Maternal Behavior

Maternal mortality in the United States is higher than in peer nations and has not decreased since 1990. Beyond mortality, severe maternal mortality impacts far too many women. Not only are these high rates alarming, but notable racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities exist. These inequities are highly regional, with women living in the rural southeast part of the United States, including the Mississippi Delta, having the highest rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. Unfortunately, these disparities have proven to be stubbornly resistant to interventions, necessitating an innovative multifaceted approach focused on community practice, building trust, and prioritizing patient voices. To meet this need, this proposal aims to establish the Mississippi Delta Research Center of Excellence for Maternal Health with the goal of addressing preventable maternal mortality, decreasing severe maternal morbidity, and promoting maternal health equity in partnership with the Mississippi Delta community. This patient-clinical linkages intervention study will evaluate the effectiveness of a multilevel and multisector communication and health literacy strategy to increase trust and engagement in postpartum healthcare among women in the Mississippi Delta, with a specific focus on Black women, their families, and their communities. These research projects both have the overarching goal of partnering with the community to determine and meet the needs of pregnant and postpartum women in the Mississippi Delta and address the disparities within maternity health and health care outcomes.

This randomized controlled study aims to evaluate the effects of a short-term mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on anxiety levels and maternal attachment in mothers whose infants are admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A total of 33 mothers will be recruited and assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group will receive a structured four-session mindfulness program, while the control group will receive standard care. Data will be collected using the Maternal Attachment Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The findings are expected to provide evidence on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing anxiety and improving maternal-infant bonding during the postpartum period.

Breast milk is a unique and irreplaceable source of nutrition for infants, offering protection against many common childhood diseases due to its natural sterility, accessibility, and immune-boosting antibodies. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is critical for healthy growth, development, and immune support. Despite global recommendations by WHO and UNICEF, lack of knowledge and inadequate support continue to hinder optimal breastfeeding practices. One major barrier is the persistence of cultural myths and misconceptions, such as "colostrum should be discarded," or "infants need water after every feeding." These unfounded beliefs may reduce mothers' confidence and lead to early cessation of breastfeeding or premature introduction of complementary foods. This study aims to examine the relationship between mothers' belief in breastfeeding myths and their motivation to breastfeed. While prior research has explored each factor individually, no known studies have analyzed their interaction.

This is a randomized controlled trial to study an oromotor stimulation in combination with a reading curriculum in the NICU among preterm infants using oral muscle exercises, Language Environment Analysis (LENA) recordings, linguistic feedback, and a language curriculum to improve the neonatal inpatient oral feeding and language outcomes for preterm infants.

Maternal mortality in the United States is higher than in peer nations and has not decreased since 1990. Beyond mortality, severe maternal mortality impacts far too many women. Not only are these high rates alarming, but notable racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities exist. These inequities are highly regional, with women living in the rural southeast part of the United States, including the Mississippi Delta, having the highest rates of maternal mortality and morbidity. Unfortunately, these disparities have proven to be stubbornly resistant to interventions, necessitating an innovative multifaceted approach focused on community practice, building trust, and prioritizing patient voices. To meet this need, this proposal aims to establish the Mississippi Delta Research Center of Excellence for Maternal Health with the goal of addressing preventable maternal mortality, decreasing severe maternal morbidity, and promoting maternal health equity in partnership with the Mississippi Delta community. This patient-clinical linkages intervention study will evaluate the effectiveness of a multilevel and multisector communication and health literacy strategy to increase trust and engagement in postpartum healthcare among women in the Mississippi Delta, with a specific focus on Black women, their families, and their communities. These research projects both have the overarching goal of partnering with the community to determine and meet the needs of pregnant and postpartum women in the Mississippi Delta and address the disparities within maternity health and health care outcomes.

The Norwegian government is implementing the Nurse Family Partnership program (NFP) to combat child abuse and social inequality. This study will examine NFP with an individually randomized controlled parallel-group trial. The study will enroll 700 mothers over three years, with half receiving NFP services and the other half receiving standard care. The primary outcome is violence towards mothers and their children, assessed through questionnaires and observation tests. The study will also evaluate the program's effects on various health-related outcomes using administrative data. Cost-effectiveness analyses will be conducted to compare NFP to existing services and improve its delivery efficiency.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two different forms of postnatal care to find out which is most beneficial for mothers and their children after birth and with which they are most satisfied. One is a nurse-led, seperate model of care and the other is a midwife-led, integrative model of care. Participants are healthy women between the ages of 18 and 50. They gave birth between 36+0 and 42+0 weeks of pregnancy and had a child. The type of birth is not an inclusion or exclusion criteria. Our hypotheses are: i) that maternal satisfaction with care in a midwife-led, integrative care model is higher than in separate maternal and infant care; ii) that a positive postpartum experience leads to earlier and increased maternity competence; iii) that a higher breastfeeding rate at the time of the survey in the fourth month can be achieved through integrative care. Participants will be randomly assigned, after birth of their child, to either the group cared for by a nurse or the group cared for by a midwife.

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effectiveness of a Smart Bassinet to prevent/mitigate postpartum mood disorders by augmenting maternal sleep and/or enhancing infant sleep. The investigators will conduct a 2-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare infant and maternal sleep of infants who use a smart bassinet (SB) or a standard commercially available bassinet (Halo Bassinest Swivel Sleeper 3.0) (usual/traditional care (TAU)). After confirmation of eligibility, participants (N = 342) will randomly be assigned to either the SB or TAU. The investigators hypothesize that use of the SB will be associated with better infant and maternal sleep over a 6-month period, and these mothers will report fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms across the postpartum. The main question\[s\] it aims to answer \[is/are\]: Aim 1: Determine the effect of the SB on infant sleep and maternal sleep. \[primary hypothesis or outcome measure 2\]? Aim 2: Determine the effect of the SB on maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and evaluate the model that the association between the SB and postpartum depressive symptoms is mediated by both infant and maternal sleep Aim 3: Compare trajectory of immune system function from late pregnancy through postpartum between PPD and non-PPD and between SB and TAU groups Exploratory Aim. Evaluate whether the elevated risk demonstrated by previously identified PPD epigenetic biomarkers at the TTC9B and HP1BP3 genes can be modified by using a SB. The investigators hypothesize that the elevated risk will be reduced in the SB condition compared to TAU. Military-affiliated pregnant women will be recruited from across the US via social media and advertising. Monthly online questionnaires will be completed by the mother. Objective sleep data will be collected monthly using an actigraph for 1-week from both mother and baby. Blood samples for assay of inflammatory markers will be collected at enrollment, 3- and 6- months postpartum.

This study focuses on adapting and evaluating an attachment-based intervention program implemented by nurses in Family Health Centers (FHCs) in Turkey. The program aims to enhance parental sensitivity and infant-mother attachment security. Evidence suggests that such programs, developed in Western countries, effectively improve parenting behaviors and attachment quality. Despite the positive effects of similar programs in Turkey, their integration into primary healthcare for wider public benefit remains unexplored. The project will develop an intervention protocol based on effective methods from previous attachment-based programs into routine childcare visits at FHCs. A randomized controlled trial involving 120 mothers with 9- to 12-month-old babies in Istanbul will be recruited. FHCs will be randomly assigned to intervention and control groups, with 60 mother-infant dyads in each condition. Nurses will deliver the program during childcare visits at 9, 12, 15, and 18 months. Intervention FHCs will also use reminders like posters and short films in the waiting rooms to reinforce the concepts. Effectiveness will be evaluated through pretest, posttest, and follow-up home visits using observational and self-report measures on attachment security, maternal sensitivity, as well as maternal psychological characteristics, along with infant socioemotional measures. Upon completion of the project, control FHC nurses will receive training to deliver a condensed version of the program.

Purpose of the research: This study aimed to examine the effects of individualized care and counseling given to mothers in the first trimester after birth on maternal attachment, maternal self-efficacy and maternal function. In this context, the hypotheses of the research are as follows: 1. Individualized care and counseling does not have a significant effect on the level of maternal attachment. 2. Individualized care and counseling does not have a positive effect on mothers\' self-efficacy perceptions. 3. Individualized care and counseling does not have a significant effect on the gain of maternal function. The study consists of experimental and control groups. The mothers of the experimental group will be interviewed in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 12th postpartum weeks, and various surveys will be administered through counseling. Control group mothers will not be given any training or counseling by the researcher other than the standard care and services offered in the hospital. The measurement tools applied to the experimental group mothers will be simultaneously applied to the control group mothers.

Background: Although breastfeeding has known protective effects, such as preventing childhood obesity, the specific mechanisms remain unclear. Idaho has a high breastfeeding initiation rate (92%) but a significant prevalence of childhood obesity (30.5% overweight/obese). Limited research exists on the impact of maternal inflammation, maternal body mass index (BMI), C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations in breastmilk on infant health outcomes, especially in healthy full-term infants. Objective: This study aims to expand understanding of the role of maternal inflammation on breastmilk composition and its effect on infant immune development. The investigators seek to investigate the relationship between maternal health status, breastmilk inflammatory concentrations, and balanced immune development in infants. Additionally, the investigators aim to explore the potential influence of early diet exposure, including maternal inflammatory status, on the risk of obesity and other inflammatory conditions. Methods: Healthy full-term infants (breastfed/formula-fed) and their mothers will be recruited. Maternal inflammation markers (BMI, CRP, IL-6) and immune markers in infants will be analyzed. Flow cytometry will assess immune populations. Correlations between maternal systemic inflammation, infant inflammation, and breastmilk inflammatory markers will be examined for breastfeeding mothers. Outcomes: The investigators hypothesize breastfed infants will display a more favorable anti-inflammatory profile. This study will identify factors influencing immune development and potential pathways linking early-life exposures to long-term health outcomes. Findings will inform strategies for promoting balanced immune development and elucidate the role of early diet exposure, including maternal inflammation, as a protective or risk factor for obesity and inflammatory conditions.