Challenges of parenting children born before 24 weeks of gestation.

AIM: To assess experience of care, well-being of parents and children's development in a cohort of extremely premature infants born <24 weeks of gestation in Sweden from 2007 to 2018. METHODS: A survey based on multiple questionnaires answered by 124/349 (35.5%) parents. RESULTS: The median age of parents and children was 43 and 9 years, respectively; 74.2% were mothers. Parents expressed high healthcare satisfaction. Following discharge from neonatal care, the satisfaction with the infant's treatment, support from personnel and being respected as a parent significantly declined but remained high. The criteria for suspected developmental deviation according to the screening test early symptomatic syndromes eliciting neurodevelopmental clinical examinations-questionnaire was fulfilled by 84.3%, 55.6% had suspected avoidant restrictive food intake disorder and 47.9% had visual perception problems. Parents experienced severe fatigue (48.6%) despite strong social support and family self-efficacy. Economic support was provided to 30.6%, and 37.9% of children were enrolled in habilitation services. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the substantial challenges faced by parents of infants born before 24 weeks of gestation, including decreased satisfaction post-discharge, fatigue and concerns about children's well-being. The findings underscore the need for comprehensive family-centred support and long-term multi-professional follow-up centres.

Nurturing Sustainable Development: The Interplay of Parenting Styles and SDGs in Children's Development.

This study delves into the dynamics of parenting styles and their impact on the cognitive and social-affective development of children within diverse family populations, contextualized within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Drawing from a sample population comprising families from various socio-economic backgrounds and cultural contexts, the research explores the nuanced interactions between parenting approaches-ranging from authoritarian/permissive to democratic-and children's developmental trajectories. By examining families with different numbers of children, this study elucidates the differential effects of parenting styles on cognitive adaptability and social-emotional skills across varying family structures. Democratic parenting emerges as a critical factor in promoting children's well-being, equitable access to education, and the fostering of peaceful societies, aligning with SDGs 3, 4, and 16. Furthermore, the research addresses disparities in child development outcomes, shedding light on issues of gender equality (SDG 5) and reduced inequalities (SDG 10) within the context of family dynamics. Through a comprehensive analysis of diverse family populations, this study underscores the significance of inclusive and nurturing parenting practices in advancing sustainable development objectives, advocating for collaborative efforts (SDG 17) to support families in fostering optimal child development outcomes for all.

The role of visuomotor synchrony on virtual full-body illusions in children and adults.

The present study explored the effects of visuomotor synchrony in virtual reality during the embodiment of a full human avatar in children (aged 5-6 years) and adults. Participants viewed their virtual bodies from a first-person perspective while they moved the body during self-generated and structured movement. Embodiment was measured via questions and psychophysiological responses (skin conductance) to a virtual body-threat and during both movement conditions. Both children and adults had increased feelings of ownership and agency over a virtual body during synchronous visuomotor feedback (compared to asynchronous visuomotor feedback). Children had greater ownership compared to adults during synchronous movement but did not differ from adults on agency. There were no differences in SCRs (frequency or magnitude) between children and adults, between conditions (i.e., baseline or movement conditions) or visuomotor feedback. Collectively, the study highlights the importance of visuomotor synchrony for children's ratings of embodiment for a virtual avatar from at least 5 years old, and suggests adults and children are comparable in terms of psychophysiological arousal when moving (or receiving a threat to) a virtual body. This has important implications for our understanding of the development of embodied cognition and highlights the considerable promise of exploring visuomotor VR experiences in children.

The burden of intestinal parasitic infections in Antioquia, Colombia: Impact in childhood growth development and nutritional status.

Gastrointestinal protist (GP) and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections cause significant morbidity among children in poor-resource settings of tropical and sub-tropical countries including Colombia. Few prospective transversal studies investigating how GP and STH infections affect growth development and nutritional status during childhood have been conducted in this country, none of them in the Antioquia Department. This microscopy-based study estimated the prevalence of GP and helminth (including STH) infections in faecal samples from schoolchildren (n = 384) collected during April-May 2019 in three municipalities of the Antioquia Department. Demographic, epidemiological, and household data were elicited through face-to-face interviews. Parasite detection was carried out by direct microscopic examination of both fresh smears and concentrated faecal material. Children (aged 6-15 years) also had their haemoglobin (Hb) levels, height and weight data collected, and BMI estimated. Data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Overall, 60.7 % (233/384) of schoolchildren were infected by at least one intestinal parasitic species. Among GPs, Blastocystis sp. was the most common species found (47.7 %, 95 % CI: 42.6-52.8), followed by G. duodenalis (15.9 %, 95 % CI: 12.4-19.9). Cryptosporidium spp. and Cyclospora cayetanensis were sporadically identified (0.3 %, 95 % CI: 0.1-1.4 each). Among helminths, the most prevalent species found were Trichuris trichiura (6.0 %, 95 % CI: 3.8-8.9) and Enterobius vermicularis (1.0 %, 95 % CI: 0.3-2.6). Hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Strongyloides stercoralis were found at prevalence rates <1 %. Underweight, overweigh, or obese schoolchildren had 1.2 times greater chance of being infected with intestinal parasites than their counterparts with a healthy weight (P-value: 0.015). Variables significantly associated with an increased likelihood of being infected by intestinal parasites include living in a household with unfinished flouring, not wearing shoes, being in close proximity to rodents, and having improper waste disposal. Relatively simple interventional measures directed towards the improvement of household conditions, access to sanitary toilets, and promoting shoe wearing can significantly reduce childhood infections by GP and helminths in the Antioquia Department.

Low-Income Caregiver Perspectives on a State Education Savings Program and Receptivity to Clinic-Based Financial Counseling.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In 2019, Pennsylvania launched a Children's Development Account (CDA) program that invests $100 in an education savings account for every child born in the state. However, as of 2021, only 10.6% of families claimed the investment. Low-income communities may stand to benefit most from educational investments, but few studies have assessed barriers and facilitators of uptake in these communities. We sought to examine low-income caregivers' perceptions of and barriers and facilitators to participation in a statewide CDA program and their receptivity to clinic-based financial counseling through a medical financial partnership. METHODS: We surveyed 100 caregivers of Medicaid-insured children from 2 primary care practices serving a predominantly low-income community. From these 100, we purposively sampled 30 caregivers for follow-up interviews. RESULTS: The 100 survey participants were predominantly female (83%), Black or African American (92%), and non-Hispanic or Latino (93%). Twenty-nine percent of survey participants were aware of the CDA program, 4% had enrolled, and 64% were interested in clinic-based financial counseling. In interviews, caregivers identified several barriers to and facilitators of engagement in the CDA program. They also identified several strategies to boost engagement, including simplifying registration, providing additional and personalized program information, expanding the investment amount, and providing clinic- and community-based outreach. CONCLUSIONS: Low-income caregivers identified several barriers to enrollment in a statewide CDA program and strategies to boost enrollment, including clinic-based financial counseling. Future research should examine the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and long-term financial and health consequences of clinic-based financial services for low-income families.

Parenting stress in families of children with disabilities: Impact of type of disability and assessment of attending paediatricians.

BACKGROUND: Parents of children with developmental disorders (DD) or disabilities report greater parenting stress than parents of typically developing children. To minimise this stress, stressful factors need to be known and stress needs to be recognised early. The present cross-sectional study aims to systematically assess and compare parenting stress in families of children with various types of disabilities. In addition, the assessment of parenting stress by attending paediatricians will be evaluated. METHODS: We surveyed 611 parents about their parenting stress at the Children's Development Center (CDC). Three questionnaires, including the German versions of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and Impact on Family Scale (IOFS), were used to evaluate parenting stress. Furthermore, attending paediatricians assessed of the child's type of disability and their perception of parenting stress in a separate questionnaire. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of all parents reported stress at a clinically relevant level, 65% in the child domain and 39% in the parent domain of the PSI. Parenting stress differed significantly across diagnostic categories (p < 0.01) and was associated with childhood disability related issues of behaviour, sleep or feeding issues. Parenting stress was often underestimated by the paediatricians, especially when the children had disabilities perceived as less severe. In one-third of parents with clinically relevant total stress, paediatricians reported low stress levels. Parent-reported financial problems, social isolation, and partnership conflicts were not suspected by paediatricians in ≥85% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically relevant parenting stress was found more often than in comparable studies. An assessment of parenting stress by paediatricians may be complicated by time constraints in medical appointments, the mainly child-centred consultation, or restricted expression of parents' stress. Paediatricians should move from a purely child-centred to a holistic, family-centred approach to treatment. Routine screening of parenting stress using standardised questionnaires could be helpful to identify affected families.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Fundamental Motor Skills: Insights From the Test of Gross Motor Development-3.

BACKGROUND: A comprehensive evaluation of basic motor abilities is provided by the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3), which assesses 13 basic motor skills. These skills are categorized into locomotor and ball skill subsets. OBJECTIVE: An assessment of gross motor skills in diverse populations with the TGMD-3 is the goal of this study. METHODS: From control and intervention groups, locomotor subset scores were collected. In addition to identifying developmental delays, the study highlights the TGMD-3's ability to detect deficits in motor skills. Depending on whether a skill meets the criteria, it is scored as either a 1 or a 0. A locomotor score of 46, a ball skill score of 54, and an overall gross motor score of 100 are the maximum scores. RESULTS: The control group's baseline scores increased from 34.3±0.9 to 37.3±0.7 by the sixth week (p = 0.03), while the intervention group's scores rose from 36.5±1.1 to 40.9±0.6 (p = 0.0007). Both groups also showed similar trends in gross motor coordination scores. CONCLUSION: Gross motor skill assessment is robust across different populations, making the TGMD-3 an effective tool for improving motor development and performance.

The Impact of Contact Experience on the Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Same-Sex Parents and Their Children Among Kindergarten Teachers.

Intergroup contact is important to reduce prejudice toward sexual minorities. Yet little is known regarding how kindergarten teachers' contact experiences with sexual minority affect their attitudes toward sexual minorities and their beliefs regarding same-sex family parents' parenting skills and same-sex family children's adjustment. This cross-sectional study recruited kindergarten teachers (n = 261; mean age = 38.8 years) in Taiwan in 2021-2022. A self-reported online questionnaire was administered which included questions about quantity and quality of contact experiences with lesbians, gay men (LG) and same-sex families, attitudes toward same-sex families, beliefs regarding same-sex parenting skills, and children's adjustment. Hierarchical multiple regression was used for analysis. The results showed that higher quality of contact with LG was associated with lower prejudice toward LG and with a more positive belief regarding same-sex parents' parenting skills and children's adjustment in same-sex families. The contact experience with same-sex families has an association with positive beliefs regarding same-sex family parents and children. After adjustment of quality of contact, quantity of contact did not show association with attitude toward LG or beliefs regarding same-sex family parents and children. The findings suggest that the quality of contact experience with LG is an important factor to reduce the stereotype against same-sex families.

Impact of Daily Choral Singing and Creative Writing Activities on the Cognitive Development of Second-, Third-, and Fourth-Grade French Children from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds.

In France, around one-fifth of children have reading difficulties, and school results are highly dependent on their socio-economic status. In this context, the need for alternative and innovative teaching techniques holds importance, and more artistic approaches are promising. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a daily choral singing or creative writing practice on the cognitive and linguistic development of French children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Eighty children participated in this longitudinal study, for whom we measured several cognitive and linguistic skills at the beginning (pre-test) and end (post-test) of the school year. The results showed that children in "singing" classes improved both their reading skills and processing speed, while those in "writing" classes improved their reading skills and vocabulary. These results open up new avenues of learning support, specifically for children with difficulties.

The impact of small-for-gestational-age Status on the outcomes in very-Low-birth-weight (VLBW) premature infants: a prospective cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: The impact of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) on very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) premature infants remains inconclusive. This study aimed to assess the effects of being born SGA status on the short-term and long-term outcomes in VLBW preterm infants. Methods: We conducted a population-based, prospective cohort study on VLBW preterm infants born in Taiwan between 2012 and 2017. Sociodemographic, neonatal, growth and neurological data at 2 years of corrected age were collected. A total of 4243 VLBW infants born at 24 through 32 completed weeks' gestation participated in this study, of whom 1,005 had SGA status defined as a birth weight <10th percentile of gestation, and 3,238 did not (the non-SGA group).We compared the risks of short-term outcomes (neonatal mortality and morbidities), long-term outcomes (growth status, including weight, height, and head circumference <10th percentile, and neurodevelopmental impairments at 2 years of age). Subgroup analysis was performed by stratification of gestation age (GA): GA 24-26, 27-29 and 30-32 weeks. Results: In the analysis of short-term outcomes, the SGA group had an increased risk of neonatal mortality [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.66, 2.99, and 2.19, respectively] in all GA subgroups in comparison with the non-SGA group (p < 0.05). The SGA group had a significantly increased risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in GA 27-29 and 30-32 weeks (adjusted OR = 2.11 and 1.86, respectively). We also found that there was an increased risk of severe retinopathy of prematurity in GA 24-26 and 27-29 weeks in the SGA group compared with the non-SGA group (adjusted OR = 1.68 and 1.59, respectively).In the analysis of long-term outcomes, the SGA group had a significantly increased risk of NDI throughout all GA subgroups (adjusted = 1.94, 1.33, and 1.35, respectively) in comparison with the non-SGA group. The SGA groups also had an increased risk of growth status <10th percentile at 2 years of age (p < 0.05). Conclusions: SGA VLBW premature infants had higher risks of neonatal death, growth status <10th percentile, and NDI at 2 years of corrected age compared with the non- SGA premature infants. Prenatal surveillance, postnatal attention, and long- term follow-up are warranted to improve the outcomes of VLBW SGA premature infants.

Key points of development of motor skills in childhood embodied in gait parameters.

OBJECTIVE: To observe changes of correlations of gait parameters of four sets of body in children aged 3-6. DESIGN: A cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: Dong Gang kindergarten in Suzhou, China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 89 children between 3 and 6 years old. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A total of 37 three-dimensional (3-D) gait parameters assessed with a wearable gait analysis system in 2-min walking test, for 3 times. RESULTS: There were significant differences in gait speed, stride length and sagittal range of motion (ROM) of trunk among children of 3-6 years old (P < 0.05). The left and right toe out angle, sagittal ROM of waist, coronal ROM of trunk and arm swing velocity of male were significantly greater than those of female children (P < 0.05). Most gait parameters were symmetrical (P < 0.01). Canonical correlations of Upper Limbs Set vs. Trunk and Waist Sets increased by ages (P < 0.05). Canonical correlation of Trunk Set vs. Waist Set decreased by ages. Canonical correlations of Lower Limbs Set to any other sets were not significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Values and symmetry of gait parameters cannot reflect the development of motor skill during ages of 3-6. Proper trunk movement coordinating with upper limbs and isolating from waist is the key point of development of motor skill in walking. It is built during preschool period and girls develop better. Before the preschool period, lower limbs' isolating movements from the other segments have already developed well. These key points of motor skills in walking should be considered when motor tasks for segment isolation and coordination are given to children with motor dysfunction.

Understanding the Role of Children's Footwear on Children's Feet and Gait Development: A Systematic Scoping Review.

Children's footwear plays an important role in the healthy growth of foot and gait development during the growing stage. This review aims to synthesize findings of previous investigations and to explore the biomechanical influences of different types of children's footwear on foot health and gait development, thus guiding the healthy and safe growth of children's feet and gait. Online databases were searched for potential eligible articles, including Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed. In total, nineteen articles were identified after searching based on the inclusion requirements. The following five aspects of biomechanical parameters were identified in the literature, including spatiotemporal, kinematics, kinetics, electromyography (EMG), and plantar pressure distribution. Children's footwear can affect their foot health and gait performance. In addition, children's shoes with different flexibility and sole hardness have different effects on children's feet and gait development. Compared to barefoot, the stride length, step length, stride time, and step time were increased, but cadence was decreased with wearing shoes. Furthermore, the support base and toe-off time increased. Double support time and stance time increased, but single support time decreased. The hip, knee, and ankle joints showed increased range of motion in children with the rear-foot strike with larger ground reaction force as well. Future studies may need to evaluate the influence of footwear types on gait performance of children in different age groups. Findings in this study may provide recommendations for suitable footwear types for different ages, achieving the aim of growth and development in a healthy and safe manner.

Non-Intrusive Maternal Style as a Mediator between Playfulness and Children's Development for Low-Income Chilean Adolescent Mothers.

The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between low-income Chilean adolescent maternal playfulness and mothers' non-intrusiveness in their children's development and to analyze whether a mother's non-intrusiveness mediates the relationship between maternal playfulness and children's development. The Parental Playfulness Scale and the Subscale of Intrusiveness from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project were used to assess maternal playfulness and mothers' non-intrusiveness respectively. Ages and Stages Questionnaire 3rd Edition (ASQ-3) was applied to measure the children's communication, gross and fine motor skills, problem-solving and personal-social development. The sample consisted of 79 mother-child dyads with children aged 10-24 months (M = 15.5, SD = 4.2) and their mothers aged 15-21 years old (M = 19.1, SD = 1.7). A bivariate analysis showed that maternal playfulness was significantly associated with communication, fine motor, problem-solving and personal-social development. Moreover, higher levels of communication, fine motor skills and problem-solving development were observed in the children of less intrusive mothers. Maternal playfulness had a significant effect on children's development of language, problem-solving and personal-social skills when their mothers showed less intrusiveness during interaction. These findings contribute to the understanding of the interaction between adolescent mothers and their children. Active play and less intrusiveness can enhance child development.

Behavioral outcomes and exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances among children aged 6-13 years: The TEDDY child study.

BACKGROUND: Although some studies report that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during pregnancy and early life stages of a child could adversely impact neurodevelopment, literature shows mixed evidence. OBJECTIVES: Using an ecological framework for human development, we assessed the association of risk factors for environmental PFAS exposure and childhood PFAS concentrations with behavioral difficulties among school-age children exposed to PFAS from birth, while also controlling for the important influence of the parenting and familial environment. METHODS: The study participants included 331 school-age children (6-13 years) born in a PFAS-contaminated area in the Veneto Region (Italy). We study the associations between environmental risk factors of maternal PFAS exposure (residential time, consumption of tap water, residence in Red zone A or B), and breastfeeding duration with parent assessments of children's behavioral problems (using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]), adjusting for socio-demographic, parenting and familial variables. The direct relationships between serum blood PFAS concentrations and SDQ scores was evaluated in a subset of children (n = 79), both with single PFAS and weighted quantile sum (WQS) regressions. RESULTS: Poisson regression models reported positive associations between high consumption of tap water and externalizing SDQ scores (Incidence Rate Ratio [IRR]: 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.32) and total difficulty scores (IRR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.02-1.26). Childhood perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) were associated with higher internalizing SDQ scores (4th vs. 1st quartile, PFOS IRR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.06-2.25), externalizing scores (4th vs. 1st quartile, PFHxS IRR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.09-2.32), and total difficulty scores (4th vs. 1st quartile, PFOS IRR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.05-1.71; PFHxS IRR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.09-1.90). The WQS regressions confirmed the associations reported by single-PFAS analyses. CONCLUSIONS: We observed cross-sectional associations of tap water consumption and childhood PFOS, and PFHxS concentrations with greater behavioral difficulties.

How do topics and emotions develop in elementary school children? A text mining perspective based on free-writing text over 6 years.

Free-text data with long duration and continuity have great potential for studying environmental concerns and emotional expressions in child development. Based on ecosystem theory, using topic modeling and sentiment analysis in text mining to mine 4556 free-text writing data from first to sixth grade in elementary school, this study aims to reveal concerned topics' evolutionary trends and sentiment expression differences in topics during elementary school children's development. The results show the following: (1) Children prefer to focus on the topics of school and family in elementary school; (2) With the growth of grades, the proportion of family topics continues to decline, while that of social culture topics keeps rising; (3) When describing school, family, social culture, and interest, children mostly express negative emotions, and when describing peers and ability they mostly express positive emotions; (4) As the grade increases, the emotional expression on social culture topics become negative, while that on ability and interest topics become positive, and there are more differences in emotion expression between topics in junior and senior elementary grades. Discussion and conclusion are discussed at the end.

The benefits of role play in the development of drawing in preschool children.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to demonstrate the benefits of role play based on a Historical-Cultural perspective with the implementation of symbolic elements generated by the development of drawing of preschool children from suburban origin in a group of normal Mexican preschool children. We predict that the quality of the drawings will be improved after the preschoolers participate in such a role play program. Methods: A pre-experimental study was carried out, with pre-test and post-test assessments. The drawings were assessed with quantitative (frequencies of the quality of the parameters) and qualitative (characteristics of the children's drawings) methods. The role play program was based on Elkonin's method, activity theory, and P. Ya Galperin's formation by stages of mental actions. The program encouraged the use of graphic signs and symbols, with the intention of representing situations, actions, objects, and/or contents. Twenty-six preschool children participated in our study. Results: To know the effect of the role play program with symbolic elements on the drawing of preschool children, we performed a quantitative and qualitative analysis, a Wilcoxon test contrast between the initial and final assessment. Both analyses showed a significant increase in the scores in all the tasks with a medium-large effect size, being the largest "Pictograms" and "Drawing of the route"; and in the analysis of the qualitative parameters, specifically in "Maintains the objective," a significant increase was found in all the tasks. Discussion: Role play, being the main activity in preschool age, develops all aspects of the child's psychic life. The importance of role play in a preschool child makes it possible to work in the zone of proximal development with the regulatory function of language, with the planning, execution, and control of playful activity and, most importantly, with the use of various materials and perceptual-graphics tools. These findings showed an improvement in the development and complexity of the symbolic function in the drawings. Conclusion: Role play, as a work methodology in preschool age, leads to the use of new meaning systems that prepare the child to carry out present and future complex symbolic actions.

The impact of agricultural disasters on child development in rural China.

Background: China's uneven development under the urban-rural dichotomy has led to the discouraging development of children in rural areas. China is a large agricultural country and agricultural disasters are relatively common. Rural children aged 10-15 whose families depend on the agricultural economy may experience far-reaching negative effects from these disasters. Objective: This study explored the effects of agricultural disasters on rural children's development, including cognitive and noncognitive skills, and academic pressure. Methods: Survey data from the China Family Panel Survey and the National Meteorological Administration for 2010-2018 and a fixed-effect panel model with difference-in-differences regressions were used in the study. Results: The fixed effects model results showed evidence that agricultural disasters have a negative impact on rural children's cognitive and noncognitive skills and a positive impact on academic pressure. The statistically significant coefficients are -0.092, -0.938, and 0.223, respectively. School and family environments also explain children's development. Robustness tests confirmed these results. Conclusions: Evidence shows that agricultural disasters have a significant negative impact on rural child development. It may be inferred that these will increase the difficulty of narrowing the urban-rural development gap. China is committed to promoting prosperity for all its people. Special attention should be paid to the consequences of disasters at the child level and appropriate measures should be taken to mitigate possible negative impacts.

Association of prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers at low levels with adiposity measures in children up to 6 years.

The effects of prenatal PBDEs exposure, especially at low levels, on childhood obesity are scarce. No previous studies have investigated the effect modification by breastfeeding on the associations of PBDEs exposure with childhood obesity. We aimed to investigate the associations of prenatal PBDEs exposure with adiposity measures in children up to 6 years, and the effect modification by breastfeeding. Participants were mother-child pairs from the Shanghai-Minhang Birth Cohort study. Nine PBDE congeners were assessed in cord blood plasma. We obtained information about child weight (0-6 years), height (0.5-6 years), arm circumference (0-6 years), and waist circumference (0-6 years) at each follow-up visit. Breastfeeding duration was collected when children were aged 1 year and was categorized as short (≤6 months) and adequate (>6 months). Multiple linear regression models were used to examine the associations of PBDE concentrations with adiposity measures of the children at each age. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to estimate the overall associations of PBDEs exposure with adiposity measures. We examined the effect modification by breastfeeding using stratified analyses and by including interaction terms into GEE models. For boys, there was a general profile of positive associations of several PBDE congeners exposure with adiposity measures. Especially, boys with higher BDE-153 concentration had higher adiposity measures at each time point. For girls, we also found positive associations of BDE-100 and -153 exposure with adiposity measures. The GEE models showed consistent patterns for BDE-153 in boys and for BDE-100 and -153 in girls. In breastfeeding-stratified analyses, stronger associations of PBDEs exposure with adiposity measures were generally found in children who were shortly breastfed. Our findings suggest that prenatal exposure to PBDEs at low levels may influence childhood adiposity measures, and the potential effects of PBDEs were attenuated by adequate breastfeeding.

Development of gut microbiota along with its metabolites of preschool children.

BACKGROUND: To reveal the changes of intestinal microbial abundance and composition, as well as the microbiota metabolic levels of bile acids and short chain fatty acids of healthy preschool children during their growth. METHODS: Feces of 120 healthy newborns and 150 healthy children aged 6 months to 6 years were collected. Then the composition of intestinal flora was analyzed by 16S rRNA, and the contents of bile acids and short chain fatty acids in feces were detected by LC-MS and GS methods, respectively. RESULTS: The composition and function of intestinal microflora were not stable in neonatal period but significantly improved at 6 months after birth, and gradually stabilized and tended to adult-like formation after 2-3 years old. The levels of short chain fatty acids and secondary bile acids were consistent with the development of gut microbiota. CONCLUSION: The age of 6 months may be a critical period for the development of intestinal microflora in children.

Conhecimento materno acerca da puericultura durante a pandemia da Covid-19: abordagem qualitativa / Maternal knowledge about childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative approach / Conocimientos maternos sobre puericultura durante la pandemia de COVID-19: abordaje cualitativo

OBJETIVO: descrever o conhecimento materno acerca da puericultura durante a pandemia da Covid-19. MÉTODO: trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo, de caráter descritivo com abordagem qualitativa, realizada com 30 mães de crianças com faixa etária entre zero a 24 meses de idade. O recrutamento das participantes foi no domicílio, devido a pandemia do Covid-19. Os dados foram examinados e interpretados através da análise de conteúdo. RESULTADOS: foram criadas quatro categorias: O conhecimento das mães acerca da puericultura; Realização das consultas de puericultura em tempos de pandemia da Covid-19; Vigilância do desenvolvimento infantil na perspectiva das mães; Conhecimento das mães sobre a avaliação dos marcos do desenvolvimento infantil. CONCLUSÃO: foram reveladas fragilidades de comunicação dos profissionais com as mães, limitação de conhecimento das mães em relação ao desenvolvimento infantil e devido a pandemia, as mães estão receosas em levar as crianças para realizar o acompanhamento do desenvolvimento infantil.

OBJECTIVE: to describe maternal knowledge about childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: descriptive field research with a qualitative approach, carried out with 30 mothers of young children aged between zero and 24 months. Participants were selected at home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed and interpreted through content analysis. RESULTS: 4 categories were created: Mothers' knowledge about childcare; Childcare appointments in times of the COVID-19 pandemic; Surveillance of child development from the perspective of mothers; Mothers' knowledge about the assessment of infant developmental milestones. CONCLUSION: poor communication between health providers and mothers, limited knowledge of mothers in relation to child development and because of the pandemic were revealed, and mothers are afraid to take children for child developmental follow-up.

OBJETIVO: describir el conocimiento materno sobre puericultura durante la pandemia de COVID-19. MÉTODO: se trata de una investigación de campo descriptiva con enfoque cualitativo, realizada con 30 madres de niños con edades comprendidas entre cero y 24 meses de edad. El abordaje de las participantes fue en el domicilio, debido a la pandemia de COVID-19. Los datos fueron analizados e interpretados mediante el análisis de contenido. RESULTADOS: se crearon 4 categorías: Conocimiento de las madres sobre puericultura; Realización de consultas de puericultura en tiempos de la pandemia de COVID-19; Vigilancia del desarrollo infantil desde la perspectiva de las madres; Conocimiento de las madres sobre la evaluación de los hitos del desarrollo infantil. CONCLUSIÓN: se detectaron problemas en la comunicación de los profesionales con las madres, conocimiento limitado de las madres sobre el desarrollo infantil y debido a la pandemia, las madres temen llevar a los niños para realizar el seguimiento del desarrollo infantil.