Walking Between the Raindrops: Evelyn's Birth Story.

The author describes her 3-day birth process that results in a healthy delivery. Initial concerns such as the tension of an induction and the 20th anniversary of 9/11 dissipate as a baby girl is welcomed as the second child to a Boston-area family.

Hip passive stiffness is associated with midfoot passive stiffness.

BACKGROUND: Hip motion in the transverse plane is coupled with foot motion in the frontal plane during closed kinematic activities, such as gait. Considering that movement patterns and bone alignment might influence passive mechanical properties of joints in the long term, it is possible that hip passive stiffness and foot complex stiffness and alignment are related to each other. OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether hip passive stiffness, midfoot passive stiffness and shank-forefoot alignment are related to each other. METHOD: Thirty healthy adult individuals with a mean age of 25.4 years participated (18 women and 12 men). The Foot Torsimeter was used to measure midfoot stiffness, and hip stiffness and foot alignment were measured using clinical measures. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated to test the associations between each pair of variables, with α = 0.05. RESULTS: Hip stiffness was positively correlated with midfoot absolute stiffness (r = 0.41, p = 0.02), indicating that increased hip stiffness is associated with increased midfoot stiffness. There were no associations between shank-forefoot alignment and the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical settings, individuals with reduced hip passive stiffness may also have reduced midfoot passive stiffness, and vice versa. Shank-forefoot alignment is not linearly associated with hip or midfoot passive stiffness.

Hip external rotation stiffness and midfoot passive mechanical resistance are associated with lower limb movement in the frontal and transverse planes during gait.

BACKGROUND: Hip external rotation stiffness, midfoot passive mechanical resistance and foot alignment may influence on ankle, knee and hip movement in the frontal and transverse planes during gait. RESEARCH QUESTION: Are hip stiffness, midfoot mechanical resistance and foot alignment associated with ankle, knee and hip kinematics during gait? METHODS: Hip stiffness, midfoot mechanical resistance, and foot alignment of thirty healthy participants (18 females and 12 males) with average age of 25.4 years were measured. In addition, lower limb kinematic data during the stance phase of gait were collected with the Qualisys System (Oqus 7+). Stepwise multiple linear regressions were performed to identify if hip stiffness, midfoot torque, midfoot stiffness and foot alignment were associated with hip and knee movement in the transverse plane and ankle movement in the frontal plane with α = 0.05. RESULTS: Reduced midfoot torque was associated with higher hip range of motion (ROM) in the transverse plane (r2 = 0.18), reduced hip stiffness was associated with higher peak hip internal rotation (r2 = 0.16) and higher ROM in the frontal plane (r2 = 0.14), reduced midfoot stiffness was associated with higher peak knee internal rotation (r2 = 0.14) and increased midfoot torque and midfoot stiffness were associated with higher peak knee external rotation (r2 = 0.36). SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrated that individuals with reduced hip and midfoot stiffness have higher hip and knee internal rotation and higher ankle eversion during the stance phase of gait. On the other hand, individuals with increased midfoot torque and stiffness have higher knee external rotation. These relationships can be explained by the coupling between ankle movements in the frontal plane and knee and hip movements in the transverse plane. Finally, this study suggests that midfoot passive mechanical resistance and hip stiffness should be assessed in individuals presenting altered ankle, knee and hip movement during gait.

Maternal psychological stress after prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) increases maternal stress. STUDY DESIGN: Self-report instruments were administered to mothers carrying a fetus with CHD. Domains included: (1) traumatic stress (Impact of Events Scale-Revised); (2) depression (Beck Depression Index II); and (3) anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Index). Modifiers included: (1) coping skills (COPE Inventory); (2) partner satisfaction (Dyadic Adjustment Scale); and (3) demographics. Multivariate linear regression models were used to assess relationships between stress measures and modifiers. RESULTS: Fifty-nine mothers (gestational age 27 ± 3 weeks) completed all measures. Clinically important traumatic distress was seen in 39%, depression in 22%, and state anxiety in 31%. Lower partner satisfaction was associated with higher depression (P < .01) and higher anxiety (P < .01). After controlling for partner satisfaction and income, "denial" was most associated with increased traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety are common after prenatal diagnosis of CHD. Healthy partner relationships and positive coping mechanisms can act as buffers.