Paternal bonding in pregnancy and early parenthood:A qualitative study in first-time fathers

The birth of an infant marks a period of profound change in first-time parents. Parental love and warmth, however, already begin to develop during pregnancy. Also for fathers, the development of bonding to the infant may be a unique process. The current qualitative study aimed to explore views and experiences of first-time fathers on the origins and development of paternal bonding during pregnancy and early childhood. In total, 30 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with expectant fathers (second or third trimester of pregnancy; n = 10) and fathers of infants (0–6 months postpartum; n = 11) and toddlers (2–3 years of age; n = 9). Two major themes were uncovered from the data: feelings of bonding and facilitators of bonding. The first theme was supported with three subthemes: 1) from abstract to concrete, 2) positive emotions, and 3) uncertainties and worries. The second theme, facilitators of bonding, was supported with four subthemes: 1) experiencing the foetus, 2) meeting the child, 3) interaction, and 4) communication. Similar to previous studies, our results suggested that, in most fathers, paternal bonding originates in pregnancy and that it evolves over time. Seeing or feeling the child, both during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as interacting or communicating with the child, appears to facilitate fathers’ feelings of bonding. Involving fathers in pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting may be essential for their bonding process

A longitudinal study on the association between trait mindfulness and maternal bonding across the perinatal period

Aims/backgroundThe mother-to-infant is important for healthy child development. The current study focused on the association between maternal trait mindfulness and the course of maternal bonding from pregnancy to one year postpartum.Design/methodsWomen participating in a prospective perinatal cohort study ( n  = 1003) completed online questionnaires on maternal bonding (Pre- and Post-natal Bonding Scale) at 28 weeks of pregnancy, and at 8 weeks, 6 months and 12 months postpartum. At 20 weeks of pregnancy, women completed the Three Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Short Form. Multilevel analyses were used to analyse 1) changes in maternal bonding over time and 2) the relationship of these changes with different facets of trait mindfulness measured once during pregnancy. Demographics, obstetrics, and depressive symptoms were controlled for. ResultsResults showed that maternal bonding first increased from pregnancy to 8 weeks postpartum and then remained relatively stable throughout the first-year postpartum. On average, women with high scores on acting with awareness and non-judging also scored higher on maternal bonding, but demonstrated a smaller increase in maternal bonding scores over time when compared to women with medium and low scores on these mindfulness facets. Furthermore, non-reacting was also positively associated with the level of maternal bonding but was not related to the course of bonding over time. The main effects of non-reacting and non-judging were not significant after adjusting for covariates. Depressive symptoms and a high educational level were negatively associated with bonding. ConclusionMindfulness-based interventions may be helpful in supporting expectant mothers who are at risk for suboptimal bonding.</p

The influence of population characteristics on variation in general practice based morbidity estimations

Contains fulltext : 96442.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Revival of the magnetar PSR J1622-4950: observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR

New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622-4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19 and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100x larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after reactivation was at least 800x larger than during quiescence, and has been decaying exponentially on a 111+/-19 day timescale. This high-flux state, together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3-6 keV pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be broadly consistent with that determined 6-8 years earlier. However, rotating vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7 within six months of reactivation.Comment: Published in ApJ (2018 April 5); 13 pages, 4 figure

An IGF-I promoter polymorphism modifies the relationships between birth weight and risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes at age 36

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether IGF-I promoter polymorphism was associated with birth weight and risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and whether the birth weight – risk factor relationship was the same for each genotype. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: 264 subjects (mean age 36 years) had data available on birth weight, IGF-I promoter polymorphism genotype, CVD and T2DM risk factors. Student's t-test and regression analyses were applied to analyse differences in birth weight and differences in the birth weight – risk factors relationship between the genotypes. RESULTS: Male variant carriers (VCs) of the IGF-I promoter polymorphism had a 0.2 kg lower birth weight than men with the wild type allele (p = 0.009). Of the risk factors for CVD and T2DM, solely LDL concentration was associated with the genotype for the polymorphism. Most birth weight – risk factor relationships were stronger in the VC subjects; among others the birth weight – systolic blood pressure relationship: 1 kg lower birth weight was related to an 8.0 mmHg higher systolic blood pressure CONCLUSION: The polymorphism in the promoter region of the IGF-I gene is related to birth weight in men only, and to LDL concentration only. Furthermore, the genotype for this polymorphism modified the relationships between birth weight and the risk factors, especially for systolic and diastolic blood pressure

An empirical examination of the factor structure of compassion

Compassion has long been regarded as a core part of our humanity by contemplative traditions, and in recent years, it has received growing research interest. Following a recent review of existing conceptualisations, compassion has been defined as consisting of the following five elements: 1) recognising suffering, 2) understanding the universality of suffering in human experience, 3) feeling moved by the person suffering and emotionally connecting with their distress, 4) tolerating uncomfortable feelings aroused (e.g., fear, distress) so that we remain open to and accepting of the person suffering, and 5) acting or being motivated to act to alleviate suffering. As a prerequisite to developing a high quality compassion measure and furthering research in this field, the current study empirically investigated the factor structure of the five-element definition using a combination of existing and newly generated self-report items. This study consisted of three stages: a systematic consultation with experts to review items from existing self-report measures of compassion and generate additional items (Stage 1), exploratory factor analysis of items gathered from Stage 1 to identify the underlying structure of compassion (Stage 2), and confirmatory factor analysis to validate the identified factor structure (Stage 3). Findings showed preliminary empirical support for a five-factor structure of compassion consistent with the five-element definition. However, findings indicated that the ‘tolerating’ factor may be problematic and not a core aspect of compassion. This possibility requires further empirical testing. Limitations with items from included measures lead us to recommend against using these items collectively to assess compassion. Instead, we call for the development of a new self-report measure of compassion, using the five-element definition to guide item generation. We recommend including newly generated ‘tolerating’ items in the initial item pool, to determine whether or not factor-level issues are resolved once item-level issues are addressed

Comparison of outcome and characteristics between 6343 COVID-19 patients and 2256 other community-acquired viral pneumonia patients admitted to Dutch ICUs

Purpose: Describe the differences in characteristics and outcomes between COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia patients admitted to Dutch ICUs. Materials and methods: Data from the National-Intensive-Care-Evaluation-registry of COVID-19 patients admitted between February 15th and January 1th 2021 and other viral pneumonia patients admitted between January 1st 2017 and January 1st 2020 were used. Patients' characteristics, the unadjusted, and adjusted in-hospital mortality were compared. Results: 6343 COVID-19 and 2256 other viral pneumonia patients from 79 ICUs were included. The COVID-19 patients included more male (71.3 vs 49.8%), had a higher Body-Mass-Index (28.1 vs 25.5), less comorbidities (42.2 vs 72.7%), and a prolonged hospital length of stay (19 vs 9 days). The COVID-19 patients had a significantly higher crude in-hospital mortality rate (Odds ratio (OR) = 1.80), after adjustment for patient characteristics and ICU occupancy rate the OR was respectively 3.62 and 3.58. Conclusion: Higher mortality among COVID-19 patients could not be explained by patient characteristics and higher ICU occupancy rates, indicating that COVID-19 is more severe compared to other viral pneumonia. Our findings confirm earlier warnings of a high need of ICU capacity and high mortality rates among relatively healthy COVID-19 patients as this may lead to a higher mental workload for the staff. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

No association between glucocorticoid receptor polymorphisms and long-term respiratory outcome after very preterm birth

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Physiological Correlates of Volunteering

We review research on physiological correlates of volunteering, a neglected but promising research field. Some of these correlates seem to be causal factors influencing volunteering. Volunteers tend to have better physical health, both self-reported and expert-assessed, better mental health, and perform better on cognitive tasks. Research thus far has rarely examined neurological, neurochemical, hormonal, and genetic correlates of volunteering to any significant extent, especially controlling for other factors as potential confounds. Evolutionary theory and behavioral genetic research suggest the importance of such physiological factors in humans. Basically, many aspects of social relationships and social activities have effects on health (e.g., Newman and Roberts 2013; Uchino 2004), as the widely used biopsychosocial (BPS) model suggests (Institute of Medicine 2001). Studies of formal volunteering (FV), charitable giving, and altruistic behavior suggest that physiological characteristics are related to volunteering, including specific genes (such as oxytocin receptor [OXTR] genes, Arginine vasopressin receptor [AVPR] genes, dopamine D4 receptor [DRD4] genes, and 5-HTTLPR). We recommend that future research on physiological factors be extended to non-Western populations, focusing specifically on volunteering, and differentiating between different forms and types of volunteering and civic participation