Parents' perceptions of their neonates and their relation to infant development

Effects of Indoor Air Pollution on the Development of Children under Five Years of Age in Sri Lanka

Air pollution is a multifaceted environmental toxin affecting the Central Nervous System (CNS) through diverse pathways. The CNS of young children is particularly susceptible to the detrimental effects of toxins, as brain development continues postnatally with the formation of interneuronal connections, glial cell proliferation and myelination of axons. Indoor air pollution (IAP) from solid fuel combustion is more harmful than outdoor air pollution. Numerous air pollutants hazardous to health are released during the burning of unprocessed biomass. The primary source of fuel in Sri Lanka for cooking is biomass, mainly wood. In this study, we evaluated the influence of IAP resulting from biomass combustion on the neurodevelopment of children. In a cohort of children under five years living in a semi-urban area of Sri Lanka, neurodevelopment was assessed using Denver II developmental screening test. Air quality levels were measured (Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5)) in a subsample. There were significantly high levels of CO and PM2.5 in the ambient air of households using biomass as the primary fuel for cooking. Children living in these households had a significantly higher number of children with ‘suspect’ developmental assessment scores in the language, social behavior and play and gross motor development domains.

Factors associated with gross motor development from birth to independent walking: A systematic review of longitudinal research

AIM

The aim of this study is to gain more insight into child and environmental factors that influence gross motor development (GMD) of healthy infants from birth until reaching the milestone of independent walking, based on longitudinal research.

BACKGROUND

A systematic search was conducted using Scopus, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and CINAHL to identify studies from inception to February 2020. Studies that investigated the association between child or environmental factors and infant GMD using longitudinal measurements of infant GMD were eligible. Two independent reviewers extracted key information and assessed risk of bias of the selected studies, using the Quality in Prognostic Studies tool (QUIPS). Strength of evidence (strong, moderate, limited, conflicting and no evidence) for the factors identified was described according to a previously established classification.

RESULTS

In 36 studies, six children and 11 environmental factors were identified. Five studies were categorized as having low risk of bias. Strong evidence was found for the association between birthweight and GMD in healthy full-term and preterm infants. Moderate evidence was found for associations between gestational age and GMD, and sleeping position and GMD. There was conflicting evidence for associations between twinning and GMD, and breastfeeding and GMD. No evidence was found for an association between maternal postpartum depression and GMD. Evidence for the association of other factors with GMD was classified as 'limited' because each of these factors was examined in only one longitudinal study.

CONCLUSION

Infant GMD appears associated with two child factors (birthweight and gestational age) and one environmental factor (sleeping position). For the other factors identified in this review, insufficient evidence for an association with GMD was found. For those factors that were examined in only one longitudinal study, and are therefore classified as having limited evidence, more research would be needed to reach a conclusion.

Caregiver perceptions of child development in rural Madagascar: a cross-sectional study

Background

Human capital (the knowledge, skills, and health that accumulate over life) can be optimized by investments in early childhood to promote cognitive and language development. Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in the promotion and support of cognitive development in their children. Thus, understanding caregiver perceptions of a child’s capabilities and attributes, including intelligence, may enhance investments early in life. To explore this question, we asked caregivers to rank their child’s intelligence in comparison with other children in the community, and compared this ranking with children’s scores on an assessment of developmental abilities across multiple domains.

Methods

Our study examined cross-sectional data of 3361 children aged 16–42 months in rural Madagascar. Child intelligence, as perceived by their caregiver, was captured using a ladder ranking scale based on the MacArthur Scale for Subjective Social Status. Children’s developmental abilities were assessed using scores from the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Inventory (ASQ-I), which measures cognitive, language, and socio-emotional development. Ranked percentiles of the ASQ-I were generated within communities and across the whole sample. We created categories of under-estimation, matched, and over-estimation by taking the differences in rankings between caregiver-perceived child intelligence and ASQ-I. Child nutritional status, caregiver belief of their influence on child intelligence, and sociodemographic factors were examined as potential correlates of discordance between the measures using multinomial logistic regressions.

Results

We found caregiver perceptions of intelligence in Madagascar did not align consistently with the ASQ-I, with approximately 8% of caregivers under-estimating and almost 50% over-estimating their children’s developmental abilities. Child nutritional status, caregiver belief of their influence on child intelligence, caregiver education, and wealth were associated with under- or over-estimation of children’s developmental abilities.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest parents may not always have an accurate perception of their child’s intelligence or abilities compared with other children. The results are consistent with the limited literature on parental perceptions of child nutrition, which documents a discordance between caregiver perceptions and objective measures. Further research is needed to understand the common cues caregivers that use to identify child development milestones and how these may differ from researcher-observed measures in low-income settings.

Trial registration

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN14393738. Registered June 23, 2015.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7578-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Adaptation to maternal role and infant development: a cross sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the correlation between adaptation to maternal role (AMR) and infant development.

BACKGROUND

Maternal role is an important key in infant's care and development. Previous findings demonstrated an inconsistency in the effect of the mother's adaptation on each domain of infant's development.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 260 healthy mothers and healthy infants attending health centres affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran in 2016. Data were collected using the 'AMR in Iranian Primiparous Women Questionnaire' and the 'Ages and Stages Questionnaire' (ASQ). The correlation between adaptation to maternal role and infant development was assessed using partial correlation analysis adjusted for age and gender.

RESULTS

In all 14 infants had developmental delay giving a prevalence rate of 5.4%. The mean AMR score was 123.9 (SD =13.1) and there was no significant correlation between the AMR total score and infant development (r = 0.06, p = 0.27). However, significant correlation were observed between some aspects of adaptation to maternal role and infant development such as the 'support and consolidation of the couple's relationship' and 'communication' (p = 0.04); the 'concern and anxiety' subscale and 'gross motor skills' (p = 0.03), the 'attachment to the child' subscale and 'personal-social development' (p = 0.02) and the 'emotional development' subscale with 'personal-social development' domain (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that correlation exists between some aspects of adaptation to maternal role and infant development.