Maternal Research Articles

Is Infant birth weight and mothers perceived birth size associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana?

IntroductionDespite widespread advocacy for exclusive breastfeeding, and the associated benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for both infants and mothers, there is low prevalence in both developed and developing countries. Additionally, although several studies have been conducted on exclusive breastfeeding, very few of such studies have linked birth weight and birth size to exclusive breastfeeding. This study seeks to examine the influence of birth weight and birth size on exclusive breastfeeding.MethodologyThis study adopted a sequential explanatory mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative approach used cross-sectional data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) and the qualitative data from interviews with exclusive breastfeeding mothers from two health facilities in La Nkwantanang Municipal Assembly in Accra, Ghana. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether infants birth weight and mothers perceived birth size are associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding while the qualitative data provided further insights into the findings from the quantitative analysis.ResultsMajority (85%) of the infants in the study were of normal birth weight while 52% of the infants were perceived by their mothers to be of small birth size. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was found to be 54.8%. The birth weight of infants and mothers’ perceived birth size were found to be significant predictors of exclusive breastfeeding. Infants of normal birth weight (OR = 7.532; 95% CI: 2.171–26.132) and high birth weight (OR = 6.654; 95% CI: 1.477–29.978) were more likely to be exclusively breastfed compared to low-birth-weight infants. Similarly, infants perceived to be of normal birth size were more likely (OR = 1.908; 95% CI: 1.058–3.441) to be exclusively breastfed compared to infants perceived to be of small birth size. The findings from the qualitative analysis show that birth weight rather than birth size influence mothers’ decision to practice exclusive breastfeeding.ConclusionThe findings of the study underscore the relevance of infant birth weight and perceived birth size in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding and highlights the need to incorporate both actual measurement of birth weight, and perception of infant’s birth size into policies targeted at exclusive breastfeeding. There is the need for deliberate targeted efforts at women who deliver infants of low birth weight and women who perceive their children to be of small birth size to practice exclusive breastfeeding.

Large Sacrococcygeal Teratoma in Fetus and Newborn: Clinical Case and Review

We present a clinical case of fetal and neonatal large sacrococcygeal teratoma. Sacrococcygeal teratoma mostly found in neonates, infant, and children below 4 years old and is more common in girls than boys. Antenatal fetus ultrasound is the main diagnostic method. Antenatal diagnosis is very important making pregnancy care plan, time and method of delivery also to prevent fetal and neonatal death. Complete excision of the sacrococcygeal teratoma, including the coccyx, remains the mainstay of treatment. Patient's birth mother gives consent for information about the patient (photograph and article) to appear in a journal article.

A large-scale population based organelle pan-genomes construction and phylogeny analysis reveal the genetic diversity and the evolutionary origins of chloroplast and mitochondrion in Brassica napus L.

BackgroundAllotetraploid oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is an important worldwide oil-producing crop. The origin of rapeseed is still undetermined due to the lack of wild resources. Despite certain genetic architecture and phylogenetic studies have been done focus on large group of Brassica nuclear genomes, the organelle genomes information under global pattern is largely unknown, which provide unique material for phylogenetic studies of B. napus. Here, based on de novo assemblies of 1,579 B. napus accessions collected globally, we constructed the chloroplast and mitochondrial pan-genomes of B. napus, and investigated the genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationships of B. napus, B. rapa and B. oleracea.ResultsBased on mitotype-specific markers and mitotype-variant ORFs, four main cytoplasmic haplotypes were identified in our groups corresponding the nap, pol, ole, and cam mitotypes, among which the structure of chloroplast genomes was more conserved without any rearrangement than mitochondrial genomes. A total of 2,092 variants were detected in chloroplast genomes, whereas only 326 in mitochondrial genomes, indicating that chloroplast genomes exhibited a higher level of single-base polymorphism than mitochondrial genomes. Based on whole-genome variants diversity analysis, eleven genetic difference regions among different cytoplasmic haplotypes were identified on chloroplast genomes. The phylogenetic tree incorporating accessions of the B. rapa, B. oleracea, natural and synthetic populations of B. napus revealed multiple origins of B. napus cytoplasm. The cam-type and pol-type were both derived from B. rapa, while the ole-type was originated from B. oleracea. Notably, the nap-type cytoplasm was identified in both the B. rapa population and the synthetic B. napus, suggesting that B. rapa might be the maternal ancestor of nap-type B. napus.ConclusionsThe phylogenetic results provide novel insights into the organelle genomic evolution of Brassica species. The natural rapeseeds contained at least four cytoplastic haplotypes, of which the predominant nap-type might be originated from B. rapa. Besides, the organelle pan-genomes and the overall variation data offered useful resources for analysis of cytoplasmic inheritance related agronomical important traits of rapeseed, which can substantially facilitate the cultivation and improvement of rapeseed varieties.

Perkawinan Sedarah Suku Polahi Ditinjau dari Undang-Undang Nomor 16 Tahun 2019

<p>This research tries to explain incest in the Polahi tribal tribe, who dwell among the interior woods of Gorontalo, more specifically in the forests of the Boliyohuto region, Tamaila Village, Tolangohula District, Gorontalo Regency, a culture that is deeply rooted in the local population. The research technique employed is prescriptive and applied normative legal research. Primary and secondary legal documents, as well as literary and document studies, were utilised as sources of legal materials. In the Polahi tribe, inbreeding occurs when a person reaches maturity (both male and female) and is matched with their own siblings. Inbreeding is illegal in marriage, according to the conclusions of this research, under Law Number 16 of 2019 about Amendments to Law Number 1 of 1974 Concerning Marriage, which stipulates that marriage is prohibited between two persons connected by blood, breast milk, and marriage. As a result, the Polahi Tribe has been found to have broken Article 8 of the Marriage Law. If the husband and wife knew before they married that inbreeding was banned by law or religion, the marriage would be considered illegal, and the child's status would be void. As a result, the kid that is born only has a favourable position in terms of inheriting and supporting the original mother and her family. Meanwhile, the government, in this instance the Gorontalo Regency Government, is working to eliminate the practise of inbreeding within the Polahi Tribe's customary law group. The situation of children born from incestuous marriages because their parents were unaware that their union broke the marriage restriction is still relevant. In the meanwhile, if both parties are aware that the marriage is prohibited under Shari'a, the marriage must be cancelled. If they do not end the marriage, it becomes a legal marriage, and the child's status becomes invalid. As a consequence, children that are born are only in a better position to inherit and support their birth mother and family.</p>

State work–family contexts and the wage gap by gender and parenthood

AbstractObjectiveThis article examines the association between state‐level work–family resources and earnings disparities by gender and parenthood.BackgroundThe wage gap between childless men and women in the United States has narrowed, but the gap between mothers and fathers remains robust. Gendered division of labor and reduced labor force participation of women around childbirth have been raised as underlying causes. In the absence of national support, some states and migrant domestic workers have been filling the care gap, but it is unclear whether these factors are associated with the wage gap.MethodIndividual‐level data from the 2012 American Community Survey were merged with state‐level data collected for 2010. Multilevel linear regression models were used to explore variation in earnings across states, accounting for compositional differences and selection into the labor force.ResultsTemporary Disability Insurance, which enables new birth mothers to take paid leave, was robustly associated with narrower gaps between mothers and fathers. Unpaid private‐sector leave expansion and more intensive globalization of domestic work were associated with narrower gender wage gaps among parents with lower education. Provision of Head Start supplemental funding was associated with narrower wage gaps between mothers and fathers with higher education.ConclusionsAlthough mothers earned more in states with more work–family resources, the wage gap remained mostly unchanged because fathers similarly earned more in states with better work–family context.ImplicationsThe results reflect the fragmented and incomplete nature of work–family support in the United States and calls for more comprehensive intervention strategies to reduce the wage gap.

Enforced Conviviality and the Violence of Care in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian

ABSTRACT Care can itself be a form of violence that masks hierarchical control and violates ethical singularity. Drawing on feminist philosophies of care, I argue that structural modes of violence are embedded in pervasive care ethics. Han Kang’s novel The Vegetarian (2007) demonstrates two contradictory responses to care ethics. The protagonist Yeong-hye leans into her moral values through radical vegetarianism, believing that her eating practices free her from acts of violence not only toward humans but also toward animals. Her ethical decision, however, creates family conflicts, as her moral stand is considered an ethical evasion of wifely and daughterly care obligations. Han Kang’s novel indicates that maternal figures can also inadvertently support hierarchical culture and patriarchal norms embedded in daily caring practices. Her family’s care imperative attempts to normalize Yeong-hye’s diet and thus violates her ethics. My reading of The Vegetarian not only informs my theory of gendered care – considering the normative reflection of social expectation in care relations – but also proffers an intervention in the subtle forms of naturalized care violence in the postcolonial South Korean imaginary of a convivial future.

Indian “Native Companions” and Korean Camptown Women: Unpacking Coloniality in Transnational Surrogacy and Transnational Adoption

The article argues that transnational adoption and surrogacy from South Korea and India are shaped through US and British imperial and colonial histories in Korea and India respectively. We focus on the reproductive labor of “native companions” in early British India and kijich’on (camptown) women in post–World War II Korea. The management of native women’s sexuality was crucial for maintaining social order, political stability, and for consolidating capitalism through the commodification and devaluation of colonized reproductive labor. The configuration of historical legacies is unpacked through the idea of coloniality, the constitutive dark side of modernity, which reproduces subalternity and exploitation of racialized bodies. The reproductive labour of Korean birth mothers and Indian surrogate mothers is formed and shaped by the colonial and imperial formations of gender, sexuality, kinship and family, in which white supremacy and exploitation of Indian and Korean women was at the core. We argue that these formations are re-configured in the present through three mechanisms that enable contemporary practices of adoption and surrogacy: the transformation of waste into profit, the erasure of non-white mothers, and the trope of the white savior.

“Motherhood, Saliency, and Flattening Effects: World War I and the ‘The Greatest Mother in the World’”

This essay analyzes Alonzo Earl Foringer’s “Greatest Mother in the World” poster, created for the American Red Cross during World War I but circulated in Britain and America during World War I and II. Although the image was highly circulated and reproduced, it has received limited scholarly attention. The analysis examines the poster and a magazine image with accompanying text from a visual rhetoric perspective. The essay argues that the poster and magazine image deploy rhetorics of motherhood and saliency to foster “flattening effects” that not only erase other maternal figures but also elevate ideologies of white supremacy.

The Relationship of Pharmacological Intrathecal Labor Analgesia in Normal Delivery with the Stability of Vital Sign of Newborn

Intrathecal Labor Analgesia (ILA) is a pharmacological therapy technique to reduce delivery pain. The research objective was to determine the relationship between ILA pharmacological therapy in normal delivery and the stability of the vital signs of newborns at X Hospital from January 2018 to May 2020. This study was conducted from September 2020 to January 2021 on 143 normal birth mothers with ILA pharmacological therapy and 943 mothers giving birth normal without pharmacological therapy. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between the APGAR score in the first minute of newborns with ILA pharmacological therapy in normal delivery p value = 0.369, the APGAR score in the fifth minute of newborns with ILA pharmacological therapy in normal delivery p value = 1,000 and the baby's heart rate. newborn with ILA pharmacological therapy in normal delivery p value = 0.616. There is a significant relationship between body temperature of newborns with pharmacological therapy in normal delivery p value = 0.001 and respiratory rate of newborns with pharmacological therapy in normal delivery p value = 0.045. Efforts made include advising mothers to breastfeed on demand, aiming to prevent hypoglycemia, which is a complication that often occurs in hypothermic babies and can cause respiratory problems. Health workers in delivery rooms to be more aware of newborn monitoring.

Introduction: In memoriam: bell hooks, 1952–2021

Introduction: In memoriam: bell hooks, 1952–2021

Kajian Kriminologi Terhadap Kasus Pembunuhan Seorang Bayi Oleh Ibu Kandung

Unwanted pregnancies often end in unlawful acts such as illegal abortions, murder, or the disposal of the baby by the birth mother.
 Therefore, this study aims to find out "How is the chronology of the perpetrator (who is a mother) to kill a baby who is her flesh and blood?" and "What is the driving factor for the crime of infanticide by the birth mother?".
 To obtain data, the writer conducted an interview with Mrs. Ratih Mannul Izzati, SH., MH. as the Panel of Judges of the Magelang District Court and conducted a study on the Decision on Case Number 16/Pid.Sus/2021/PN Mgg.
 The results of this study indicate that the chronology of the perpetrators of killing their babies by trying to have an abortion in early pregnancy but without success. Then on the day the baby was born, the perpetrator killed the baby by putting camphor into the baby's mouth and then strangling it until it suffocated; and the driving factor for the perpetrator of the murder of the baby was a pregnancy out of wedlock which resulted in fear of an illicit relationship with his lover being exposed, because the perpetrator was an only child who was the hope of his parents, besides that the perpetrator was also a victim of the irresponsibility of the man who impregnated him, the reason economy, and panic when finding a newborn baby crying.

Pengetahuan Pengasuhan, Maternal Self-Efficacy, Praktik Pengasuhan, Riwayat Kelahiran, dan Perkembangan Motorik Anak Baduta

The influence of birth history and mother's parenting to motor development have been widely studied . However the importance of parenting knowledge and maternal self-efficacy is not yet clear. This study aims to analyze the effect of parenting knowledge, maternal self-efficacy, parenting practices and birth history to motor development of children aged 1-2 years old. This research is explanatory. The research location was chosen purposively in 5 selected villages is Panggang city, Karangturi city, Wonorejo city, Glagah city, Konang city, in Glagah sub-district in Lamongan city . The population of this study was family has children aged 12-24 months, and from 5 selected villages, 104 children were obtained. The data collected using the self-report method and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results of this study showed that parenting practice (β=4.308; t>1.96) had a positive effect to motor development of children. Parenting practice influenced by maternal self-efficacy (β=3.861; t>1.96), and maternal self-efficacy influenced by parenting knowledge (β=3.472; t>1.96) . Parenting knowledge had a specific indirect effect to motor development through maternal self-efficacy and parenting practice (β=2.043;t>1.96). . Parenting knowledge had a specific indirect effect to parenting practice through m aternal self-efficacy (β= 2.319; t>1.96). M aternal self-efficacy had a specific indirect effect to motor development through parenting practice (β= 2.685; t>1.96).

Genetic Analysis of Birnirk Inuit from the Alaskan North Slope

Archaeological evidence indicates that Birnirk peoples (AD 650 – 1300) are the proposed genetic ancestors of the Thule Inuit (AD 950 – 1400) and are potentially an intermediary population between the Thule Inuit and earlier Old Bering Sea people (AD 1 – 1000). We sequenced the first hypervariable region of the mitochondrial DNA of 22 clearly associated Birnirk individuals from the Piġniq (Birnirk), Kugok, Kugusugaruk, and Nunavak sites on the North Slope of Alaska. Haplotypes A2a, A2a1, A2a3, A2b1, and D4b1a2a1a were identified in this population, demonstrating an expansion of Birnirk maternal genetic diversity. Maternal lineages from these individuals were evaluated with other past and contemporary Inuit populations from the Chukotka Peninsula to eastern Greenland. Our findings confirm Birnirk Inuit as probable maternal ancestors to Thule Inuit and may be among the first peoples possessing these lineages to have moved into the western North American Arctic from the Bering Strait region.

Broad maternal geographic origin of domestic sheep in Anatolia and the Zagros.

We investigated the controversial origin of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) using large samples of contemporary and ancient domestic individuals and their closest wild relatives: the Asiatic mouflon (Ovisgmelini), the urial (Ovisvignei) and the argali (Ovisammon). A phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA, including 213 new cytochrome-b sequences of wild Ovism confirmed that O.gmelini is the maternal ancestor of sheep and precluded mtDNA contributions from O.vignei (and O.gmelini×O.vignei hybrids) to domestic lineages. We also produced 54 new control region sequences showing shared haplogroups (A, B, C and E) between domestic sheep and wild O.gmelini which localized the domestication center in eastern Anatolia and central Zagros, excluding regions further east where exclusively wild haplogroups were found. This overlaps with the geographic distribution of O.gmelini gmelini, further suggesting that the maternal origin of domestic sheep derives from this subspecies. Additionally, we produced 57 new CR sequences of Neolithic sheep remains from a large area covering Anatolia to Europe, showing the early presence of at least three mitochondrial haplogroups (A, B and D) in Western colonization routes. This confirmed that sheep domestication was a large-scale process that captured diverse maternal lineages (haplogroups).

Parenting in the Context of the Child: Genetic and Social Processes.

The focus on the role of parenting in child development has a long-standing history. When measures of parenting precede changes in child development, researchers typically infer a causal role of parenting practices and attitudes on child development. However, this research is usually conducted with parents raising their own biological offspring. Such research designs cannot account for the effects of genes that are common to parents and children, nor for genetically influenced traits in children that influence how they are parented and how parenting affects them. The aim of this monograph is to provide a clearer view of parenting by synthesizing findings from theEarly Growth and Development Study (EGDS). EGDS is a longitudinal study of adopted children, their birth parents, and their rearing parents studied across infancy and childhood. Families (N = 561) were recruited in the United States through adoption agencies between 2000 and 2010. Data collection began when adoptees were 9 months old (males = 57.2%; White 54.5%, Black 13.2%, Hispanic/Latinx 13.4%, Multiracial 17.8%, other 1.1%). The median child age at adoption placement was 2 days (M = 5.58, SD = 11.32). Adoptive parents were predominantlyin their 30s, White, andcoming from upper-middle- or upper-class backgrounds with high educational attainment (a mode at 4-year college or graduate degree). Mostadoptive parents were heterosexual couples, andweremarried at the beginning of the project. The birth parent sample was more racially and ethnically diverse, but the majority (70%) were White. At the beginning of the study, most birth mothers and fathers were in their 20s, with a mode of educational attainment at high school degree, and few of them were married. We have been following these family members over time, assessing their genetic influences, prenatal environment, rearing environment, and child development. Controlling for effects of genes common to parents and children, we confirmed some previously reported associations between parenting, parent psychopathology, and marital adjustment in relation to child problematic and prosocial behavior. We also observed effects of children's heritable characteristics, characteristics thought to be transmitted from parent to child by genetic means, on their parents and how those effects contributed to subsequent child development. For example, we found that genetically influenced child impulsivity and social withdrawal both elicited harsh parenting, whereas a genetically influenced sunny disposition elicited parental warmth. We found numerous instances of children's genetically influenced characteristics that enhanced positive parental influences on child development or that protected them from harsh parenting. Integrating our findings, we propose a new, genetically informed process model of parenting. We posit that parents implicitly or explicitly detect genetically influenced liabilities and assets in their children. We also suggest future research into factors such as marital adjustment, that favor parents responding with appropriate protection or enhancement. Our findings illustrate a productive use of genetic information in prevention research: helping parents respond effectively to a profile of child strengths and challenges rather than using genetic information simply to identify some children unresponsive to current preventive interventions.

The final 25 steps: An adoption love story.

This brief article describes the process of adopting a baby boy immediately after the child is born and the adoptive mother has met the birth mother in the hospital. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Contempt for the Whos? or: How to Read Nietzsche Autobiographically after the Death of the Bios

This paper examines French philosopher Sarah Kofman’s fractured relationships to her identities as Jew and woman. Active participant in postwar debates surrounding deconstruction and psychoanalysis, acclaimed reader of Freud and Nietzsche, and interlocutor of Derrida, Kofman is today most widely remembered for her autobiographical writings about her childhood as a young Orthodox Jewish girl during the Nazi occupation of Paris. Kofman’s mother sent her to pretend to be the daughter of a Christian woman, which both ensured Kofman’s physical survival and led to an uncanny Freudian doubling of the maternal figure, such that both “Jew” and “Christian” became unstable, mimetic identity categories which Kofman could never again fully inhabit. The paper examines Kofman’s writings on Nietzsche, suggesting that her attempt to absolve the German philosopher of the charges of antisemitism oft leveled against him functioned as a similarly failed and incomplete means of asserting control over her personal identity. If Kofman could demonstrate that Nietzsche was not in fact an antisemite, then she could write herself into the lineage of Continental philosophy and reclaim the stable ancestry she lost during the war. Yet the paper concludes that a counter-narrative running throughout Kofman’s writings suggests an awareness that she could never fully absolve Nietzsche, and therefore that her attempt to claim Nietzsche as a father figure would always fail. The paper thus suggests that the illusion of control and stability epitomized by Kofman’s reading of Nietzsche provides an interpretive thematic to understand the unstable figure of the post-Holocaust Jewish philosopher.

Hubungan Riwayat Curettage dengan Kejadian Retensio Plasenta

Retained placenta is the unborn placenta after 30 minutes of the childbirth. Factors that cause retained placenta include maternal age, parity, curettage history, history of cesarean section, history of endometritis, and placenta previa. According to WHO, retained placenta was the factor that contributed 15-20% of maternal mortality rate. In Indonesia, the incidence of retained placenta in 2015 was 40.3%. In East Java itself, the incidence was 53.7% in 2015. Furthermore, in the Hospital of Permata Bunda Malang City, the incidence was 30.7% in January 2018 alone. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between curettage history and the incidence of retained placenta of birth mothers in the Hospital of Permata Bunda, Malang City. This study used a Correlation design with Cross- sectional approach. The population in this study were 95 mothers with a sample of 76 respondents who delivered the baby normally. The sampling technique implemented was the Simple Random Sampling. The method of data analysis was Chi-square analysis. Based on the result, it was found that 35 responden (46.1%) had a history of curettage, 39 respondents (51.3%) had retained placenta, and 26 respondents (34.2%) who had curettage history had retained placenta. The result of Chi-square analysis demonstrated p-value 0,001 (< α 0,05). Therefore, it can be concluded that there was a significant relationship between curettage history and the incidence of retained placenta.

Experiences of Mothers Who Relinquished Their Child for Adoption in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study.

The literature suggests long-term consequences and lack of support for birthmothers following relinquishment of their child for adoption (Memarnia in Listening to the experience of birth mothers whose children have been taken into care or adopted, 2014). But there was not any work done to study in-depth experiences of birthmothers after giving away their child in Pakistan. So, the purpose of the present study was to explore the experiences of mothers who relinquished their child for adoption. As the present study was intended to explore lived experiences of a particular group, the phenomenological research design was used to conduct this qualitative study. An interview protocol was devised to explore the experiences of birthmothers. The sample was comprised of five birthmothers who relinquished their child for adoption and fulfilled the criteria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the birthmothers, and all the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed before analysis. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to interpret the transcripts of interviews. Further, data verification was done through peer scrutiny, by debriefing sessions with the supervisor, and enriches the description of the phenomenon. Four main themes were emerged: Reasons to Relinquish, Psychological Distress, Coping Strategies, and Disenfranchised Grief. The study present that the experience of relinquishment has a negative impact on birthmother and highlights the need for proper measures to regulate the process of adoption and involvement of psychologists during the process of adoption. Moreover, it stresses the need for acknowledgment of the experience and psychological services for birthmothers who relinquish their child.

Medication-Associated Phthalate Exposure and Childhood Cancer Incidence.

Human phthalate exposure is widespread through contact with myriad consumer products. Exposure is particularly high through medications formulated with phthalates. Phthalates disrupt normal endocrine signaling and are associated with reproductive outcomes and incidence of some cancers. We measured associations between gestational and childhood medication-associated phthalate exposures and the incidence of childhood cancers. We identified all live births in Denmark between 1997 and 2017, including both children and birth mothers. Using drug ingredient data merged with the Danish National Prescription Registry, we measured phthalate exposure through filled prescriptions for mothers during pregnancy (gestational exposure) and for children from birth until age 19 years (childhood exposure). Incident childhood cancers were ascertained from the Danish Cancer Registry, and associations were estimated with Cox regression models. Among 1 278 685 children, there were 2027 childhood cancer cases diagnosed over 13.1 million person-years of follow-up. Childhood phthalate exposure was strongly associated with incidence of osteosarcoma (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.63 to 4.75). We also observed a positive association with incidence of lymphoma (HR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.36 to 3.14), driven by associations with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma but not Burkitt lymphoma. Associations were apparent only for exposure to low-molecular phthalates, which have purportedly greater biological activity. Childhood phthalate exposure was associated with incidence of osteosarcoma and lymphoma before age 19 years. Lingering questions include which specific phthalate(s) are responsible for these associations, by what mechanisms they occur, and to what extent childhood cancer cases could be avoided by reducing or eliminating the phthalate content of medications and other consumer products.