• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.181-189
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was done to investigate the predictors of maternal confidence between primipara and multipara mothers. Methods: The participants enrolled in this study were 145 mothers between 2 and 5 days postpartum. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive analysis, t-test, $X^2$ test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: The predictors of maternal confidence among primipara mothers were social support, self-esteem, mode of delivery ($R^2$=.287, p<.001). Whereas, gender of baby, antenatal fetal attachment, and educational status explained maternal confidence among multipara mothers ($R^2$=.270, p<.001). Conclusion: The results indicate that when nurses develop programs to encourage maternal confidence for new mothers, they should take into account the differences between predictors of maternal confidence according to the mothers' experience of birth.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.295-306
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• 2007

The growth and health of the fetus and neonate are directly influenced by the nutritional and physiological status of sows. Sows are often under catabolic conditions due to restrict feeding program during pregnancy and low voluntary feed intake during lactation. The current restrict feeding program, which aims at controlling energy intake during gestation, results in an inadequate supply of dietary protein for fetal and mammary gland growth. Low voluntary feed intake during lactation also causes massive maternal tissue mobilization. Provision of amino acids and fatty acids with specific functions may enhance the performance of pregnant and lactating sows by modulating key metabolic pathways. These nutrients include arginine, branched-chain amino acids, glutamine, tryptophan, proline, conjugated linoleic acids, docosahexaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid, which can enhance conception rates, embryogenesis, blood flow, antioxidant activity, appetite, translation initiation for protein synthesis, immune cell proliferation, and intestinal development. The outcome is to improve sow reproductive performance as well as fetal and neonatal growth and health. Dietary supplementation with functional amino acids and fatty acids holds great promise in optimizing nutrition, health, and production performance of sows and piglets. (Supported by funds from Texas Tech, USDA, NLRI-RDA-Korea, and China NSF).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1213-1227
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• 2023

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a prevalent obstetric condition. This study aimed to investigate the role of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) in regulating the inflammatory response and gut microbiota structure in FGR. An FGR animal model was established in rats, and ODN1668 and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were administered. Changes in gut microbiota structure were assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was conducted. HTR-8/Svneo cells were treated with ODN1668 and HCQ to evaluate cell growth. Histopathological analysis was performed, and relative factor levels were measured. The results showed that FGR rats exhibited elevated levels of TLR9 and myeloid differentiating primary response gene 88 (MyD88). In vitro experiments demonstrated that TLR9 inhibited trophoblast cell proliferation and invasion. TLR9 upregulated lipopolysaccharide (LPS), LPS-binding protein (LBP), interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α while downregulating IL-10. TLR9 activated the TARF3-TBK1-IRF3 signaling pathway. In vivo experiments showed HCQ reduced inflammation in FGR rats, and the relative cytokine expression followed a similar trend to that observed in vitro. TLR9 stimulated neutrophil activation. HCQ in FGR rats resulted in changes in the abundance of Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group at the family level and the abundance of Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group and Bacteroides at the genus level. TLR9 and associated inflammatory factors were correlated with Bacteroides, Prevotella, Streptococcus, and Prevotellaceae_Ga6A1_group. FMT from FGR rats interfered with the therapeutic effects of HCQ. In conclusion, our findings suggest that TLR9 regulates the inflammatory response and gut microbiota structure in FGR, providing new insights into the pathogenesis of FGR and suggesting potential therapeutic interventions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nutrition Society Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.19-20
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• 2006

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.328-334
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• 2012

Continuous fetal heart beat monitoring has assisted clinicians in assuring fetal well-being during antepartum and intrapartum. Fetal heart rate (FHR) is an important parameter of fetal health during pregnancy. The Doppler ultrasound is one of very useful methods that can non-invasively measure FHR. Although it has been commonly used in clinic, inaccurate heart rate reading has not been completely resolved.. The objective of this study is to improve detection algorithm of FHR from Doppler ultrasound signal with simple method. We modified autocorrelation function to enhance signal periodicity and adopted adaptive window size and shifted for data segment to be analysed. The proposed method was applied to real measured data, and it was verified that beat-to-beat FHR estimation result was comparable with the reference fetal ECG data. This simple and effective method is expected to be implemented in the embedded system.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.150-156
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• 2012

Purpose: The main purposes of this study were to assess maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) of the expectant mothers of a fetus with a prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) and to identify factors associated with MFA. Methods: The methodology was a cross sectional survey study using a self-administered questionnaire. Thirty pregnant women carrying a fetus with a prenatal diagnosis of CHD and 30 pregnant women with a normal fetus were enrolled in this study. The MFA Scale and PPS (The Prenatal Psychosocial Profile) were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 Window version. Descriptive statistics, $X^2$-test and t-test were used to compare the two groups. The factors associated with MFA were identified by multiple regression analysis. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in MFA and social support from spouse was the only variable showing a significant difference. The model from the multiple regression analysis explained 33.8% of MFA for both groups. Conclusion: MFA of expectant mothers with a prenatal diagnosis of CHD and of mothers with a normal fetus were not significantly different. It is important that health care providers encourage expectant fathers to support the expectant mothers to increase MFA.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.345-358
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop an empowering education program for Maternal-Fetal Intensive Care Unit (MFICU) nurses who provide intensive care to high-risk mother and fetus at hospitals, to test effects of the education program on nursing care confidence and nursing knowledge, and to examine program satisfaction. Methods: This study comprised of 2 phases: program development and evaluation. First, we have followed a process of program development to develop and refine an empowering education program for MFICU nurses through collaborative works among clinical obstetrics and gynecology doctors and nurses and academic nursing professors. Second, the empowering education program was provided to 49 nurses and evaluated from July 5 to 6, 2019. Levels of MFICU nursing care confidence and knowledge were measured. Results: The empowering education program included 18 hours of lectures, discussion, and Q & A, which continued for 2 days. This program significantly improved high-risk maternal-fetal nursing care confidence and knowledge of nurses. The program was well met with nurses' education need and goals, and found to be highly satisfactory. Conclusion: The empowering education program was observed to be effective in terms of improve nursing care confidence and knowledge of nurses in MFICU. It is proposed that this program should be open regularly for nurses to obtain and improve their clinical knowledge, confidence, and competency. Further study is needed to develop and run 2-levels of education such as basic and advanced levels based on nurses' clinical background and competency.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.657-666
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• 2003

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the potential adverse effects of 2-BP on pregnant dams and embryo-fetal development after maternal exposure during the gestational days (GD) 6 through 19 in Sprague-Dawley rats. The test chemical was administered subcutaneously to pregnant rats at dose levels of 0, 375, 750 and 1250 mg/kg/day. During the test period, clinical signs, mortality, body weights and food consumption were examined. All dams were subjected to caesarean section on GD 20 and their fetuses were examined for external, visceral and skeletal abnormalities. At above 750 mg/kg, toxic effects including signs of toxicity, suppressed body weight, decreased gravid uterine weight and reduced food intake were observed in pregnant dams. An increase in the fetal deaths, a decrease in the litter size, a reduction in the fetal body weight and an increase in the incidence of fetal morphological alterations were also found. There were no adverse effects on either pregnant dams or embryo-fetal development at a dose level of 375 mg/kg. These results suggest that a 14-day subcutaneous dose of 2-BP is embryolethal and teratogenic at above 750 mg/kg/day in pregnant rats. In the present experimental condition, the no-observed-adverse-effect level of 2-BP is considered to be 375 mg/kg/day for dams and embryo-fetuses, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.661-668
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• 2020

One of the causes of death for pregnant female is embolism, when a chest PA examination is performed. In addition, due to small doses, the examinations are performed for the purpose of preparing for pre-delivery emergency surgery or basic examination for pregnant female. Evaluating fetal doses through actual measurements is subject to ethical problems, Monte Carlo simulations assesses the organ and fetal doses of pregnant females according to week of pregnancy. The results of the simulations showed that the fetal dose decreased according to weeks of pregnancy and it showed a dose of about 0.1 mGy. The higher the density and thickness of the shielding material, the better the shielding effect. In addition, the dose reduction effect for each shielding material is between 40 and 98%. Afterwards, it is deemed necessary to study the reduction of fetal doses through various shielding characteristics and methods.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.85-95
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• 2001

This study was performed to explore the family support. the quality of marital relationship, and health promoting behaviors of the mature gravidas. and to validate the relationship between them. From November, 1999 to June. 2000. mature gravidas older than 35(N=82) were recruited from K University Hospital located in Seoul and Kyungki Province. Korea. Data was collected using a self-rating method and semi-structured interview. The questionnaires were: Perceived Social Support from Family developed by Procidano & Heller (1983). Quality of Marital Index by Norton (1983). and Health Promoting Life-style Profile by Walker, Sechrist, & Pender (1987), Interviews were conducted using the interview guide with open-ended questions related to health concerns and health promoting behaviors. Data was analyzed using a pc-SAS program for quantitative data. The levels of the perceived family support and the quality of marital relationship were relatively high. The relationship between perceived family support and quality of marital relationship, and health promoting life-style behaviors was statistically significant. Six themes emerged as primary concerns for the mature gravidas during childbearing: 'Concerns related to the fetal wellbeing', 'Concerns related to fetal education', 'Concerns related to the maternal physical health', 'Concerns related to the maternal emotional health', 'Concerns related to safe delivery' and 'Concerns related to child-rearing'. Nursing implications for practice include expanding prenatal assessment inventories to address the concerns and support system of mature gravidas.