Antenatal counseling on breastfeeding – is it adequate? A descriptive study from Pondicherry, India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antenatal counseling on breastfeeding and postnatal lactation support are likely to improve rates of exclusive breastfeeding. This descriptive study was undertaken to assess whether antenatal visits were utilized for promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in addition to the routine obstetric services.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This descriptive study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Pondicherry, India. Every third primigravida mother admitted in the maternity ward from June to December 2005 was recruited. Among these 144 primigravida mothers, 108 who had a minimum of three antenatal visits ("booked") were included in the study. These 108 mothers were administered a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire on breastfeeding in the local language, Tamil, within 24 hours of giving birth. Appropriate flash cards with pictures were also used while administering the questionnaire. The awareness among mothers (both "counseled" and "not counseled") regarding health information pertaining to breastfeeding was assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the booked mothers, 21% (n = 23) had received some antenatal counseling about breastfeeding while 79% (n = 85) had not received any such counseling. Four percent had undergone breast examination during antenatal visits. Awareness related to breastfeeding among mothers in the "counseled" group was better than those in the "not counseled" group. Even in the "counseled" group, awareness among mothers with regard to correct breastfeeding technique and concept of continuing breastfeeding during illness in the baby was no different from those in the "not counseled" group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Existing antenatal counseling on breastfeeding is inadequate in the population studied and needs to be strengthened. Informing all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding should be a priority during antenatal visits.</p

The Effect of Screen Time on Growth, Development, Behavior, and Sleep in Preschool Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of screen time and its impact on growth, development, behavior, and sleep in children less than five years old. Methods: Children between six months to five years, attending the outpatient department of our hospital, were included consecutively. Screen exposure details were collected in a predesigned validated semi-structured questionnaire. Development was screened by the ages and stages-3 questionnaire. Growth was assessed as per World Health Organization guidelines. Data were analyzed using STATA version 12. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to ascertain the association between screen time and growth, development, behavior, and sleep, after adjusting for confounders. Results: There were 437 participants. The prevalence of excess screen time was 61.5% and 72.8% in children aged 6-23 months and 24-60 months respectively. Excess screen time did not significantly impact growth and development. The odds of having temper tantrums - adjusted odds ratio = 10.61 (2.57-43.80), p = 0.001 - and breath-holding spells - adjusted odds ratio = 61.39 (3.28-1151.09), p = 0.001) were significantly more in children aged 6-23 months with excess screen time, while children aged 2-5 years of age with excess screen time, had a significantly higher occurrence of nightmares - adjusted odds ratio = 5.26 (1.12-72.70), p = 0.04) and delayed bed time (beyond 10:00 PM) - adjusted odds ratio = 4.42 (1.46-13.36), p = 0.008). Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of excess screen time in preschoolers. Increased screen time did not significantly affect growth and development. There was a higher occurrence of temper tantrums, breath-holding spells, nightmares, and a bedtime beyond 10:00 PM in children with excess screen time

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension secondary to ingestion of Morinda coreia and Azadirachta indica leaves extract in infant

ABSTRACT We report a case of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) secondary to ingestion of Morinda coreia (Nonan) and Azadirachta indica (Neem) leaves extract in a nine months old child. This herbal extract is believed to accelerate weight gain in infants and is commonly used in South India

Sleep hygiene a neglected paediatric identity – A cross-sectional study

Background: Sleep is the physiological need of any human being; its role in paediatric mental and physical development is irreplaceable. However, in recent days, the rising trend of childhood obesity makes it essential to assess the sleep hygiene of the children to know if there is any adjacent association. Objectives: 1. To estimate the prevalence of poor sleep quality using Sleep Hygiene Index Scoring. 2. To determine the association of sleep quality with academic performance and body mass index among the school children. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted among 322 children aged between 7 and 12 years attending paediatric OPD of a private tertiary care hospital, Puducherry. Using Sleep Hygeine Index scoring with the cut off 16, prevalence of poor sleep quality was assessed and its association with BMI and academic performance was determined. Frequency, proportion, and Chi-square test were used for analysis; P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the participants was 8.8 ± 2 years, and most of them were boys. Around 53% of the children had poor quality of sleep, and there was a positive association between poor sleep quality with obesity (P value: 0.0003) and unfavourable academic performance (P value: 0.00001). Conclusion: Sleep hygiene importance should be taught to the parents and periodical assessment helps in predicting the neglected reason for obesity and poor academic performance, which could be managed easily with small lifestyle changes

Does mothers&apos; perception of wheezing affect the nutritional status of wheezers?

Abstract This study was conducted to find out mothers&apos; perception of factors associated with wheezing and its effect on the nutritional status of children with recurrent wheezing. &apos;Cold food&apos; which includes all refrigerated food, curd and certain types of green leafy vegetables were perceived to be associated with wheezing by 70% of mothers. These items were not included in the diet of children with wheezing. However there was no significant difference in the nutritional intake or nutritional status of children with and without wheezing perhaps due to infrequent inclusion of the same even in the normal children&apos;s diet