Parents' anxiety and depression symptoms after successful infertility treatment and spontaneous conception: does singleton/twin pregnancy matter?

Does mode of conception [spontaneous/after infertility treatment (IT)], type of pregnancy (singleton/twin) and parent gender have an effect on anxiety and depression levels and trajectories during pregnancy and the post-partum period?This work was supported by a grant (SFRH/BD/40146/2007) to the first author from the FCT, Foundation for Science and Technology (Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science), by the Operational Program Science and Innovation 2010 (POCI 2010) of the Community Support Board III, by FEDER Funds through the Operational Competitiveness Programme, COMPETE, and through national funding from the FCT under the projects: POCI/SAU-ESP/56397/2004 and PTDC/SAU/SAP/116738/2010. The authors have no conflicts of interest.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

[Fetal growth and activity at 20 to 24 weeks of gestation (preliminary study)].

BACKGROUND: Recent researches show that psychological development begins much before birth and prenatal influences can explain a significant part of the future variability in infants' behaviour and development. AIMS: The aim of this study was to characterize the fetal development between 20 and 24 weeks of gestation, related to the measures of fetal growth-- iparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, head circumference, femur length and fetal weight-- and fetal activity--fetal heart rate and fetal movements. We also tried to establish if there are any differences in these measures related to the mothers' and fetus' sociodemographic features, obstetrical conditions and exposure to drugs. METHOD: The sample of this study involved 48 fetus (52.1% female and 47.9% male) with an estimated gestational age (GA) between 20-24 weeks (Mean = 21 weeks and 1 day), whose mothers had appointments at the Obstetric and Gynaecological medical consultation of Júlio Dinis Maternity Hospital (MJD, Oporto). A video tape of the fetal behaviour was made and ultrasound biometry measurements were collected from the morphological ultrasound report. RESULTS: A statistical analysis of fetal data, after gestational age control, showed differences in fetal growth measures related to mothers' occupational status [F(1,41) = 7.28; p = .000], marital status [F(1,41) = 2.61; p = .04], household arrangements [F(1,41) = 2.91; p = .03] and coffee consumption [F(1,40) = 2.55; p = .05]. Differences in fetal activity measures (fetal heart rate) associated to fetus gender [F(1,16) = 5.84; p = .009] were also found. CONCLUSIONS: We can conclude about the sensibility of fetal development to prenatal factors related to the mothers' and fetus' sociodemographic features and exposure to drugs.Esta investigação foi financiada pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, no âmbito do projecto FCT POCTI/SAUESP, 56397/2004 e da Bolsa de Doutoramento SFRH/BD/13768/200

Integrating children ́s values in policymaking: Challenges and opportunities in a diverse society

Values are a central dimension of human social life, they are core to a person’s self-concept and identity and drive individual actions towards both personal enhancement and social transformation. At a social level, values govern how individuals relate to others and shape the organization of societies being, therefore, powerful guidelines to face new societal challenges like inclusion/exclusion issues, social justice or cultural diversity. Research with adults in this field has demonstrated that human values are powerful predictors of a wide range of behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. However, research with children is still very recent and has mostly focused on adolescents and older children, probably due to concerns about young children's capabilities to produce reliable information and discourse. In the same way, children's voices regarding political issues have been frequently dismissed even when children's right to participate fully in political and cultural life is specifically recognized in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Therefore, giving voice to children is ultimately a matter of respecting their rights. To address this gap we introduce in this presentation a project that seeks to respond to this need by mapping the basic human values (e.g. Schwartz, 1992) of children and young adolescents (6 to 14 years) and its associations with the representations of justice and attitudes towards different social groups. Also, we intend to propose further directions to incorporate values and children’s views in education policies and decision-making.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes after infertility treatment

STUDY QUESTION: Do mode of conception [ART versus Natural (NC)] and depression have an interactive effect on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes? SUMMARY ANSWER: Depression increased the negative effect of ART on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes, specifically on antenatal marital relationship satisfaction. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Research on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes after ART is scarce and has produced inconsistent results. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This cross-sectional study assessed 197 primiparous men (71 ART and 126 NC) during their partner’s second trimester of gestation. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Participants were derived from three larger longitudinal studies recruited at public Health Services in Northern Portugal. All men, for who this was their first child and had filled in a socio-demographic questionnaire, measures of depression and anxiety, and antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes were selected. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: An interaction effect of mode of conception and depression was found on antenatal paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes. ART men showing high depressive symptomatology had lower antenatal marital relationship satisfaction than ART men showing low depressive symptomatology and NC men showing high or low depressive symptomatology. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Due to the cross-sectional design of this study and the small sample size in the depression groups, the findings should be interpreted with caution. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Specialized psychological support should be available for ART men screened with high depressive symptomatology as part of routine prenatal care appointments.This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/ 01662/2013), University of Minho, and at the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia—Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UID/DTP/04750/2013). It was supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science) through National funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653) and through the Operational Programme Factors of Competitiveness–COMPETE within the project ‘Health, Governance and Accountability in Embryo Research: Couples’ Decisions About the Fates of Embryos’ (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014453), the FCT Investigator contract IF/01674/2015 and PhD grants (SFRH/BD/115048/2016, SFRH/BD/75807/2011 and SFRH/BD/40146/2007).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Early interactions: A comparative study between mothers and fathers

ENQUADRAMENTO: A qualidade da interação mãe/pai-bebé é um factor determinante do desenvolvimento da criança. OBJECTIVO: descrever e comparar os padrões de interação mãe-bebé e pai-bebé. MÉTODOS: Para o efeito ao 2º e 6º mês após o parto realizaram-se gravações das interações face a face entre mãe e bebé e entre pai e bebé. RESULTADOS: a qualidade do comportamento das mães na interação é significativamente mais adequada do que a dos pais na interação aos 6 meses. CONCLUSÃO: Estar atento à qualidade da interação mãe-bebé e pai-bebé é crucial para potenciar desenvolvimento normativo da criança.Background: the quality of mother/father-infant interaction is a key determinant of child development. Aim: to describe and compare the patterns of mother-infant interaction and father-infant interaction. Methods: at 2 and 6 months after childbirth face to face interactions records between mother and infant and between father and infant were conducted. Results: the quality of the mother's behavior is significantly more adequate than the father's behavior in the interaction at 6 months after birth. Conclusion: to be attentive not only to the quality of mother-infant interaction but also to the quality of father-infant is crucial to enhance child developmental outcomes

Streptococcus pneumoniae Vaccination in Children and Adolescents at High Risk of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease

Introdução: Em Portugal, a vacinação anti-pneumocócica é gratuita e recomendada pela Direção-Geral da Saúde na população pediátrica de alto risco para doença invasiva pneumocócica. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o cumprimento vacinal numa população pediátrica seguida em consulta hospitalar. Material e Métodos: Estudo observacional transversal, em crianças com diagnóstico de alto risco de doença invasiva pneumocócica e consulta num hospital nível três, entre julho e dezembro de 2014. Os dados foram obtidos através do processo clínico, Boletim Individual de Saúde e Plataforma de Dados da Saúde®. Resultados: Dos 122 participantes, 95,9% realizaram, pelo menos, uma dose de vacina mas, destes, só 64,8% efetuaram o esquema completo. O cumprimento do esquema vacinal foi melhor nos de idade inferior a cinco anos (p < 0,01). A proporção de crianças com esquema completo foi de: 100% nas hemoglobinopatias, 100% nas infeções por vírus da imunodeficiência humana, 66,7% nos prematuros com idade gestacional ≤ 28 semanas, 62,5% nos esplenectomizados e 54,7% na síndrome de Down. As crianças têm mais esquemas completos quando são seguidas em consulta de Infeciologia (100%) e de Pneumologia pediátricas (88,2%). O grupo com idade superior a cinco anos está mais vacinado com a vacina polissacarida 23-valente do que o dos 2-5 anos (74,5% vs 40,5%; p < 0,01). Discussão: A maioria da nossa população de alto risco para doença invasiva pneumocócica efetuou vacinação anti-pneumocócica, mas apenas dois terços completaram o esquema recomendado, sendo a maior falha na administração da vacina polissacarida 23-valente. Conclusões: Embora estes resultados sejam melhores do que em países europeus com recomendações semelhantes, é necessário explorar as causas das falhas observadas para otimizar a vacinação

Sleep during the third trimester of pregnancy: the role of depression and anxiety

Depression has been associated with sleep disturbances in pregnancy; however, no previous research has controlled the possible confounding effect of anxiety on this association. This study aims to analyze the effect of depression on sleep during the third trimester of pregnancy controlling for anxiety. The sample was composed by 143 depressed (n = 77) and non-depressed (n = 66) pregnant women who completed measures of depression, anxiety, and sleep. Differences between groups in sleep controlling for anxiety were found. Depressed pregnant women present higher number of nocturnal awakenings and spent more hours trying falling asleep during the night and the entire 24 h period. Present findings point out the effect of depression on sleep in late pregnancy, after controlling for anxiety.This research was supported by FEDER Funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under the project: PTDC/SAU/SAP/116738/2010

Water exercises and quality of life during pregnancy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Brazil, concern with the quality of life of pregnant women is one of the points emphasized in the Program for the Humanization of Prenatal Care and Childbirth launched in 2000. However, there are few references in the literature on the role of either land or water-based physical exercise on women's quality of life during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a physical exercise program of water aerobics on the quality of life (QOL) of sedentary pregnant women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A comparative observational study involving sedentary low-risk pregnant women bearing a single fetus with gestational age less than 20 weeks at the time of admission to the study, who were receiving antenatal care at a public health service. One group of 35 women was given routine antenatal care, while another group of 31 women, in addition to receiving the same routine care as the first group, also participated in three classes of water aerobics per week. QOL was evaluated by applying the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire in both groups at the 20^th, 28^thand 36^thweeks of pregnancy. In the same occasions, women also answered another questionnaire about their experience with pregnancy and antenatal care.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The great majority of the participants considered that the practice of water aerobics had benefitted them in some way. QOL scores were found to be high in both groups during follow-up. There was no association between the practice of water aerobics and QOL.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Further studies involving larger sample sizes should be conducted in different sociocultural contexts and/or using other instruments to adequately evaluate the QOL of women during pregnancy.</p

Comparison of major depression diagnostic classification probability using the SCID, CIDI, and MINI diagnostic interviews among women in pregnancy or postpartum: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Objectives A previous individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) identified differences in major depression classification rates between different diagnostic interviews, controlling for depressive symptoms on the basis of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. We aimed to determine whether similar results would be seen in a different population, using studies that administered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in pregnancy or postpartum. Methods Data accrued for an EPDS diagnostic accuracy IPDMA were analysed. Binomial generalised linear mixed models were fit to compare depression classification odds for the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID), controlling for EPDS scores and participant characteristics. Results Among fully structured interviews, the MINI (15 studies, 2,532 participants, 342 major depression cases) classified depression more often than the CIDI (3 studies, 2,948 participants, 194 major depression cases; adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.21, 11.43]). Compared with the semistructured SCID (28 studies, 7,403 participants, 1,027 major depression cases), odds with the CIDI (interaction aOR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.85, 0.92]) and MINI (interaction aOR = 0.95, 95% CI [0.92, 0.99]) increased less as EPDS scores increased. Conclusion Different interviews may not classify major depression equivalently