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Relationship between group B Streptococcal rectovaginal colonization and Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women

Vitamin D has been recognized to have a significant impact on modulating immune response in the host body. The relationship between deficiency of Vitamin D and rectovaginal colonization with Group B Streptococcus (GBS) in pregnant women is still not well understood. 

A Scoping Review of Methodologies Exploring Diet and Health Outcomes in Lactating Women: What Has Been Done and Where to Next?

Developing dietary guidelines for lactating women presents significant challenges, due to limited evidence being available on their specific nutrient needs and the biological impacts of various dietary dimensions. Current dietary recommendations often rely on data from nonlactating women, leading to potential inaccuracies.

Repetitive negative thinking during pregnancy - The role of biased information seeking and negative prenatal expectations

Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) during pregnancy is a key risk factor for psychopathology in the perinatal period. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying prenatal RNT remain poorly understood. Recent research has suggested that a tendency to volitionally seek negative rather than positive information (i.e., biased information seeking) may contribute to the formation of more negative prenatal expectations, which in turn predict elevated prenatal RNT.

Prenatal ambient heat exposure and neurodevelopment: A scoping review of human and animal research

Ambient heat exposure during pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes, and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes are an emerging concern. This scoping review synthesises human and animal evidence on the association between prenatal ambient heat exposure and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Change in Diet Quality and Dietary Intake From Pregnancy to 1-Year Postpartum: A Longitudinal Analysis in Australian Women

This longitudinal analysis in Australian women evaluated change in diet quality and food and nutrient intakes from the third trimester of pregnancy to 1-year postpartum with comparison to national nutrition recommendations. Associations between diet quality, sociodemographic and health characteristics were also investigated.

Vaccine hesitancy and uptake during pregnancy: investigating the role of emotional mental imagery

Vaccine hesitancy and suboptimal vaccine uptake pose significant threats to public health, but modifiable psychological factors underpinning them are under-investigated. We examined the prevalence of spontaneous emotional mental imagery relating to infectious diseases and perinatal vaccines and its unique associations with vaccine hesitancy and uptake behaviour.

Body mass index, prebiotic supplementation during pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus risk: an effect modification analysis from a randomised controlled trial

Prebiotic dietary supplementation has been shown to improve glucose homeostasis in type 2 diabetes patients. The aim of this analysis was to determine whether pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) modifies the effect of prebiotic supplementation from mid-pregnancy on reducing the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus

Racism in maternity care as a determinant of First Nations women's health: a qualitative study with First Nations women and families in the Australian Capital Territory

First Nations women in Australia continue to experience disproportionately adverse maternal and infant outcomes. The ongoing legacy of colonisation and systemic racism shapes these outcomes. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), maternity services remain dominated by Western biomedical approaches that fail to deliver culturally safe and anti-racist care despite national standards that mandate such practices. 

First Nations families’ maternity care experiences in the Australian Capital Territory: Kapati Time Yarning, intergenerational trauma and the case for Birthing with Country

First Nations women often experience harmful, inequitable maternity care, shaped by intergenerational trauma and culturally unsafe care. Historical forced removal of First Nations children has created enduring trauma that influences pregnancy and birthing experiences. In the Australian Capital Territory, maternity care is provided through Western biomedical systems, where increasing child protection interventions and fear of surveillance affect women's engagement with care.

Per Os to Protection – Targeting the Oral Route to Enhance Immune-mediated Protection from Disease of the Human Newborn

Valerie Verhasselt MD, PhD Head, Immunology and Breastfeeding 0402997617 Valerie.verhasselt@thekids.org.au Head, Immunology and Breastfeeding @