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Objective: To assess risk factors associated with motor development delay at three months of age., Methods: Cross-sectional study with mothers and their three-month-old babies in Southern Brazil. The Bayley-III Scale of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) and the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) were used to assess motor development., Results: We evaluated 756 mothers and their three-month-old babies. The overall mean motor development assessed by the BSID-III and the AIMS was 104.7 (SD 13.5) and 55.4 (SD 25.4), respectively. When assessed by the BSID-III, the lowest motor development scores were among babies born by cesarean delivery (p = 0.002), prematurely (p < 0.001), and with low birth weight (p < 0.001). When assessed by the AIMS, babies born prematurely (p = 0.002) and with low birth weight (p=0.004) had the lowest motor development means. After a cluster analysis, we found that babies born by cesarean delivery, with low birth weight, and prematurely had more impaired motor development compared with children born without any risk factors., Conclusion: Identifying risk factors allows the implementation of early interventions to prevent motor development delay and, therefore, reduce the probability of other future problems.

Background: Exposure and introduction to digital media, especially in children, are a current cause for concern. The negative links associated with early screen exposure are extensive., Aims: To evaluate the association between the time of exposure to a screen in children at 18 months of age and cognitive development in a population-based sample in Southern Brazil., Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study corresponding to the fourth wave of a population-based cohort study with pregnant women and later, their children living in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil., Subjects: The sample consisted of 470 children who completed the cognitive assessment., Outcome Measures: Cognitive development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development - Third Edition (BSID-III). Exposure to screen time was assessed using a questionnaire completed by the primary caregiver., Results: Of the total, 58.8 % of the children had ≥1 h of screen time per day and the average on the cognitive scale of the entire sample was 96.1 (SD = 14.0). Cognitive development was lower in children whose mothers had lower levels of education (CI 95 % -4.9; -2.1), where boys (CI 95 % 3.2; 8.4) and in children exposed to 2 h or more of screen time/day (CI 95 % -3.6; -0.5)., Conclusions: Exposure to screens may have a significant negative association with children's cognitive development and, therefore, we seek to intervene and to give advice to parents and guardians about the true impact of digital media. Further studies are necessary to consolidate the findings and to disclose information on the topic., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of brief psychotherapeutic interventions of cognitive behavioral therapy to treat antenatal depression and verify the association between interventions and motor development of infants at 3 and 18 months of age., Methods: Pre-post-intervention study nested a randomized clinical trial, both of which are extracts from a population-based cohort study of a southern Brazilian city. The major depressive episode was measured through Mini Plus, the severity of depressive symptoms by BDI-II and motor development using Bayley-III and AIMS. The follow-ups occurred during the gestational period (T2) and at 3 (T3) and 18 months (T4) after delivery., Results: Data were analyzed from 336 women in the control group (not intervened) and 108 from the group of depressed women who received intervention for antenatal depression. The effectiveness of the interventions for a major depressive episode was around 80% for both models in the two follow-up stages (3 and 18 months postpartum). In addition, the children whose mothers received intervention presented 3.7 (95% CI 0.7-6.6) points higher in Bayley-III at 3 months old when compared to the children in the control group (p = 0.01). There was no difference between the two psychotherapy models tested, both being equally effective (p > 0.05)., Conclusions: We found that the brief psychotherapeutic interventions of cognitive behavioral therapy for gestational depression were effective in causing remission of the condition both in the short and long term, besides indirectly causing benefits also to the children, with regard to their motor development., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Family members tend to modify their routine by assisting or participating in the patient's rituals. These behaviors have been identified as family accommodation (FA)., Aims: The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between family accommodation of relatives of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) patients and their perceptions about the obsessions and compulsions of the patient., Method: This was a cross-sectional study with family members of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a Southern Brazilian city. The family perception of the OCD symptoms and their accommodation were assessed through the Family Accommodation Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - Interviewer-Rated (FAS-IR)., Results: The level of family accommodation was higher in those family members who lived with the patient when compared to those who did not live with them ( p  = .011). The obsessions associated with higher levels of family accommodation were: contamination ( p  < .001), hoarding/saving ( p  = .001), symmetry/exactness ( p  = .001), religious ( p  = .019), and diverse ( p  = .003). Regarding compulsions, the perception of all symptoms was associated with higher levels of family accommodation ( p  < .05)., Conclusion: The family accommodation is present in family members of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder patients, regardless of the type of obsessive/compulsive symptom perceived.

The aim of the study is to verify the association between GAD, the severity of depressive symptoms and stressors in pregnant women between the first and second trimester. Cross-sectional study, part of a cohort that followed 980 women during the gestational period of a city in southern Brazil. We performed bivariate analysis using the t-test and chi-square. The variables that presented p ≤ 0.20 were taken for multivariate analysis, through logistic regression, in order to control possible confounding factors. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus was used to evaluate GAD, the severity of depressive symptoms was investigated through the Beck Inventory of Depression II, and stress events according to the Social Readjustment Assessment Scale of Holmes e Rahe. The sample consisted of 980 women. Women with mild depression symptoms had 9.8 (IC95% 4.6;21.0) times more GAD, those with moderate symptoms had 27.5 (IC95% 12.5;60.0) times more GAD, and those with severe symptoms had 52.9 (IC95% 19.1;146.5) times more GAD when compared to pregnant women with no symptoms or minimal symptoms. Regarding the stressful events, the pregnant women who presented GAD had an increase of 1.0 (IC95% 1.0;1.1) point in the mean of occurrence of stressor events when compared to those without GAD. These findings highlight the need for prevention strategies and interventions to promote maternal mental health, which benefit the development of infants in the long term.

Background: The parental bond is characterized by the perception of care and protection received by parental figures throughout human development. During the gestational period, the intensity in which the woman manifests behaviors and feelings for the fetus was denominated maternal-fetal attachment (MFA). In this perspective, the literature indicates that there is association between MFA and the pregnant woman's perception about the bond established with her parents., Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the association between MFA and perceived parental bonds of pregnant women in the city of Pelotas/RS (Brazil)., Study Design: This is a cohort study with 839 women during their gestational period. All women answered to the Parental Bonding Instrument to investigate the perceived parental bonds, and the MFA was assessed through the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale., Results: The main results showed that perceived paternal overprotection was associated with a higher MFA after adjustment (B 2.00 CI95% 0.30; 3.70). Additionally, the pregnant women who were in the first trimester of pregnancy (p < 0.001), who did not live with a partner (p = 0.018), and who did not feel supported by the baby's father during pregnancy (p = 0.014) presented lower scores of MFA., Conclusion: This study showed the importance of the paternal role in the women's life, considering the perception of the bond with their father during their development, an adequate support by the father of the baby, and the presence of a partner during pregnancy. As a result, the paternal role may influence the feelings and behaviors of greater affection, care, and concern regarding the fetus., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To verify the association between mood and anxiety disorders, and suicide risk during pregnancy and their relationship with premature birth in a population of pregnant adolescents attending prenatal care in the public health system of Pelotas, a southern city in Brazil., Methods: This was a cohort study with all pregnant adolescents attending antenatal public services in the urban area of Pelotas between October 2009 and May 2011. The first assessment occurred between the 20th and 22 nd week of pregnancy and the second occurred one month after delivery. We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to assess mood and anxiety disorders and suicide risk., Results: A total of 645 pregnant women aged between 12 and 19 years old were interviewed. An anxiety disorder was present in 9.1% of the pregnant adolescent, and 28.5% had a mood disorder. The prevalence of suicide risk was 12.6%, and 15.3% of the babies were born premature. A multivariate analysis adjusted for maternal education, number of previous pregnancies and previous preterm birth indicated that adolescents who had suicide risk during pregnancy were approximately twice as likely to give birth prematurely when compared to those who were not diagnosed with suicide risk (PR 1.79; CI 1.06-3.03)., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that pregnant adolescents who were at risk of suicide during pregnancy were more likely to have premature babies. It is important to pay attention to the mental health of this specific population to prevent obstetric complications and consequently improve the health of the children., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between child maltreatment and depressive symptomatology during gestation in adolescents., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with pregnant adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. Data were collected with the Beck Depression Inventory, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview., Results: Compared to adolescents who did not experience each type of neglect or abuse, experiencing them was associated with a higher proportion of depressive symptoms: emotional neglect PR = 1.4 (95% CI 1.1; 1.8); physical neglect PR = 1.7 (95% CI 1.3; 1.7); emotional abuse PR = 1.8 (95% CI 1.4; 2.2); and physical abuse PR = 1.3 (95% CI 1.1; 1.7)., Conclusions: This study demonstrates the association between childhood experiences and mental health in adolescence, especially in vulnerable samples, such as pregnant adolescents. This finding reveals the importance of studying early trauma in life and enabling preventive help, especially in adolescents. High-quality evidence of perinatal mental health problems should be generated to make pregnancy safer for women in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: The discussion on the safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) and their impact on child development it́s very relevant., Methods: This is a cohort study with mother-child dyads who received prenatal care in the Unified Health System. The domains of motor, cognitive and language development were evaluated in children between 24 and 36 months of age. Data on vaccination were obtained through the child's immunization record. A linear regression analysis was carried out considering possible confounders., Results: In bivariate analyses, motor and language development were associated with TCVs (p < 0.05). However, in the multivariate analysis, this association was not maintained (p > 0.05). These results indicate that the use of TCVs is not associated with child development. The importance of this study is summarized in transmitting relevant information regarding public health, based on reliable data., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)