Nutrition status during adolescent pregnancy and childbearing is a complex, multifaceted condition that can impact the health status of the teen mother and her baby. Adolescent mothers are at higher risk for low birth weight infants because of the unique dietary requirements needed to accommodate for both the growth needs of the adolescent mother and her unborn child. The purpose of this research was to examine dietary interventions that have the greatest effect on fetal birth weight outcomes in adolescent mothers. Secondly, this study explored dietary nutrients effective in reducing the likelihood of complications commonly associated with low birth weight infants in adolescent pregnancy. A systematic literature review was conducted from the following online databases: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medical Literature On-line (MEDLINE), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and PsycInfo. Initial search terms included 'adolescent', 'nutrition', 'diet', and 'prenatal'. Further search items included 'weight' and 'outcome'. Selected articles included those published between 2000-2013, written in English, and peer-reviewed. Significant evidence supported positive birth weight outcomes for dietary supplementation with zinc and calcium, and BMI-specific weight gains for adolescent pregnancy. No significant evidence was provided on the effect of iron and fatty acid composition on birth weight outcomes. Results for other dietary interventions and their effects on fetal birth weight were either inconclusive or absent. Discovering dietary interventions that work best in prenatal care of adolescent populations will allow for more individually-tailored, dietary specific interventions to be developed to combat the prevalence of low fetal birth weight infants in adolescent pregnancy.

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The incidence of Low Birth Weight (LBW) babies born in the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital would seem to be a cause of concern from a public health of view. The incidence of 21% recorded during 1999 is markedly higher than the 7% recorded in the United States of America in 1998 and the average of 17% noted for developing countries. Some health concerns related to LBW babies are Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, scholastic performances later in life, and several chronic diseases in adults associated with them having been born as LBW babies.

This study attempted to determine variables significant in predicting use of and changes in use of prenatal care; infant mortality; and the relationship between prenatal care and infant birth weight. The data were collected from birth and death certificates at the Public Health Department in Dallas, Texas. Data were tested using analysis of variance, Scheffe' test, and Chi-square. A mother's age, race, income level, marital status, and parity were found to be significant factors in use of prenatal care, and use of care was found to have begun earlier in recent years. Likewise, birth weight was found to be related to the trimester prenatal care began. Conclusions concerning infant mortality could not be drawn due to insufficient data.

Thesis (MA. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2004. / Refer to the document

Abstract Identifying Data Needs to Support the Public Health Program of First Care Background: First Care (FC) is a Georgia (GA) public health (PH) program funded by Title V Block Grant, whose main purpose is to provide collaborative skilled PH services for infants with LBW and VLBW (low and very low birth weight) as well as those considered at high risk for illness and disabilities. Purpose: 1. Describe current health outcomes of GA infants less than one years of age. * Current baselines of IMR (infant mortality rate), preterm, very low birth weight (VLBW) and low birth weight (LBW) births 2. Use data to inform FC program in order to improve overall health outcomes in LBW, VLBW and preterm infants less than 1 years of age in GA as well as IMR. * Identifying common diagnoses and reasons for the hospitalization of infants less than one. Methods: Several online secondary data sources containing GA birth outcomes were evaluated. These sources were used to produce most current or 2008, GA and national profiles on health outcomes such as IMR, preterm, LBW and VLBW births. SAS was used to evaluate OHIP (Office of Health Information and Policy) hospital discharges in 2008 to determine common diagnosis affecting GA children under 1 years of age. Results: National comparisons of health outcomes revealed that GA consistently ranks below the national average for IMR, preterm, VLBW, and LBW births. GA’s poor health outcomes are also seen when compared to Healthy People 2010 objectives. A comparison of GA public health districts (PHD) health outcomes demonstrates lagging indicators mainly in the southern and midsection (central section) of GA. This study also revealed racial disparities indicating Blacks falling behind in all health outcomes when compared to Whites and Hispanics. Statistical analysis of hospital discharges showed that the top 25 discharges reflect common conditions that affect high-risk infants such as preterm, VLBW and LBW infants. Higher rates of morbidity were found in the southern and central PHDs of GA. Conclusion: The purpose for FC is to provide current data baselines on health outcomes of GA infants less than one year of age, as well as information regarding current hospitalizations. Current results are only preliminary findings underscoring the need for continued research. By emphasizing their need for monitoring will allow FC to focus on this critical role that will only grow with an expanding population in GA.

The incidence of Low Birth Weight (LBW) babies born in the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital would seem to be a cause of concern from a public health of view. The incidence of 21% recorded during 1999 is markedly higher than the 7% recorded in the United States of America in 1998 and the average of 17% noted for developing countries. Some health concerns related to LBW babies are Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, scholastic performances later in life, and several chronic diseases in adults associated with them having been born as LBW babies.

A world-wide series of epidemiological studies has demonstrated that there is an association between being born small and the risk of visceral obesity, a more central deposition of subcutaneous fat and insulin resistance in adult life. In the lamb, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) results in a low birth weight and an increased visceral fat mass by 45d of postnatal life. In this thesis I have investigated the effect of IUGR on adipose tissue development and function during fetal and early postnatal life in the sheep. IUGR was induced by removal of the majority of endometrial caruncles in non pregnant ewes prior to mating which resulted in the subsequent placental restriction of fetal growth (PR). Fetal blood samples were collected from 116d gestation and visceral perirenal adipose tissue (PAT) collected from PR and control fetuses at 145d. In lambs IUGR was defined as a birth weight less than 2 standard deviations below the mean of a cohort of singleton Merino lambs. Blood samples were collected throughout the first 3 weeks of life and PAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) was collected at 21 d. It was determined whether IUGR alters the expression of genes which regulate adipogenesis (IGF1, IGFR1, IGF2, IGFR2, PPARy, and RXRα), adipocyte metabolism (LPL, G3PDH, GAPDH) and adipokine signalling (leptin, adiponectin) in adipose tissue depots before and after birth using qRT-PCR. PR fetuses were hypoglycaemic, hypoinsulinaemic, hypoxic, and had a lower body weight than Control fetuses. The expression of both IGF1 and leptin mRNA in PAT, the major fetal adipose depot, was lower in the PR fetuses, although there was no difference in the expression of other adipokine or adipogenic genes in PAT between PR and control fetuses. Thus restriction of placental and hence fetal substrate supply results in decreased IGF1 and leptin expression in fetal visceral adipose tissue which may alter the functional development of the perirenal fat depot and contribute to altered leptin signalling in the growth restricted newborn and the subsequent emergence of an increased visceral adiposity. At 21d of postnatal life there was no increase in the relative mass of perirenal or subcutaneous fat in IUGR lambs compared with controls. Thus, this study has investigated the effect of IUGR on the development of adipose tissue prior to the development of an obese phenotype. At 21d of life there was a sex specific effect of IUGR on the expression of PPARy and leptin mRNA in perirenal visceral fat such that PPARy and leptin mRNA expression was decreased in male IUGR lambs, but not females. Interestingly PAT mass was greater in females than males, independent of birth weight. Plasma insulin concentrations during the first 24h after birth predicted the size of the adipocytes and expression of adiponectin in visceral adipose tissue in both males and females at 21d. Thus, the nutritional environment before, and immediately after birth, may program adipocyte growth and gene expression in visceral adipose tissue. The differential effect of sex and birth weight on PPARy and leptin expression in visceral fat may be important in the subsequent development of visceral obesity and the insulin resistant phenotype in later life. At 21d of life there was no difference between Control and IUGR lambs in the relative mass of subcutaneous fat, or the expression of PPARy, RXRα, leptin, adiponectin, LPL, G3PDH, and GAPDH in subcutaneous fat at 21d of life. We have shown that the growth of the subcutaneous fat depot is related to plasma glucose, insulin and leptin concentrations, and to the development of perirenal fat. Thus, in contrast to perirenal adipose tissue, the postnatal, but not the fetal nutritional environment, programs subcutaneous adipocyte growth and gene expression. This thesis speculates that there may be a factor secreted from visceral fat that influences the development of the subcutaneous fat depot. At 21d of life there was also an effect of sex, but not IUGR, on the expression of IGF mRNA in adipose tissue. Male lambs had a higher expression of IGF1 mRNA in both PAT and SAT, and a higher expression of IGF1R and IGF2R in SAT compared with female lambs. It is likely that these differences in IGF mRNA levels reflect sexual dimorphism of the GH-IGF axis. When male and female lambs were combined there was a higher expression of IGF1 mRNA in SAT compared with PAT, and a higher expression of IGF2, IGF1R and IGF2R mRNA in PAT compared with SAT. These differences in IGF mRNA expression provide a potential mechanism to explain the sex and depot specific variations in mitogenic potency of IGF1 and proliferative capacities of preadipocytes, the regional variation in adipocyte metabolism, and the difference in incidence of visceral obesity between men and women in adult life. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1347421 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, 2008