METHODS: Data from the University Sains Malaysia (USM) Pregnancy Cohort which consists of 153 mother-offspring pairs were used. Data were collected using interview-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were also obtained. Multiple linear regression and generalised equation estimation (GEE) were used to examine the direction and impact of the association between parental BMI and child growth and body composition (weight for age, height for age, body mass index for age, weight for height and fat mass at age 2m, 6m, and 12m). Potential confounders, including validated measures of maternal diets and physical activity during pregnancy, were considered.
RESULTS: Of 153 parents, one-quarter of the mothers and 42.2% of the fathers, respectively, were overweight or obese before pregnancy. A significant association was found between maternal BMI and child's weight for height z-score (WHZ) and body mass index for age z-score (BAZ).
CONCLUSIONS: Having high pre-pregnancy BMI may increase BMI and WAZ of offspring in early life. Findings from this study emphasise the importance of monitoring maternal weight status, particularly before and during pregnancy and early life of offspring among Malaysians.
METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 362 mothers and mothers-to-be (mean age: 31.9 ± 4.9 years, range: 20-48 years old) recruited from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur and two health clinics in Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan and Beranang, Selangor representing the urban and rural areas respectively. All participants were interviewed in person using a newly developed and reliable questionnaire that tested their knowledge and attitude on childhood hearing loss.
RESULTS: Generally, the majority of mothers had a moderate level of knowledge and positive attitude towards childhood hearing loss. Urban mothers had a significantly higher knowledge than those of the rural area (p
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy towards childhood immunisation amongst urban pregnant mothers and the associated socio-demographic factors.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1081 women who received antenatal care at a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Vaccine hesitancy was assessed using the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) Survey in both English and validated Malay versions. The sociodemographic data of the mothers and their partners, source of vaccine information and reasons for hesitancy were analysed.
RESULTS: Eighty-six (8.0%) pregnant mothers were vaccine hesitant. Ethnicity, religion, number of children, educational level and employment status were significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy. Multivariable analysis showed that a low level of education was the most significant risk factor (p
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 725 postpartum mothers, aged 18 and above, attending a primary-care clinic. The systematic sampling method was used to recruit patients through a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of CAM use among postpartum mothers.
RESULTS: The prevalence of CAM use among postpartum mothers was 85.5%. Manipulative body therapies, including massage, reflexology, hot stone compression and body wrapping were the most widely used methods of CAM (84.1%) among postpartum mothers, followed by biological-based therapies (33.1%). More than half of the respondents (52.1%) opted to use CAM, as they had observed good results from other CAM users. However, our study showed that 57.1% of mothers who consumed herbal medicine reported neonatal jaundice in their newborn. The median of the expenditure on CAM usage was 250 Malaysian Ringgits, or USD 61.3 per month. According to multiple logistic regression analyses, being Muslim (OR = 5.258, 95% CI: 2.952-9.368), being Malay (OR = 4.414, 95% CI: 1.18-16.56), having a higher educational level (OR = 2.561, 95% CI: 1.587-4.133) and having delivered via spontaneous vaginal delivery (OR: 5.660, 95% CI: 3.454-9.276) had a significantly positive association with CAM use among postpartum mothers.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CAM use was high (8 out of 10) among postpartum mothers. Postpartum mothers who are Malay, Muslim, have a higher educational level and who have had spontaneous vaginal delivery tended to use CAM more. Manipulative body therapies, including massage, reflexology, hot stone compression and body wrapping, were the most widely used forms of CAM, followed by biological-based therapies. More than half of the mothers who consumed herbal medicine reported neonatal jaundice in their newborn. Thus, education to increase awareness regarding the consumption of herbs is urgently required in this country.
METHODS: Following informed consent, a total of nine families with 22 participants took part in the study including nine adolescents, aged between 14 and 16 y, and 13 parents. One-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted at their homes following informed consent. Following transcription, the data was coded and themes were identified using Atlas.ti software. A grounded theory approach was undertaken in analysing the data.
RESULTS: Two main themes were identified including perceptions of parental involvement in the lives of their adolescent children and family strategies to improve bonding. Adolescents' concerns centered on reduced interaction time with their family members. Concerns were also raised over the adolescents' increasing academic burden and parents particularly emphasized the increasing use of media and mobile technology by adolescents as deterrents to interaction. Though mothers functioned as primary caregivers, fathers also took on more active roles in the rearing of their children, stepping away from the traditionally viewed role of being a distant patriarchal provider. To improve interaction, parents devised creative strategies to increase time spent interacting with family members such as having dinner, performing household chores, playing games, or visiting places together.
CONCLUSIONS: The increasing academic burden and access to digital media were perceived as factors leading to reduced interaction between the parent-adolescent dyad. Creative parenting strategies to increase interaction were sought as a solution.
METHODOLOGY: A comparative, cross-sectional study was designed among 180 mother-child pairs attending various Anganwadi centers. Demographic, dietary, oral hygiene practices and other necessary information were collected from mothers using a structured questionnaire. Caries status and amount of plaque were recorded through clinical examination. Nonstimulated saliva from mothers was cultured for mutans streptococci (MS). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Chi-square, Student's t-test, and logistic regression were used. A P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: In the study group, 73.3% of mothers had caries as compared to only 53.3% mothers in control group. While mean DMFT and mean DMFS of mothers in the study group was 3.78 ± 3.91 and 8.37 ± 12.2, respectively, the same for the mothers in the control group was 2.66 ± 3.01 and 5.8 ± 5.3. Sixty (66.7%) out of ninety mothers in the study group had a high MS count as compared to only 40 (44.4%) mothers in control group (P = 0.003).
CONCLUSION: The present study showed that high salivary MS count and decay in mothers could be important risk indicators for the development of caries in their children.
BACKGROUND: Vulnerable premature infants commonly require special care in the NICUs. In most cases, prolonged hospitalization results in stress and anxiety for the mothers.
METHODS: A non-probability convenience survey was used in a public hospital, with 180 mothers completing the 26-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and a 40-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).
RESULTS: 56.5% of mothers had high levels of stress, 85.5% of mothers had a high level of state-anxiety and 67.8% of mothers had a high level of trait-anxiety. The stress experienced by these mothers had a significant relationship with anxiety, and was found to be associated with state and trait anxiety levels, but not with maternal and infant characteristics.
CONCLUSION: Mothers in this setting revealed high levels of stress and anxiety during their premature infants' NICU admission. An immediate interventional programme focusing on relieving mothers' anxiety and stress is needed to prevent maternal stress and anxiety at an early stage.