Influence of individual predisposition, maternal experience and lactation environment on the responses of pigs to weaning at two different ages

This study assessed the effect of predisposition to perform harmful social behaviour, maternal rearing environment, and lactation environment on the responses of pigs to weaning at 3 or 5 weeks of age. Predisposed and non-predisposed gilts were selected as dams for this study at 7 weeks of age. Selection was based on behaviour in a

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.

Maternal mental health and non-organic failure to thrive.

This study reports on the first phase of a large-scale, longitudinal, multidisciplinary community study examining the growth, learning and development of young children with a particular focus on failure to thrive without organic cause. However, the group identified in this study may be better described as weight faltering. This paper examines the psychological data collected using the Parenting Stress Index, Rosenberg Self-Esteem and the General Health Questionnaire in relation to child growth. There were no significant differences between the mothers of the weight faltering and control children in terms of parenting stress, maternal depression, maternal perceptions of their parenting competence or maternal self-esteem. Maternal sensitivity to comments about child size, regardless of direction, had a negative impact on mood.

Maternal care in the rockpool amphipod Apherusa jurinei: developmental and environmental cues

There is evidence that active, pre-emergence maternal brood care in amphipod crustaceans may be associated with 'harsh' environmental conditions. We examined, in the rockpool amphipod Apherusa jurinei, behavioural activities that may function as a form of active brood care. Only ovigerous females showed 'curl' and 'stretch' activities, with consequent flushing of the brood pouch and cycling of the eggs therein. There was a significant decline in these activities as embryonic development advanced and brood care almost ceased when well-developed embryos showed a heart pulse and self-ventilation. We propose that this pattern of brood care reflects changes in the physiological requirements of embryos as they develop within the egg membrane. In addition, ovigerous females showed significantly higher levels of brood care under lowered oxygen conditions. They achieved this by increasing the average duration of the 'stretch' component, with other brood care components remaining constant. Thus, developmental and environmental cues alter the components of active brood care in distinct ways. Experimental removal showed that the physical presence of eggs in the brood pouch is important in controlling the expression of brood care activities. However, females with all of their eggs removed continued to brood at low levels, suggesting that a maternal state also controls brood care. The sophisticated expression of active maternal brood care in amphipods under 'harsh' environmental conditions such as rockpools has implications both for individual reproductive success and the distribution and abundance of brooding versus nonbrooding species. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Influence of maternal diabetes mellitus on fetal iron status

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of maternal diabetes on fetal iron status using serum transferrin receptors (STfR) and their ratio to ferritin (TfR-F index) in cord blood. METHODS: Iron, ferritin, erythropoietin, STfR and haemoglobin concentration were measured and TfR-F index calculated in 97 maternal/cord blood pairs. Forty-nine women had type 1 diabetes (diagnosed before pregnancy) and these were compared with forty-eight non- diabetic controls. The women with type 1 diabetes were recruited consecutively from attendance at the joint antenatal endocrine clinic while the control group of women was recruited from consecutive attendance at the remaining antenatal clinics. RESULTS: The infants of the diabetic women had significantly lower levels of ferritin (47 vs 169 mug/l; p