cohort? Lessons learnt from Growing up in New Zealand

'Growing Up in New Zealand', a longitudinal study following nearly 7,000 children, has faced some unique challenges in identifying, enrolling, and retaining a large and diverse antenatal cohort. Identification of a study region with population demographics that enabled enrollment of an appropriately diverse sample was required as was intensive community and participant engagement in order to promote the study. Complementary methods used included direct engagement with prospective participants and the community and indirect engagement via media. Thus far, retention rates above 95% have been achieved by maintaining a multimethod approach that includes valuing participants and building trusting relationships, strong brand recognition, community engagement, maintenance of participant contact and location records, ensuring high-quality interactions between the participants and the study, pretesting measures and methods prior to the main cohort, and using participant feedback to inform the measures and methods used in future waves of data collection