Higher Birth Research Articles

SINGAPORE'S DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION, THE LABOR FORCE AND GOVERNMENT POLICIES: THE LAST FIFTY YEARS

The trajectory of Singapore's population size and composition can be mapped out with its progression through the various phases of demographic transition from high birth and death rates in the post-war years to very low birth and death rates today, all within the context of rapid economic and social development that has taken place in the past 50 years. Population planning has been integral in Singapore's national development strategy, balancing the economy's needs for more and better qualified workers with social considerations such as the dependency burden and the integration of large numbers of foreigners in a global city-state. This paper considers Singapore's population and manpower planning policies, with an account of the country's passage through the various stages of its demographic transition, and how its working age population composition has evolved. Population and labor force policies are examined with specific consideration of the social, economic and political implications resulting from those policy choices. A final section considers the challenges for the future stemming from these demographic trends.

Health Risks of Higher Birth Weight, Rapid Growth, Early Maturation and Taller Height

Background: For over 100 years, the medical community has assumed that promoting higher birth weight, faster growth, early maturation and taller height assures better health and longevity. In 2005, this assumption was challenged and a hypothesis was proposed that the obesity epidemic is driven by higher birth weight, rapid growth rate, early sexual maturity and excessive height. Over the last 10 years, much research has evolved that supports this alternative hypothesis. Objectives: To provide additional evidence to support the hypothesis that the obesity epidemic and various health problems are due to increasing birth weight, rapid growth, early sexual maturation and excessive height growth. Materials and Methods: A collection of over 5000 papers, reports and books provided a variety of findings for this report. Publications dealing with the issues discussed in the original 2005 paper were obtained from this collection of documents. Additional material was obtained from internet sources, such as on-line journals and reports. Results: Scores of research and review papers provide substantial support for an alternative hypothesis on obesity and human health. The research supports the dangers of the modern diet that promotes greater birth weight and accelerated childhood growth. Evidence is also presented that early sexual maturity and bigger body size promote health problems and reduce longevity. In addition, data based on millions of deaths, indicates that taller height is related to reduced longevity under similar nutrition and lifestyle conditions. Conclusions: It is recommended that traditional assumptions be re-evaluated on the risks related to higher birth weight, rapid growth, early maturity and increased height and weight.

Comparison of cord blood vitamin D levels in newborns of vitamin D supplemented and unsupplemented pregnant women: a prospective, comparative study

Objective: To screen pregnant women for deficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and supplement selected vitamin D deficient pregnant women with vitamin D and to compare 25(OH)D levels in cord blood between them.Method: Sixty pregnant women were selected as cases (vitamin D levels <30 ng/ml) and 60 unscreened pregnant women were taken as controls. Cases were supplemented with available 60 000 IU vitamin D every two weeks for eight doses or till delivery, whichever was earlier. In both the cases and controls, cord blood was collected at the time of delivery and tested for 25(OH)D levels using Biomerieux miniVIDAS.Result: Maximum (66.7%) pregnant women who received vitamin D supplementation had cord blood vitamin D level >30 ng/ml, while only 3.3% unsupplemented pregnant women had cord blood vitamin D level >30 ng/ml. The median cord blood vitamin D level was 36.5 ng/ml in vitamin D supplemented and 11.35 ng/ml in unsupplemented women. The mean birth weight and mean crown heel length were 3.1 ± 0.485 kg versus 2.8 ± 0.705 kg and 49.35 ± 1.36 cm versus 48.67 ± 2.12 cm, respectively.Conclusion: Vitamin D supplemented women had sufficient levels of 25(OH)D in cord blood at birth in maximum cases and neonates had higher birth weights and increased crown heel length.

Malthus in Sweden

AbstractThis paper presents some new and unique cross‐county data from 19th‐century Sweden over birth, death, and marriage rates, grain prices, and harvests. Local grain prices correlate negatively with local harvests, suggesting imperfectly integrated food markets. The so‐called positive and preventive checks are also present: good local harvests are associated with high birth and marriage rates, and low death rates. We also find that the fertility and marriage effects from changes in prices – but not harvests – are greater in counties that rely more on manufacturing, consistent with an open‐economy model of fertility choice, where agents earn income from both agriculture and manufacturing.

Pregnancy outcome and placental pathology differences in term gestational diabetes with and without hypertensive disorders

Objective: To compare pregnancy outcome and placental pathology in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM A1 and A2), with and without hypertensive disorders. Methods: Pregnancy outcome and placental pathology from term deliveries of women complicated with GDM with (GDM + H) and without (GDM − H) hypertensive disorders were compared. Results of the GDM + H group were compared also with the non-diabetic patients but with hypertensive disorders (non-GDM + H). Composite neonatal outcome was defined as one or more of early complications: respiratory distress or need of ventilation support, sepsis, phototherapy, transfusion, seizure, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Placental lesions were categorized to lesions related to maternal and fetal vascular supply abnormalities, and maternal and fetal inflammatory responses. Results: Of the 192 women with GDM, the GDM + H group (n = 41) were more obese, p < 0.001, with higher rate of placental maternal and fetal vascular supply lesions, p = 0.008, p = 0.03, respectively, but similar neonatal outcome, compared to the GDM − H (n = 151) group. Compared to the non-GDM + H group (n = 41), the GDM + H group had higher birth weights, similar neonatal outcome and similar rate of placental vascular lesions. Conclusions: Higher rate of placental maternal and fetal vascular supply lesions express underlying placental pathology in women with diabetes and hypertensive disorders, similar to women without DM and with hypertensive complications.

Modifying diet and physical activity to support pregnant women who are overweight or obese.

Overweight and obesity represent a significant health burden during pregnancy, placing women and their infants at increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Although there is considerable observational literature describing the effect of gestational weight gain in pregnancy, research efforts have focused on limiting gestational weight gain among pregnant women who are overweight or obese, with limited reporting of clinical outcomes. The LIMIT randomized trial recruited 2212 pregnant women with a BMI at least 25 kg/m2. Providing an antenatal dietary and lifestyle intervention was associated with significant improvements in maternal diet and physical activity patterns, and a significant reduction in the risk of infants being born with high birth weight. The findings of the LIMIT randomized trial provide the first evidence that changes in maternal diet and physical activity during pregnancy can reduce the risk of high infant birth weight among women who are overweight or obese, and from a public health perspective, may represent a significant strategy to tackle the increasing problem of childhood and adulthood obesity.

Differences in Birth Weight Associated with the 2008 Beijing Olympics Air Pollution Reduction: Results from a Natural Experiment.

BackgroundPrevious studies have reported decreased birth weight associated with increased air pollutant concentrations during pregnancy. However, it is not clear when during pregnancy increases in air pollution are associated with the largest differences in birth weight.ObjectivesUsing the natural experiment of air pollution declines during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, we evaluated whether having specific months of pregnancy (i.e., 1st…8th) during the 2008 Olympics period was associated with larger birth weights, compared with pregnancies during the same dates in 2007 or 2009.MethodsUsing n = 83,672 term births to mothers residing in four urban districts of Beijing, we estimated the difference in birth weight associated with having individual months of pregnancy during the 2008 Olympics (8 August–24 September 2008) compared with the same dates in 2007 and 2009. We also estimated the difference in birth weight associated with interquartile range (IQR) increases in mean ambient particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations during each pregnancy month.ResultsBabies whose 8th month of gestation occurred during the 2008 Olympics were, on average, 23 g larger (95% CI: 5 g, 40 g) than babies whose 8th month occurred during the same calendar dates in 2007 or 2009. IQR increases in PM2.5 (19.8 μg/m3), CO (0.3 ppm), SO2 (1.8 ppb), and NO2 (13.6 ppb) concentrations during the 8th month of pregnancy were associated with 18 g (95% CI: –32 g, –3 g), 17 g (95% CI: –28 g, –6 g), 23 g (95% CI: –36 g, –10 g), and 34 g (95% CI: –70 g, 3 g) decreases in birth weight, respectively. We did not see significant associations for months 1–7.ConclusionsShort-term decreases in air pollution late in pregnancy in Beijing during the 2008 Summer Olympics, a normally heavily polluted city, were associated with higher birth weight.CitationRich DQ, Liu K, Zhang J, Thurston SW, Stevens TP, Pan Y, Kane C, Weinberger B, Ohman-Strickland P, Woodruff TJ, Duan X, Assibey-Mensah V, Zhang J. 2015. Differences in birth weight associated with the 2008 Beijing Olympics air pollution reduction: results from a natural experiment. Environ Health Perspect 123:880–887; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408795

Neonatal variables, altitude of residence and Aymara ancestry in northern Chile.

Studies performed in the Andean plateau, one of the highest inhabited areas in the world, have reported that reduced availability of oxygen is associated to fetal growth retardation and lower birth weight, which are established predictors of morbidity and mortality during the first year of life. To test this hypothesis, perinatal variables of neonates born at the Juan Noé Hospital of Arica, Chile, were analyzed in relation to altitude of residence and Aymara ancestry of their mothers. The study population comprised the offspring of 5,295 mothers born between February 2004 and August 2010. Information included birth weight, height, head circumference, gestational age, altitude of residence and socioeconomic status, and was obtained from medical records. Mother´s ancestry was assessed based on surnames which were linked to percentages of Aymara admixture estimates relying on 40 selected ancestry informative markers. After correcting for the effect of multicollinearity among predictor variables, neonates born to mothers with an increased component of Aymara ancestry showed significantly higher birth weight and height at sea level, a marginally significant (p-value 0.06) decrease of birth weight and a significant decrease of height with altitude in comparison with the offspring of mothers with low Aymara ancestry. Since observed tendencies are suggestive of a possible genetic adaptation to hypoxia of the Chilean Aymara, we discuss briefly preliminary evidence related to fetal oxygen transport, particularly polymorphisms in the promoters of the HBG1 and HBG2 genes that are modulators of HbF synthesis, obtained in this ethnic group.

Evaluation of bone metabolism in newborn twins using quantitative ultrasound and biochemical parameters

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) is one of the important complications of prematurity. Early and adequate nutritional interventions may reduce the incidence and potential complications of MBD. The present study aimed to evaluate bone metabolism in twins via biochemical parameters and quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and to compare the results between twin pairs. Moreover, twin infants were evaluated in terms of potential risk factors likely to have impact on MBD. Forty-three pairs of twins were included in the study. Serum calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and alkaline phosphatase concentrations were assessed and bone mineral density was measured using QUS (speed of sound, SOS) at postnatal 30 d. Co-twin with the higher birth weight was assigned to Group 1 (n = 36) and the other twin was assigned to Group 2 (n = 36). Birth weight and head circumference were significantly higher in the infants of Group 1 compared with Group 2. No significant difference was found among the groups in terms of gender, history of resuscitation, length of stay in intensive care unit (ICU) or in the incubator, duration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN), type of nutrition, vitamin D use, biochemical parameters, and the SOS value. The factors likely to affect SOS, including type of pregnancy, maternal drug use, gender of infant, birth weight, head circumference at birth, gestational week, length of stay at the ICU, duration of TPN, type of nutrition, resuscitation, vitamin D use, and levels of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and alkaline phosphatase were entered into the model. The phosphorus level and the maternal drug use were found to be the factors that significantly reduced SOS, whereas pregnancy after assisted reproductive techniques was found to be a significant enhancing factor.

5-Methyl-tetrahydrofolate in prevention of recurrent preeclampsia

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) supplementation in prevention of recurrent preeclampsia.Methods: Retrospective cohort of women who received daily oral 5-MTHF 15 mg supplementation as prophylactic treatment since first trimester for recurrent preeclampsia were compared with women who did not. All asymptomatic singleton gestations with prior preeclampsia (in the previous pregnancy) were included. Women with chronic hypertension were excluded. The primary outcome was the incidence of preeclampsia.Results: Three hundred and three singleton gestation met the inclusion criteria: 157 received 5-MTHF, while 146 did not (control group). Women who received 5-MTHF had a significantly lower incidence of recurrent overall preeclampsia (21.7% versus 39.7%; odds ratio (OR) 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.25, 0.69), severe preeclampsia (3.2% versus 8.9%; OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.12–0.97) and early-onset preeclampsia (1.9% versus 7.5%; OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.07–0.87) compared to control. The intervention group delivered about 10 d after the control and had higher birth weight.Conclusion: This retrospective study showed that women with prior preeclampsia who received daily oral 5-MTHF 15 mg supplementation had a significantly lower incidence of overall preeclampsia, severe preeclampsia and early-onset preeclampsia. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm our findings.

Abstract MP19: Higher Parity is Associated With Components of the Metabolic Syndrome Among U.S. Hispanic/Latina Women: Results From the HCHS/SOL Study

Background: Physiologic adaptations occurring across successive pregnancies may increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular health outcomes in later life. Previous studies have found an association between higher parity and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, no studies have examined this association in a Hispanic/Latina population. Hispanic women have a higher prevalence of the MetS and higher birth rates than non-Hispanic women. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis that higher parity is associated with the prevalence of components of the MetS in a cohort of Hispanic/Latina women. Methods: There were 9,482 Hispanic/Latina women of diverse backgrounds, aged 18-74 years, who participated in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) from 2008-2011. Components of the MetS were defined according to the AHA/NHLBI criteria and included abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥88cm), elevated triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL), low HDL cholesterol (&lt;50mg/dL), high blood pressure (systolic ≥130mmHg or diastolic ≥85mmHg or on medication), and elevated fasting glucose (≥100mg/dL or on medication). Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios for the association between parity and components of the MetS, adjusting for sociodemographic, behavioral, and reproductive characteristics, and accounting for the complex survey design and sampling weights. Results: At HCHS/SOL baseline, women reported none (19.2%), one (18.9%), two (25.3%), three (19.7%), four (9.3%), and five or more (7.6%) prior live births. Compared to women with only one live birth, women with four live births had the highest odds of abdominal obesity (OR=2.5, 95% CI 1.8, 3.3) and those with five or more live births had the highest odds of low HDL cholesterol (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.2, 1.9), elevated glucose (OR=1.8, 95% CI 1.3, 2.3), elevated triglycerides (OR=1.4, 95% CI 1.01, 1.8), and high blood pressure (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 2.0), after adjusting for age, Hispanic background, education, marital status, income, nativity, smoking, physical activity, menopause status, oral contraceptive use, hormone replacement therapy, and field center. Further adjustment for body mass index attenuated these associations for all MetS components, including abdominal obesity (OR=1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 2.2), low HDL cholesterol (OR=1.3, 95% CI 1.03, 1.7), and elevated glucose (OR=1.6, 95% CI 1.2, 2.1), but the associations for triglycerides and blood pressure were no longer statistically significant. Conclusion: Higher parity is associated with the prevalence of selected components of the MetS among U.S. Hispanic/Latina women. High parity among Latinas with a high prevalence of abdominal obesity suggests a context of high risk for metabolic dysregulation. A better characterization of the links between pregnancy, adiposity, and body fat distribution is needed.

The Association of High Birth Weight With Intelligence in Young Adulthood

We aimed to explore why, in population studies, the positive association between normal-range birth weight and intelligence becomes negative at the highest birth weights. The study population comprised 217,746 Norwegian male singletons born at term between 1967 and 1976. All had data on birth weight and intelligence quotient (IQ) score at the time of military conscription; 137,574 had data on sibling birth weights; and 62,906 had data on male sibling birth weights. We estimated associations between birth weight and IQ score by ordinary least squares regression for the total study population and by fixed-effects regression for comparisons of brothers. The crude mean IQ score was 1.2 points (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.3, 2.2) lower for those with birth weights of 5,000 g or more compared with the reference group (with birth weights of 4,000-4,499 g). This difference leveled off to 0.0 (95% CI: -0.8, 0.9) in multivariable ordinary least squares regression and reversed to 2.2 points (95% CI: 0.3, 4.2) higher in fixed-effects regression. Results differed mainly because, at a given birth weight, participants who had a sibling with macrosomia had a lower mean IQ score. Nevertheless, within families with 1 or more macrosomic siblings, as in other families, men with higher birth weights tended to have higher IQ scores. Thus, a family-level confounder introduces a cross-level bias that cannot be detected in individual-level studies. We suggest ways in which future studies might elucidate the nature of this confounder.

The association between maternal parity and birth defects

Previous studies observed that first birth is associated with an increased risk of some categories of birth defects. However, multiple statistical tests were conducted and it was unclear which of these associations would be replicated in a larger study. We used a large database to assess the association between maternal parity and 65 birth defects including birth defects that have not been previously studied. Using data from the Texas Birth Defects Registry for years 1999-2009, the risk of a birth defect occurring in a first, third, or fourth or higher birth was compared to the risk of a birth defect occurring in a second birth. Women having their first birth had significantly increased odds of having an infant with 24 of 65 categories of birth defects when compared to women having their second birth. We also observed associations between first birth and an increased risk of five birth defects not previously reported (small penis, preaxial polydactyly, anomalies of the thoracic vertebrae, anomalies of the lumbar vertebrae, and sacroccygeal anomalies). Women having their third or fourth or higher birth had significantly increased odds of giving birth to infants with five of 65 birth defects when compared to second births. Our observations regarding the categories of birth defects that were associated with first births were highly consistent with observations from two previous studies. Research into biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that may increase the risk of specific birth defects among first births is needed to further explore these associations.

Cause of Devotion in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Theology

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Devotion (bhakti) is the defining religious practice and central theological concept of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, and this article is about the catalytic event that is said to instigate bhakti in the non-devoted. I examine how Jīva Gosvāmin (c. 1517–1608) and Viśvanātha Cakravartin (fl. 1679–1709), two important theologians in this tradition, argue that the cause of bhakti in the non-devoted is a meeting with a devotee. In this meeting, the non-devoted may develop conviction (śraddhā), which in turn gives him or her the motivation to continue along the path of bhakti, the steps of which were charted in the Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu of Rūpa Gosvāmin (c. 1470–1555). Based on a few key passages from the Gauḍīya’s primary scriptural source, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Jīva and Viśvanātha argue that this conviction for bhakti is developed spontaneously (yadṛcchayā). Since the spontaneous conviction to practice bhakti can only occur in sādhu-saṅga, or a meeting with a devotee, what causes that meeting? The devotee always acts freely and independently (like the Lord Kṛṣṇa himself); thus his or her motivation to meet and inspire conviction in the non-devoted is not reducible to a divine plan, divine grace, the piety (or impiety) of the receiver, special features of the receiver’s soul, high birth, or any other designation. Rather, the cause of sādhu-saṅga is the bhakti “living in the heart” of a devotee. This bhakti makes the devotee feel compassion (kṛpā) toward the non-devoted, which leads him or her to provide sādhu-saṅga, which then creates conviction (śraddhā), which eventually leads to bhakti.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Growth performance of genetically modified tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cultured in concrete pond

Reproductive data from 24 does (Chinchilla X New Zealand White) of twenty weeks, were analyzed to determine the effect of generation, housing systems and season on the reproductive performance of rabbits raised in the humid tropics. The experiment was carried out during four seasons namely: early dry season (EDS-September to November), late dry season (LDS- December to February), early rainy season (ERS-March to May) and late rainy season (LRS June to August). The study was repeated in the second generation and the data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance in a 2x2x4 factorial arrangement. Factors considered were generations, housing systems, and seasons respectively. Highest breeding efficiency of 83.33% was obtained in the first generation and maximum litter size at birth (35) and weaning (28) were observed in caged-does that kindled in EDS of first and second generations respectively, while does housed on deep litter system produced the smallest litter size at birth (24) and weaning (18) in the ERS of the second generation. Highest (12) and least (4) pre-weaning losses were recorded in caged-does that kindled in ERS of the first and second generation respectively, whereas highest average birth weight (120.58g) was observed in litters of deep litter-does that kindled in EDS of the second generation. These results indicated that the production of rabbits for breeding purposes is better achieved during early dry season (September-November) and also revealed that deep litter system allows satisfactory performance and has comparative advantage over wooden cage system considering the reduction in housing cost and can be used to improve the nutritional status of the family and also to obtain some supplementary income. Keywords: Season, Breeding efficiency, Litter size, Cage, Deep litter

Effect of Early Cumulus Cell Removal on the Fertilization and Clinical Outcome in Human &amp;lt;i&amp;gt;in Vitro&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; Fertilization

The short-term insemination technique has been widely applied, although it is not clear whether the mechanical desorption of cumulus cells can affect normal fertilization and birth outcomes. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate whether early cumulus cell removal could affect in vitro fertilization outcomes. Based on a history of infertility and semen analysis, 61 patients were identified, and the cumulus cells were mechanically removed at either6 h post-insemination (Group A, 387 mature oocytes) or 18 - 20 h post-insemination as traditional in vitro fertilization (Group B, 424 mature oocytes). There were no significant differences in the rates of fertilization, available embryos, high quality embryos, birth, premature birth, pregnancy, or implantation when we compared the two groups. However, Group A exhibited a significantly higher polyspermy rate, and significantly lower rates of blastocyst formation and high-quality blastocyst formation, compared with Group B. Therefore, the results of present study indicate that early cumulus cell removal (at 6 h post-insemination) may negatively affect the rates of polyspermy, blastocyst formation, and high-quality blastocyst formation.

Sociodemographic and Obstetrical Factors Associated with Low Birth Weight: Community Based Retrospective Study in an Urban Slum of Western India

Aim: This study aimed to find out association between low birth weight and sociodemographic factors, obstetrical factors and ante natal care. The study also helped to recognize whether the known risk factors of low birth weight still exists or their relation is modified in current era in urban slum area of Surat city in Western India. Methods: This study is a part of large scale survey conducted to assess reproductive and child health services in Surat city in Western India. In this large scale study, out of 1004 community based ‘Maternal and Child Day Care Centre’, 30 centre were selected by using cluster sampling design. In the selected areas a household survey was conducted to assess maternal and child healthcare status. Birth weight less than 2500gm was considered as low birth weight and association of study variables with low birth weight was find out using Chi-square and Odds Ratio. Results: Among the 322 mothers interviewed, 51.6% were of 20-24 years of age; 97.2% were having antenatal registration; 35.7% had high risk pregnancy; 9.6% were working; 23.3% had birth interval ≤2 years. Low birth weight rate was 20.5%. High risk pregnancy, preterm birth and birth interval ≤2 years shows statistically significant (p

The Effectiveness of Glyburide Compared to Insulin in the Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review

Background: Insulin therapy has been the mainstay in managing women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but some disadvantages of insulin have led to the use of glyburide, which is in- expensive in some countries, to manage GDM. However, there has been debate over its effective- ness, efficacy and safety when compared to insulin for maternal glycaemic control, and some ad- verse neonatal outcomes in GDM. Method: A systematic review of eight randomised controlled trial (RCT) studies was undertaken to compare glyburide and insulin. Studies involving 849 parti- cipants were included in the quantitative analysis. Results: There was no significant difference be- tween glyburide and insulin in maternal fasting (P = 0.09; SMD: 0.13; 95% CI: −0.02 to 0.28) and postprandial (P = 0.45; SMD: 0.05; 95% CI: −0.09 to 0.19) glycaemic control and glycosylated hae- moglobin (P = 0.35; SMD: 0.08; 95% CI: −0.08 to 0.24). When compared with insulin, glyburide had an increase risk ratio (RR) for neonatal hypoglycaemia (P = 0.0002; RR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.47 to 3.51) and large for gestational age babies (P = 0.03; RR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.41). Estimation of stan- dard mean difference shows that neonatal birth weight was significantly higher in subjects re- ceiving glyburide than in the insulin group (P = 0.002; SMD: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.35). Conclu- sions: Glyburide was seen to be clinically effective and a safer alternative to insulin for maternal glycaemic control in GDM women. It is affordable, convenient and requires no comprehensive educative training at the time of initiation of therapy. However, its adverse outcomes—neonatal hypoglycaemia, high neonatal birth weight and large for gestational age babies—call for careful monitoring of GDM patients for any need for supplemental insulin.

Maternal and child nutrition: The first 1,000 days

Maternal and child nutrition: The first 1,000 days

Non-genetic factors affecting birth weight of shahabadi lambs

A study was undertaken in 105 flocks in the breeding tract (Buxar, Bhojpur and Rohtas districts of Bihar) of Shahabadi sheep to analyse the effect of non-genetic factors (location, flock size, season, sex, and type of birth,) on birth weight. The overall least squares mean of birth weight in Shahabadi lambs was 2.34±0.03 kg. All the non-genetic factors except flock size had significant (P<0.01) effect on birth weight. Lambs reared at Buxar and Bihiya blocks of Buxar district, winter season, male lambs and lambs born as single, registered higher birth weights. The findings of the study could be useful to breeders for considering these factors which had significant effect on the birth weight during the selection of animals for future breeding programme.