Chinese women in Italy--menarche, pregnancy and maternity

The purpose of this study was to assess the well-being and health status of Chinese immigrant women in Italy. The subjects (mean 29.5 years) frequented the "Health Center for Foreign Women and their Children" in Bologna, Italy. Information on living conditions, biological characteristics and pregnancy or maternity was obtained through interviews of the women in the Center during normal medical visits. Data on menarche age were based on the retrospective method since all the women were in China at the onset of menarche. Social factors influencing the health and behavior of Chinese women in Italian society are discussed. The analysis on children sex ratio at birth indicates that the old cultural Chinese tradition of son preference still continues to exist. These women have achieved a socio-economic improvement and generally good health status in Italy. The difficult living conditions they faced in China are indirectly reflected in their delayed puberty (14.4 +/- 1.4 years). The delayed sexual development was probably due to the same situation of severe poverty that forced them to migrate.     

Re-assessment of selected Baby-Friendly maternity facilities in Accra,Ghana

Background

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) has been implemented in Ghana since 1995. At the end of 2011, about 325 maternity facilities in Ghana had been designated Baby Friendly. However, none had been re-assessed for adherence to the Ten Steps to successful breastfeeding (Ten Steps). The current study re-assessed six maternity facilities in Accra for adherence to the Ten Steps and the International Code of Marketing of breast milk substitutes (the Code).

Methods

Three independent assessors performed the re-assessment using the revised WHO/UNICEF external re-assessment tool (ERT) between April and June, 2011. All sections of the ERT were implemented, except for the HIV/infant feeding section. Assessors interviewed 90 clinical staff of the facilities, 60 pregnant women, and 150 women who had given birth and waiting to be discharged from the hospital. Additionally, observations were completed on neonate feeding and compliance with the Code. Data was analyzed to assess adherence to the Ten Steps and the Code.

Results

In 2010, the six facilities recorded a total of 26,339 deliveries. At discharge, the weighted exclusive breastfeeding rate was 93.8%. None of the facilities adhered completely to the Ten Steps. Overall, the rate of adherence to the Ten Steps was 42% (range?=?30 - 70%). No facility met the criteria for Steps One and Two. Only Step Seven was adhered to by all facilities. Overall compliance with the Code was about 54%. Trained staff attrition, high client-staff ratios, inadequate in-service training for new staff, and inadequate support for regional and national program monitoring were identified as barriers to adherence.

Conclusion

Poor adherence to Baby-Friendly practices in designated BFHI facilities was observed in urban Accra. Renewed efforts to support monitoring of designated facilities is recommended.

     

Measures of performance in Scottish maternity hospitals.

OBJECTIVE--To develop measures of hospital performance over time with particular reference to maternal and neonatal care by controlling for case mix. DESIGN--Analysis of computerised records of births. SETTING--Scotland, 1980-7. SUBJECTS--Over half a million singleton live births and stillbirths. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Numbers of perinatal deaths and caesarean sections. RESULTS--Scottish maternity hospitals perform more or less equally with regard to perinatal mortality. When caesarean sections are considered, there is evidence that hospitals differ in their treatment of different groups of women; in two examples one hospital had an increased rate among women of parity 2 or more and another had a reduced rate of repeat caesarean section. CONCLUSIONS--Developing measures of performance over time by controlling for case mix is a valid system for monitoring hospital outcomes and activity, and allows comparison either between hospitals or with data for all Scottish maternity hospitals. Hospital profiles permit identification of differences for particular patient groups after allowance is made for other case mix variables.     

Patterns of multiple paternity and maternity in fishes

The characterization of patterns of multiple mating is a major facet of molecular ecology and is paramount to understanding the evolution of behaviours associated with parental care and mate choice. Over the last 15 years, fishes have been particularly well studied with respect to multiple maternity and paternity thanks to the widespread application of microsatellite markers. The present review focusses on the impressive literature on genetic parentage in fishes. In studies of natural populations, we find that multiple paternity is extremely common across fish species, whereas rates of multiple maternity are much more variable. In species with nest defence, for example, rates of multiple maternity are strongly bimodal, and the occurrence of multiple dams per brood is either rare or the rule. The sex of the care‐giving parent is correlated with the rate of multiple parentage: when males provide uniparental care, rates of multiple paternity are low compared to rates of multiple maternity; when females provide parental care, either alone or assisted by males, rates of multiple paternity are highly variable, whereas rates of multiple maternity are quite low. These patterns may reflect conflicts between the reproductive interests of males and females. We also find that fishes in which females brood the offspring internally display much higher rates of multiple paternity compared to mammals or birds, whereas reptiles are intermediate. Male‐nesting fish species, however, show rates of multiple paternity more similar to those found in other vertebrates. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 103 , 735–760.     

Paternity and maternity frequencies in Apis mellifera sicula

Summary: Honey bee queens have been shown to mate with a high number of males, but the evolutionary advantage of this high degree of polyandry is still unclear. Mating data from a number of different Apis species and subspecies are needed to help explain polyandry in honey bees. Pupae of four colonies of Apis mellifera sicula from Sicily were genotyped on three polymorphic microsatellite loci. The genotypes of the queens and fathering drones from these colonies were deduced from the genotypes of the pupae. We found no evidence for polygyny, at least we can exclude more than one functional queen, even super-sister queens, if maternity contributions are equal. The four queens mated with at least 5 to 12 (mean: 9.3 - 3.0 SE) drones. We estimate the error in our determination of the mating frequency that is caused by limited genetic resolution of the marker loci to be less than 1 mating given that Hardy-Weinberg assumptions are satisfied. However, the drones the single queens mated with may be a non-random sample of the whole population, so that detection error may be more severe. The average pedigree relatedness among workers within the colonies was estimated to be 0.341. These results are within the range of those found in other A. mellifera subspecies and Apis species except A. dorsata. We speculate that mating frequency may be positively correlated with drone density.     

Seedling performance in a trioecious cactus,Pachycereus pringlei: Effects of maternity and paternity

We studied seed germination and the growth and survivorship of seedlings of females and hermaphrodites ofPachycereus pringlei (cardon), a Mexican columnar cactus whose geographically variable breeding system includes trioecy and gynodioecy. Results of a two-year field experiment conducted near Bahia Kino, Sonora, Mexico and a ten-month laboratory experiment were similar and did not support the hypothesis that seedlings of females outperform those of hermaphrodites. In the field, percent seed germination and 2-yr seedling survivorship averaged 66% and 95%, respectively and did not differ among six treatment classes. Seedlings of hermaphrodites generally were larger than those of females at the end of both experiments. Selfed seedlings of hermaphrodites did not grow more slowly than outcrossed seedlings of hermaphrodites or females. Hermaphrodite seedlings performed best when pollinated with hermaphrodite pollen; female seedlings performed best with male pollen. We conclude that superior seedling performance cannot explain why females are able to coexist with hermaphrodites in populations of this cactus. Instead, we postulate that greater annual seed production, which averaged 1.6 times higher in females than in hermaphrodites in two years, may be sufficient to allow females to co-occur with hermaphrodites in this large, longlived plant, especially if sex determination involves cytoplasmic-nuclear inheritance.     

Qualitative study of evidence based leaflets in maternity care

ObjectiveTo examine the use of evidence based leaflets on informed choice in maternity services.DesignNon-participant observation of 886 antenatal consultations. 383 in depth interviews with women using maternity services and health professionals providing antenatal care.SettingWomen''s homes; antenatal and ultrasound clinics in 13 maternity units in Wales.ParticipantsChildbearing women and health professionals who provide antenatal care.InterventionProvision of 10 pairs of Informed Choice leaflets for service users and staff and a training session in their use.ResultsHealth professionals were positive about the leaflets and their potential to assist women in making informed choices, but competing demands within the clinical environment undermined their effective use. Time pressures limited discussion, and choice was often not available in practice. A widespread belief that technological intervention would be viewed positively in the event of litigation reinforced notions of “right” and “wrong” choices rather than “informed” choices. Hierarchical power structures resulted in obstetricians defining the norms of clinical practice and hence which choices were possible. Women''s trust in health professionals ensured their compliance with professionally defined choices, and only rarely were they observed asking questions or making alternative requests. Midwives rarely discussed the contents of the leaflets or distinguished them from other literature related to pregnancy. The visibility and potential of the leaflets as evidence based decision aids was thus greatly reduced.ConclusionsThe way in which the leaflets were disseminated affected promotion of informed choice in maternity care. The culture into which the leaflets were introduced supported existing normative patterns of care and this ensured informed compliance rather than informed choice.

What is already known on this topic

Informed Choice leaflets are widely used in maternity care but little is known about their ability to influence informed choice and decision makingHigh quality information is essential for promoting informed choice but is insufficient by itself

What this study adds

Time constraints and other pressures on health professionals resulted in a lack of discussion of the content of the leafletsFear of litigation, power hierarchies, and the technological imperative in maternity care limited the choices availableHealth professionals promoted normative practices rather than choice, and as women valued their opinions this led to the promotion of informed compliance rather than informed choice     

Behavior of lactating rats in a dual-chambered maternity cage

Videotape sampling of behavior in a dual-chambered apparatus indicates that the continuous monitoring of the amount of time a mother spends in the cage with its litter can be taken as a valid reflection of maternal behavior. Nursing is the principal behavior of lactating females while in the compartment with their litters; lying still, consummatory behavior, and activity occur with greater frequency in the cage away from the litter. Both the time that mothers spend with their litters and nursing behavior displayed a 24-hr rhythm with crest values occurring during the period of light.     

Variation in detection probability of polar bear maternity dens

In surveys recording polar bear maternity dens, the proportion of actual dens in an area detected has usually been unknown. In this study, I evaluate how the proportion of dens that are observable varies with time in spring based on three 3–4 weeks ground surveys and observations of 25, 13, and 5 dens in Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic, during 2009, 2011 and 2012. The data indicate that few dens will be detected in surveys before early April, as few bears will have emerged at that time. Dens became unobservable after periods of drifting snow but are subsequently reopened within one or 2 days by occupying bears. Most bears departed dens by late April, and abandoned dens were quickly concealed by drifting snows. As such, I suggest that the optimal period for conducting an aerial survey is early to mid-April on a day with low winds and good visibility, because about half of the dens could be expected to be observable. Because emergence date, duration at den site, and abandonment dates varied considerably, uncertainty around the proportion of polar bear maternal dens detected during a survey will be large.