17 research outputs found
Work and breast milk feeding: a qualitative exploration of the experience of lactating mothers working in ready made garments factories in urban Bangladesh.
BACKGROUND: In Bangladesh 65% of children under 6 months of age were exclusively breastfed with maternal employment being a risk factor that has jeopardized exclusive breastfeeding. As Ready Made Garment (RMG) factories have been the largest employer of low income women in Bangladesh, the objective of our study was to explore the barriers and facilitators of breastfeeding and perceptions about use of expressed breast milk among mothers who worked in the RMG sector. METHODS: This formative research was conducted during July-September 2015 in two slums of Dhaka among RMG workers who were mothers and the caregivers of 0-12 month old infants. Qualitative data was obtained from purposively selected participants of 8 in-depth interviews and 4 focus group discussions (mothers and caregivers), and 2 key informant (RMG factory official) interviews. Mothers were from multiple RMG factories while factory officials were from a single factory. Thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The main themes of qualitative exploration were knowledge and experience of breastfeeding; structural barriers (home and workplace); consequences of inadequate breastfeeding; and perception and experience of using expressed breast milk. Despite knowledge both of the benefits of breast milk and of the importance of breastfeeding for 6 months, most mothers introduced formula as early as 2 months to prepare for their return to work. Barriers such as excessive workload, inadequate crèche facilities at work, and lack of adequate caregivers at home impeded exclusive breastfeeding. Mothers and caregivers had very little knowledge about the use of expressed breast milk and were concerned about contamination. CONCLUSION: As RMG factories are the largest employer of low-income women in Bangladesh, facilitating RMG factory working mothers' ability to use breast milk could help to promote infant health and help women remain in the workforce
Fatal Infection Caused by Chromobacterium violaceum: A Case Report from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh
Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative bacterium, found in tropical and subtropical regions. C. violaceum infection rarely occurs, but once occurs, it is associated with significant mortality due to severe systemic infection. Since the first human case from Malaysia in 1927, >150 cases of C. violaceum infection have been reported worldwide. We have described here a fatal case of C. violaceum infection in a tertiary care hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of C. violaceum infection in Bangladesh
Anti-diarrheal activity and brine shrimp lethality bioassay of methanolic extract of Cordyline fruticosa (L.) A. Chev. leaves
Abstract Background Cordyline fruticosa (L.) A. Chev. (Asparagaceae) is a plant which is traditionally used for the treatment of cough, bloody cough, diarrhea, dysentery, high fever, difficulties in urine, bloody urine, small pox, madness, skin eruptions, joint pains, rheumatic bone pains, sore throat, neck pain, bleeding hemorrhoids and inflammation in the digestive tract. Therefore, the present work aims to investigate the antidiarrheal and cytotoxic activities of methanolic extract of Cordyline fruticosa leaves in mice and brine shrimp, respectively. Methods The effects of the methanol extract of Cordyline fruticosa leaves (MCFL) on castor oil-induced diarrhea, magnesium sulphate induced diarrhea and charcoal meal test in mice were investigated. In addition, brine shrimp lethality bioassay method was used to evaluate cytotoxic activity of MCFL. Results In castor oil induced diarrheal test, MCFL at the dose of 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight significantly (∗ P< 0.05, versus control) and dose-dependently reduced the frequency of diarrhea. The frequency of magnesium sulphate-induced diarrhea was significantly reduced by MCFL at the dose of with 800 mg/kg. In the charcoal meal test, the extract at the dose of 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight significantly (∗ P< 0.05) reduced the distance travelled by charcoal along the intestinal tract when compare with control. However, in brine shrimp lethality test after 24 h, surviving brine shrimp nauplii were counted and LC50 was assessed. The extract exhibited considerable toxicity towards brine shrimp with LC50 value of 355.7 μg/mL,with respect to standard vincristine sulfate (having LC50 of 3.8 μg/mL). Conclusion The results of present investigation suggest that methanolic extract of Cordyline fruticosa leaves possesses antidiarrheal and cytotoxic activities, confirming the traditional use of the plant in the treatment of diarrhea
Antimicrobial potential, GCMS analysis and molecular docking studies of Coelogyne suaveolens extracts: Identification of bioactive compounds with mechanism of action
Coelogyne suaveolens has been used as a traditional medicine for many years, and its potential as a natural source of antibacterial agents is of great interest. This investigation aimed to identify the bioactive compounds in the plant extract and assess their antibacterial properties. To achieve this, we identified the bioactive compounds using Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis on the extract's ethyl acetate fraction and used the disc diffusion method to determine the antibacterial effect. Additionally, molecular docking were performed to predict the binding affinities of selected phytochemicals against specific proteins in order to identify the root cause of bacterial inhibition. Our results revealed that the extract exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are common and problematic pathogens. Furthermore, molecular docking studies identified eight best-selected compounds, of which {androstan-17-one, oxime, (5.alpha.)-}, diethofencarb, tetraconazole, {3,6-dimethyl-2,3,3a,4,5,7a-hexahydrobenzofuran}, and geranyl acetate showed a significant binding affinity with best binding interaction with the target enzymes. This suggests that binding to these specific proteins might lead to the mechanism of action of the evaluated antibacterial action. In conclusion, the present study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on natural antimicrobial agents and could have significant implications for the development of new and effective antibacterial agents
Intensive Nutrition Education with or without Supplementary Feeding Improves the Nutritional Status of Moderately-malnourished Children in Bangladesh
This prospective randomized trial was carried out to test the efficacy
of a specific intervention for reducing the extent of their
malnutrition and to change behaviour of mothers relating to
child-feeding practices, care-giving, and health-seeking practices
under the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project (BINP). The study was
conducted in rural Bangladesh among 282 moderately-malnourished
(weight-for-age between 61% and 75% of median of the National Center
for Health Statistics standard) children aged 6-24 months. Mothers of
the first intervention group received intensive nutrition education
(INE group) twice a week for three months. The second intervention
group received the same nutrition education, and their children
received additional supplementary feeding (INE+SF group). The
comparison group received nutrition education from the community
nutrition promoters twice a month according to the standard routine
service of BINP. The children were observed for a further six months.
After three months of interventions, a significantly higher proportion
of children in the INE and INE+SF groups improved (37% and 47%
respectively) from moderate to mild or normal nutrition compared
tothecomparison group (18%) (p<0.001).At the end of six months of
observation, the nutritional status of children in the intervention
groups improved further from moderate to mild or normal nutrition
compared to the comparison group(59% and86%vs 30%,p<0.0001). As the
intensive nutrition education and supplementation given were highly
effective, more children improved from moderate malnutrition to mild or
normal nutritional status despite a higher incidence of morbidity. The
frequency of child feeding andhome-based complementary feeding improved
significantly (p<0.001) in both the intervention groups after three
months of interventions and six months of observation. Body-weight gain
was positively associated with age, length-for-age, weight-for-length,
frequency of feeding of khichuri,egg,and potato (p<0.05). Ability of
mothers to identify malnutrition improved from 15% to 99% in the INE
group and from 15% to 100% in the INE+SF group, but reduced from 24% to
21% in the comparison group. Use of separate feed pots, frequency of
feeding, and cooking of additional complementary feeds improved
significantly in the INE and INE+SF groups compared to the comparison
group after three months of interventions and six months of
observation. It can be concluded from the findings of the study that
intensive nutrition education significantly improves the status of
moderately-malnourished children with or without supplementary feeding