Maternal appraisals of risk, coping and prenatal attachment among women hospitalised with pregnancy complications

One goal of pregnancy is the development of maternal emotional attachment to
the unborn baby, and this attachment has been shown to be related to later
relationships and development. There are many factors which may hinder the
development of prenatal attachment, including the presence of complications,
hospitalisation, and anxiety. However, women’s appraisals of risk may not be
congruent with medical assessments of risk. The current study sought to model
the relationships between risk (maternal perceptions and medical ratings), coping, psychological well-being, and maternal–foetal attachment among 87 women hospitalised for pregnancy-related complications. Analysis indicated that positive appraisal as a coping strategy mediates the relationship between maternal appraisals of risk and maternal–foetal attachment, and that medical ratings of risk were not predictive of maternal–foetal attachment. Awareness of the potential incongruence between patients’ and health professionals’ perceptions of risk is important within the clinical environment. The potential benefits of promoting positive appraisal in high-risk pregnancy merit further research.

Rethinking prenatal care within a social model of health: an exploratory study in Northern Ireland

Implementation of maternity reform agendas remains limited by the dominance of a medical rather than social model of health. This article considers group prenatal care as a complex health intervention and explores its potential in the socially divided, postconflict communities of Northern Ireland. Using qualitative inquiry strategies, we sought key informants’ views on existing prenatal care provision and on an innovative group care model (CenteringPregnancy®) as a social health initiative. We argue that taking account of the locally specific context is critical to introducing maternity care interventions to improve the health of women and their families and to contribute to community development.

Development of an allele-specific real-time PCR assay for discrimination and quantification of p63 R279H mutation in EEC syndrome

The ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasiaclefting syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the p63 gene, a transcription factor belonging to the p53 family. The majority of cases of ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia syndrome are caused by de novo mutations and are therefore sporadic in approximately 60% of patients. The substitution of arginine to histidine (R279H), due to a c.836G>A mutation in exon 7 of the p63 gene, represents 55% of the identified mutations and is considered a mutational hot spot. A quantitative and sensitive real-time PCR was performed to quantify both wild-type and R279H alleles in DNA extracted from peripheral blood and RNA from cultured epithelial cells. Standard curves were constructed for both wild-type and mutant probes. The sensitivity of the assay was determined by generating serial dilutions of the DNA isolated from heterozygous patients (50% of alleles mutated) with wild-type DNA, thus obtaining decreasing percentages of p63 R279H mutant allele (50%, 37.5%, 25%, 12.5%, 10%, 7.5%, 5%, 2.5%, and 0.0%). The assay detected up to 1% of the mutant p63. The high sensitivity of the assay is of particular relevance to prenatal diagnosis and counseling and to detect therapeutic effects of drug treatment or gene therapy aimed at reducing the amount of mutated p63. © 2012 American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Association for Molecular Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in 3-month old infants with prenatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant exposure

Prenatal exposure to stress and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) alter hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress reactivity in offspring, however, the effects of combined exposure to HPA activity in human infants is unknown.

Genetic association suggests that SMOC1 mediates between prenatal sex hormones and digit ratio

Men and women differ statistically in the relative lengths of their index and ring fingers; and the ratio of these lengths has been used as a biomarker for prenatal testosterone. The ratio has been correlated with a wide range of traits and conditions including prostate cancer, obesity, autism, ADHD, and sexual orientation. In a genome-wide association study of 979 healthy adults, we find that digit ratio is strongly associated with variation upstream of SMOC1 (rs4902759: P = 1.41 × 10(-8)) and a meta-analysis of this and an independent study shows a probability of P = 1.5 × 10(-11). The protein encoded by SMOC1 has recently been shown to play a critical role in limb development; its expression in prostate tissue is dependent on sex hormones, and it has been implicated in the sexually dimorphic development of the gonads. We put forward the hypothesis that SMOC1 provides a link between prenatal hormone exposure and digit ratio.

Farm animal welfare:Assessing risks attributable to the prenatal environment

An ever-expanding scientific literature highlights the impact of the prenatal environment on many areas of biology. Across all major farmed species, experimental studies have clearly shown that prenatal experiences can have a substantial impact on outcomes relevant to later health, welfare and productivity. In particular, stress or sub-optimal nutrition experienced by the mother during pregnancy has been shown to have wide-ranging and important effects on how her offspring cope with their social, physical and infectious environment. Variation in the conditions for development provided by the reproductive tract or egg, for instance by altered nutritional supply or hormonal exposure, may therefore explain a large degree of variation in many welfare- and productivity-relevant traits. The scientific literature suggests a number of management practices for pre-birth/hatch individuals that could compromise their later welfare. Such studies may have relevance for the welfare of animals under human care, depending on the extent to which real life conditions involve exposure to these practices. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of extending the focus on animal welfare to include the prenatal period, an aspect which until recently has been largely neglected. © 2012 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare The Old School.