• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.58-67
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• 2018

Purpose: This prospective study aimed to examine the development of premature infants at 12 and 24 months and to explore the factors related to their development. Methods: Of the 80 premature infants who were recruited, 52 participants at 12 months and 31 participants at 24 months were included in this study. The development of the infants was examined using the Korean Bayley scale of infant development-II. Postnatal depression, husband's support, social support, mother-infant attachment, and the home environment were assessed using self-report questionnaires completed by the mothers and through the researcher's observations. Results: There was significant difference between normal and delay group at psychomotor development at 12 months depending on social support at 6 months (t=2.03, p=.049). Mother-infant attachment at 6 months (r=.71, p<.001), 12 months (r=.37, p=.043), and 24 months (r=.40, p=.026), as well as social support (r=.38, p=.034) and the home environment (r=.41, p=.022) at 24 months, were correlated to mental development at 24 months. There was a significant positive correlation between mother-infant attachment at 6 months and psychomotor development at 24 months (r=.40, p=.046). Conclusion: To reduce the risk of developmental delay and to promote healthy development in premature infants, early nursing interventions targeting mother-infant attachment, the home environment, and the mother's social support structure are needed.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.130-136
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the interactions between maternal folate deficiency and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism increase the risk of elevated maternal serum homocysteine, short gestation and reduced infant birthweight. Healthy pregnant (n = 170; 24-28 gestational weeks; 20-40 years old) women were analyzed for the MTHFR genotype and serum levels of folate and homocysteine, and were then followed for gestational age and infant birthweight. The mean infant birthweight was highest in mothers carrying MTHFR CC and with a normal folate range, and they were followed by mothers carrying MTHFR CT or TT and a normal range of folate or a folate deficiency. Birthweight was the lowest in mothers whose carrying MTHFR CC with folate deficiency. Using two way ANOVA, we found that folate level and the MTHFR polymorphism interacted to affect birth-weight of infants (p=0.05). Among those mothers carrying MTHFR CC, those with folate deficiency showed a 543 g reduction in infant birthweight compared with those with normal folate levels. However, infant birthweight was no different for mothers, those who with folate deficiency compared to those with normal range of folate among mothers carrying the MTHFR CT or TT genotypes. This study suggests an interaction between maternal serum folate and the MTHFR polymorphisms of the mother on the risk of delivering reduced birthweight offspring. Folate supplementation of folate deficient pregnant women with the MTHFR wild type is suggested to reduce the risk of low birthweight.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.72-77
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• 2018

Purpose: Glucose has been recommended as an analgesic for mild to moderately painful procedures in neonates. The goal of this study was to assess the optimal dextrose concentration for pain control in newborns. Methods: This prospective, randomized, blinded clinical trial included 116 healthy full-term newborns. The neonates were randomly assigned to the following four groups by drawing straws: groups receiving sterile water or a 10%, 20%, or 40% dextrose solution orally. Each group was treated with the assigned solution prior to hepatitis B vaccination. The Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS) and the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) scores were evaluated before, immediately after, and 2 minutes after the injection in all neonates. Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) scores were evaluated during the injection. All procedures were video-recorded, and pain scores were assessed by two independent observers who were not involved in the care of the newborns studied. The pain scores were compared among the four groups. Results: The 40% dextrose solution significantly reduced the NFCS (P=0.002) and the PIPP scores (P=0.001) compared with sterile water. No hyperglycemic events were noted in the study subjects 2 hours after the injection. Conclusion: The 40% dextrose solution effectively relieved pain due to intramuscular injection in full-term newborns without causing hyperglycemic events. However, the 10% and 20% dextrose solutions did not affect neonatal pain scores.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.477-488
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to understand the subjective breastfeeding experience of primiparous women to identify how breastfeeding was started and to explore the process of breastfeeding. The Grounded theory methodology was used. Data was collected from 6 primiparous women who had breastfed their infants for at least over 8weeks, recently breastfeeding or having breatfed their infants within the last 6 months. With the permission of the subjects, the interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were analysed in the framework of grounded theory method as mapped out by Strauss and Corbin(1990). 105 concepts and 21 subcategories were confirmed in the analysis. In the process of data analysis, "Identity as a mother" was found to be the core phenomenon. The 21 sub-categories were as follows : natural food, neighbour inducement, self purpose, good feeling, tenderness, breast pain, change of breast shape, physical discomfort, loss of physical energy, confirmation of maternal role, formation of affection feeling of adhesion, one body through coupling, tie, capacity, role performance, mental comfort, healthy mother, healthy infant, confidence of breast milk, feeling of satisfaction. The sub -categories were again grouped into 14 categories including infant nutritious food, formation of breastfeeding opportunity, feeling of satisfaction, injury of the breast, physical suffering, awareness of mothering, formation of maternal affection, connecting, coupling, acceptance, effort, emotional stability, mother and child health and feeling of achievement.hievement.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.634-638
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• 2010

Purpose: In Kyung Hee East-West Neo Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, efforts to raise rooming-in care success rate have been undertaken since when the hospital was established in 2006. We intended to analyze our experience over the past 3 years of period and to discuss the advantages of rooming-in. Methods: We analyzed the rooming-in practice rate, failure rate, and the breast feeding rate. Subjects were 860 normal healthy neonates from June 2006 to June 2009. Results: Among these 860 cases, 83 babies were required separation out of rooming-in in the middle of the course. Among these 83 cases, 70 cases had to stop the course due to poor condition of babies and 13 cases due to maternal condition. 70 cases of infant's causes consist of 68 cases of NICU admission and 2 cases of poor feeding support. The other 13 cases of separation include refusal by maternal condition. Therefore the success rate of rooming-in for the last 3 years was 90.3%, that is 777 cases among the total 860 cases. The percentage of exclusive breast feeding was 64%, that of mixed feeding with breast and formula feeding was 25%, and formula feeding only was 11%. Conclusion: We experienced successful rooming-in care for the last 3 years. Nursery facilities should educate and encourage the advantages of rooming-in, including the good formation of attachment between mother and infant, emotional stability, protection from infection, and increased breast feeding rate so that rooming-in care can be fully established.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.700-711
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• 2002

Purpose : Early identification and treatment of developmental disabilities is of considerable importance in the health care of children. Screening of development is aimed at identifying infants who may need more comprehensive evaluations. Methods : A new test, the Ewha Infant Development Screening Test(EDST) has been created to screen the development of infants, 0-4 years of age. EDST was constructed so that results can be calculated into developmental ages and developmental quotients. The test consists of three sectors, e.g. language, social-adaptive and motor, and of 158 test items. A total of 104 infants, aged from one month to four years, including healthy infants as well as 10 with chief complaints of developmental delay, who visited the pediatric clinic of Ewha Womans University Dongdaemun Hospital, from June, 25 to November 30, 2001, were given the Bayley Scale of Infant Development as a base test and EDST. Results : The result showed the appropriate cut-off of EDST was 90 with better sensitivity and specificity, compared to cut-offs of 85 or 80. Conclusion : Further study with a large number of infants in the future is needed to make EDST more reliable and accurate.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.8
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• pp.301-309
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• 2020

Human breast milk (HBM) is essential for the infant's growth and development right after birth and is an irreplaceable source of nutrition for early human survival. Various infant formulas have many similarities to HBM in many components, but there is no perfect substitute for HBM. Recently, various breast milk components and their roles have been studied according to the development of various analysis techniques. As is already well known, HBM contains about 87%-88% water, and 124-g/L solid components as macronutrients, including about 7% (60-70 g/L) carbohydrates, 1% (8-10 g/L) protein, and 3.8% (35-40 g/L) fat. The composition may vary depending on the environmental factors, including maternal diet. Colostrum is low in fat but high in protein and relatively rich in immuneprotective components. Although HBM contains enough vitamins to ensure normal growth of the infant, vitamins D and K may be insufficient, and the infant may require their supplementation. Growth factors in HBM also serve as various bioactive proteins and peptides on the intestinal tract, vasculature, nervous system, and endocrine system. In the past, HBM of a healthy mother was thought to be sterile. However, several subsequent studies have confirmed the presence of rich and diverse microbial communities in HBM. Some studies suggested that the genera Staphylococcus and Streptococcus may be universally predominant in HBM, but the origin of microbiota still remains controversial. Lastly, milk is the one of most abundant body fluid of microRNAs, which are known to play a role in various functions, such as immunoprotection and developmental programming, through delivering from HBM and absorption by intestinal epithelial cells. In conclusion, HBM is the most important source of nutrition for infants and includes microbiomes and miRNAs for growth, development, and immunity.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.123-136
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• 2005

This research is to compare the infant's temperament and parenting stress perceived by premature infants' mother and full-term infants' mother. It aims at establishing the healthy relationship between mothers and infants. It investigates the basic data of nursing intervention program to help the mother of premature infant. The period of data collection was from May 1, 2005 to May 30, 2005, and the subjects were total 123 mothers: 44 mothers of premature infants and 79 mothers of full-term infants under 6 months who visited general hospitals, individual pediatrics, and health center located in G city. "What My Baby Is Like(WBL)" developed by Pridham, Chang, and Chiu(1994) and translated by Bang Kyeong Sook(1999) was used as a measuring instrument of infants' temperament, and Parenting Stress Index (PSI) developed by Abidin(1990) and revised and complemented by Kim Dong Hee(1997) was used as a measuring instrument of parenting stress. Collected Data were analyzed through $X^2$-test, t-test, Pearson's correlation with SPSS 12.0 window program. The results are as follows: 1. There was a significant difference in the infant's temperament perceived by premature infants' mothers and full-term infants' mothers (t=-4.08, p=.00). In subcategory, there were significant difference between premature infants' mother and full-term infants' mother in geniality(t=-3.62, p=.00), adaptation(t=-3.43, p=.00) and reaction(t=-2.01, p=.05). 2. There was a significant difference in parenting stress between premature infants' mother and full-term infants' mother(t=6.57, p=.00). The parenting stress of premature infants mothers appeared to be higher than full-term infants' mothers. They showed the higher stress in the mother-child relationship area(t=6.27, p=.00) and child area(t=7.38, p=.00) among 3 areas of parenting stress. 3. There were negative correlation between infants' temperament and parenting stress. As mothers perceived the infant's temperament negatively, the parenting stress. Especially, the negative correlation of infants' temperament and parenting stress of premature infants' mothers(r=-.44) was stronger than that of full-term infants' mothers(r=-37). From the research, as mothers of premature infants receive more stress, their stress can cause the serious problem to the relationship of the mother and the infant. Therefore, the nursing intervention should be carried out in order to change the negative perception of mothers towards their infants into the positive perception reduce the parenting stress.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.96-107
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• 2001

Recent research indicates that the new mothers want to learn about childrearing, and have burden in care of infants. Also it indicates that the new mothers say the lack of confidence and knowledge about infant care. This study was a prospective longitudinal reseach developing parent role education program and evaluating the effectiveness of this program for mother-infant interaction, childrearing environment and infant development. Longitudinal quasi-experimental design was used. The subjects were the healthy infants weighing over 2,500gm at birth, whose gestational age was more than 37weeks, and their mothers. The sample consisted of 19 mother-infant dyads for intervention group and 18 dyads for control group. Data were collected from March 15th to December 14th in 1999. For the intervention group received programmed education that was consisted of discharge education, telephone counselling, and home visiting for maternal education. The data were analyzed using chi-square test and t-test to test the equivalence of two groups, and the effectiveness of intervention program. This study was focused on the results of six months time point. The results were as follows: 1. There was significant difference in the mean score of mother-infant interaction(NCAST) between two groups. Intervention group showed higher scores in the subscales of sensitivity to cues, cognitive growth fostering, and caregiver total. 2. There was no significant difference in the mean score of child rearing environment (HOME) between two groups of six-month-infants. But when each subscale of HOME was examined, intervention group showed higher scores in the dimensions of opportunities for variety in daily stimulation, maternal involvement with child, and emotional, verbal response. 3. Six-month-infants of the intervention group showed significantly higher GQ in the Griffiths mental development scale. In conclusion, the maternal education program was effective in promoting the mother-infant interaction, organizing the childrearing environment, and fostering the infant development. These results were very meaningful that we found parent role education necessary for normal infants' mothers, and nurses can make a great contribution in promoting health of infants and mothers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.9-21
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• 1981

The purpose of this study was to observe and describe the maternal attachment behavior during the mother's first interactions with her newborn and define the factors contributing to differences in maternal attachment behavior. Observations of the mother's first interaction with her newborn can offer valuable information about the mother-infant relationship, and it provides an opportunity for planning individulized care for them. Data was collected from Sep. 1, 1950 to Oct.30, 1980 at Ewha Womans University Hospital. Maternal attachment behaviors of healthy full-term infants were observed and recorded on the .maternal attachment tool and analysed by the use of means, standard deviations and ANEVA test. The following trends of maternal behaviors were observed: 1. Identifying behaviors was the predominant mode and all of the mothers inspects baby's body features. 2. Modalities of interaction, that is, touching was initiated on the babies extremities and heads (57.3%) rather than the trunks (8.7%) and mothers touched their infants with their fingertips (58.2%) more than palm touching (14.6%) 3. Care-taking activities performed by the mother were negligible at the first interaction. 4. Parity of mother, sex of infant, age of mother, planned pregnancy, length of visits by mother to infant appeared to have significant influence on the maternal attachment behaviors.