Intention to breastfeed and other important health-related behaviour and beliefs during pregnancy.
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BACKGROUND: It is widely accepted that breastfeeding is the best form of infant feeding for the first 4-6 months of life. OBJECTIVE: This study explored whether intention to breastfeed is associated with other positive maternal health-related behaviours and beliefs during pregnancy. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 789 women attending antenatal clinics at Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust. A structured questionnaire assessed feeding intention, use of folic acid, vitamin and iron supplementation, smoking status, smoking stage of change, and fetal health locus of control during pregnancy. RESULTS: Forty percent of the women stated that they intended to breastfeed exclusively, 27% planned to bottle feed, 23% intended to combine breast and bottle feeding and 10% were undecided. Women planning to breastfeed (either exclusively or in combination with bottle feeding) were more likely than those with alternative feeding plans to: have increased their folic acid intake, taken vitamin/iron supplements and have a primarily internal locus of control (perceive themselves to have control over the health of their unborn baby). Women intending to breastfeed were also less likely to smoke. Of the women who did smoke, those planning to breastfeed were more likely to be either considering or preparing to quit smoking during their pregnancy. CONCLUSION: In addition to educating pregnant smokers about the risks of maternal smoking, primary health care practitioners could also usefully address their knowledge, health beliefs and feeding intentions during antenatal care. (+info)
Characterization of potential oocyte donors in Sweden.
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BACKGROUND: Oocyte donation has been permitted by Swedish legislation since January 2003. While donors are anonymous to the receiving couple, offspring have the legal right to receive identifying information about the donor when they reach adult age. Our aim was to investigate factors of potential importance for women's willingness to donate oocytes. METHOD: A questionnaire regarding attitudes towards oocyte donation was sent to a randomized sample of 1000 women aged 25-35 years (73% response). RESULTS: Seventeen percent would consider donating oocytes, whereas 39% opposed this, and 44% were doubtful. Potential donors were less likely to have children of their own and thought the genetic link was of less importance. Potential donors would feel happy about helping a childless couple, and 38% would be glad to be contacted by the offspring. Factors that would increase women's willingness to donate were being able to talk to experienced donors, proximity to the clinic and availability of counselling. CONCLUSION: The results indicate considerable interest in donating oocytes among a subset of women in Sweden. Potential donors associated donation with altruistic motives. The issue of offspring's right to know about their origin appears to be complicated. This suggests that information about the consequences of donation is of great importance. (+info)
Effects of motivational interviewing on smoking cessation in adolescents with psychiatric disorders.
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OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that among adolescent smokers hospitalised for psychiatric and substance use disorders, motivational interviewing (MI) would lead to more and longer quit attempts, reduced smoking, and more abstinence from smoking over a 12 month follow up. DESIGN: Randomised control trial of MI versus brief advice (BA) for smoking cessation, with pre- and post-intervention assessment of self efficacy and intentions to change, and smoking outcome variables assessed at one, three, six, nine, and 12 month follow ups. SETTING: A private, university affiliated psychiatric hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, USA. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive sample (n = 191) of 13-17 year olds, admitted for psychiatric hospitalisation, who smoked at least one cigarette per week for the past four weeks, had access to a telephone, and did not meet DSM-IV criteria for current psychotic disorder. INTERVENTIONS: MI versus BA. MI consisted of two, 45 minute individual sessions, while BA consisted of 5-10 minutes of advice and information on how to quit smoking. Eligible participants in both conditions were offered an eight week regimen of transdermal nicotine patch upon hospital discharge. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Point prevalence abstinence, quit attempts, changes in smoking rate and longest quit attempt. Proximal outcomes included intent to change smoking behaviour (upon hospital discharge), and self efficacy for smoking cessation. RESULTS: MI did not lead to better smoking outcomes compared to BA. MI was more effective than BA for increasing self efficacy regarding ability to quit smoking. A significant interaction of treatment with baseline intention to quit smoking was also found. MI was more effective than BA for adolescents with little or no intention to change their smoking, but was actually less effective for adolescents with pre-existing intention to cut down or quit smoking. However, the effects on these variables were relatively modest and only moderately related to outcome. Adolescents with comorbid substance use disorders smoked more during follow up while those with anxiety disorders smoked less and were more likely to be abstinent. CONCLUSIONS: The positive effect of MI on self efficacy for quitting and the increase in intention to change in those with initially low levels of intentions suggest the benefits of such an intervention. However, the effects on these variables were relatively modest and only moderately related to outcome. The lack of overall effect of MI on smoking cessation outcomes suggests the need to further enhance and intensify this type of treatment approach for adolescent smokers with psychiatric comorbidity. (+info)
The physician as an accessory in the parental project of HIV positive people.
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The question of the moral acceptability of infertility treatment to HIV positive persons raises a number of interesting ethical points regarding the responsibility of the infertility specialist for the outcome of his or her actions. The analysis of the physician's responsibility is conducted within the framework of accomplice liability. The physician is a collaborator in the parental project of the principals--that is, the intentional parents. Both causal contribution and intention are considered as elements of complicity. It is concluded that a two per cent risk of vertical transmission when the woman is HIV positive is insufficient to blame the infertility specialist who helps her to conceive. Helping an infertile HIV positive infertile couple to have a child does not constitute reckless behaviour. When the couple is fertile, infertility treatment is directed at risk reduction and falls under the physician's obligation to act in the best interests of his patients. (+info)
The role of fathers in toddlers' unintentional injury risk.
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OBJECTIVES: Previous work suggests that maternal parenting and supervision reduces risk for children's unintentional injuries, but very little research has examined the role of fathers in children's unintentional injury risk. The role of fathers in protecting children from unintentional injury was considered. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal design predicted injury risk in 181 toddlers from the ages of 6 to 36 months. Predictor variables included child gender and temperament, individual difference factors of the mother and father, and parenting factors of the mother and father. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression models suggested that fathers' report of gains to the family from their employment was the strongest predictor of risk of children's unintentional injury. Several other paternal and maternal factors were also modestly related to injury risk. CONCLUSIONS: Data indicate the need to consider the role of fathers in protecting children from unintentional injuries. (+info)
Do children's intentions to risk take relate to actual risk taking?
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OBJECTIVES: Concerns about safety and rigorous ethic standards can make it very difficult to study children's risk taking. The goal of this study was to determine how closely intentions to risk take relate to actual risk taking among boys and girls 6-11 years of age. METHODS: Children initially completed an "intentions to risk take" task. Following administration of several questionnaires they later participated in an actual risk taking task. RESULTS: At all ages, for both boys and girls, intentions to risk take was highly positively correlated with actual risk taking. When discrepancies occurred these were usually of minimal magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: Tasks that tap children's intentions to risk take can serve as proxy indicators of children's actual risk taking. (+info)
Attention to intention.
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Intention is central to the concept of voluntary action. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared conditions in which participants made self-paced actions and attended either to their intention to move or to the actual movement. When they attended to their intention rather than their movement, there was an enhancement of activity in the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA). We also found activations in the right dorsal prefrontal cortex and left intraparietal cortex. Prefrontal activity, but not parietal activity, was more strongly coupled with activity in the pre-SMA. We conclude that activity in the pre-SMA reflects the representation of intention. (+info)
Planning versus speed: an experimental examination of what Planned Codes of the Cognitive Assessment System measures.
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This study provided validity evidence that the Cognitive Assessment System, Planned Codes subtest measures planning rather than speed. Each of 156 children completed Planned Codes using two different sets of directions. The first set of directions allowed each child to use strategies to complete Planned Codes. The second set of directions allowed the child only to use speed to complete Planned Codes. The results of the study indicated significantly higher scores (t = 11.5, P < .0001) when the child was allowed to use strategies (mean = 34.1, S.D. = 9.2) compared to the same child's score when speed (mean = 25.6, S.D. = 7.5) alone was used to complete Planned Codes. A partial correlation, with age effects removed, between the scores each child earned under the two conditions was very low (r = .23, P < .01). Calculation of the magnitude of difference between the two groups yielded an effect size of 1.0. The results of this study provided validity support that the Cognitive Assessment System Planned Codes subtest measures planning. (+info)