• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.29-32
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• 2002

Studies till date suggest the existence of a fetal biological clock in suprachiasmatic nuclei entrained by the circadian signal from mother. Melatonin from maternal pineal gland reaches to the fetus by crossing every biological barrier including placenta, hence fetuses were exposed to similar melatonin variation as their mother. Experimental modulations of maternal pineal gland activity of pregnant females either by exposing the them to different photoperiodic schedules or by exogenous melatonin treatments till the date of parturition, regulated the fetal plasma level of melatonin, thereby the prenatal (fetal) growth and development. This clearly suggests the maternal transport of melatonin to their fetus through placenta since fetal retina-hypothalamic tract was incomplete. An extension of experimental schedules till 60 days of post-partum period regulated the neonatal pineal gland activity and gonadal maturation along with their plasma levels of melatonin and sex steroids suggesting clearly the phenomenon of maternal transfer of melatonin to their young ones during the post-natal period, when the neonates were solely dependent on the mother's milk for their nutrition and energetic demands. On the basis of above observations we may suggest that the maternal pineal gland activity regulate the prenatal development by passing its melatonin to fetus via placenta and post-natal growth and sexual maturation by passing maternal melatonin to neonates via milk. Hence, the photoperiod perceived by mother is translated into the maternal plasma level of melatonin which not only regulates the prenatal but also the post-natal growth and sexual maturation of neonates.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to analyse the principles and methods of Taegyo-Singi with regard to emotion and to review basic informations on Taegyo programs for promoting prenatal development. Taegyo-Singi was analyzed as follows. First, the contents of Taegyo-Singi were classified into principles and methods of Taegyo. Second, the domains of emotion were categorized into emotional perception, emotional expression, emotional understanding, and emotional regulation based on the classification of Mayer and Salovey, and Moon. Third, the contents of Taegyo-Singi were classified into the four domains of emotion. Finally, the reliability and validity of the classification were obtained through inter-rater agreement and analysis of content validity. The results indicated that first, the principles of Taegyo presuppose parental influence on temperament formation, and that the emotional states of the mother in the prenatal and prepregnancy period is the most influential variable in a child's temperament formation. Second, the methods of Taegyo presuppose that the human mind interacts with their behavior. Therefore, through emotional support of family members, 'jon-sim (the serene mind)' and 'chung-sim (the mind from rectitude)' are the key methods of Taegyo. This means that the Korean tradition of Taegyo focused on the emotional domain of development, especially emotional regulation. This coincides with the emotion-focused temperament theory that individual differences in temperament reflect individual differences in emotion.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.192-196
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• 2016

Understanding the development of a skull deformity requires an understanding of the normal morphogenesis of the cranium. Craniosynostosis is the premature, pathologic ossification of one or more cranial sutures leading to skull deformities. A review of the English medical literature using textbooks and standard search engines was performed to gather information about the prenatal development and growth of the cranial vault of the neurocranium. A process of morphogenic sequencing begins during prenatal development and growth, continues postnatally, and contributes to the basis for the differential manner of growth of cranial vault bones. This improved knowledge might facilitate comprehension of the pathophysiology of craniosynostosis.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2020

Objectives: Prenatal cadmium (Cd) exposure may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the relationship between Cd exposure during gestation and ADHD at 6 years of age. Methods: As part of an ongoing cohort study (the Environment and Development of Children study), 479 mother-child pairs from Seoul, Korea were included for analysis between 2008 and 2011. The whole blood concentration of Cd was analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The parents were surveyed about ADHD behaviors in their children at age 6. Multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate the relationship between prenatal exposure to Cd and ADHD at 6 years of age. Results: Increased prenatal Cd concentrations were associated with increased scores for ADHD for girls, but not for boys, at age 6. A 2-fold increase in the prenatal Cd level was significantly associated with a 22.3% (95% confidence interval, 11.6 to 34.1) increase in ADHD in girls at 6 years of age, as indicated by the linear regression model. Conclusions: Our results identified significant associations between prenatal Cd exposure and ADHD scores in 6-year-old girls.

• Korean Journal of Cleft Lip And Palate
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• v.14 no.1_2
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• pp.29-36
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• 2011

The frequency of fetal malformations accounts for around 3-5% and evaluation of the health of the fetus and screening for fetal malformations has become an important part of prenatal care. Improvements in prenatal diagnosis have allowed identification of malformation in fetuses during first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Prenatal ultrasonography has become routine part of antenatal examination. For development of imaging, the accuracy of diagnosis is getting higher and earlier diagnosis of congenital malformation, such as cleft lip and palate, can provide to parent counseling, and opportunity to prepare the further treatment. For the better understanding of congenital cleft lip diagnosis to the oral and maxillofacial surgeons, as healthcare providers, we reviewed around 19 english-written articles and summarized some knowledges of ultrasound findings in the prenatal cleft lip fetus.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.478-488
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and examine the effects of a prenatal program on environmental health behavior using cartoon comics among Korean pregnant women. Methods: This study used a non-equivalent control group pre-test/post-test design. The program used cartoon comics to explore environmental health behaviors during pregnancy. The program consisted of the following four components: environmental toxicants during pregnancy, avoiding particulate matter during pregnancy, environmental toxicants during baby care, and making a healthy environment for children. In total, 35 pregnant women participated in the study: 18 in the experimental group and 17 in the control group. Data collection and program adaptation were conducted between November 3, 2020 and January 19, 2021. The effect of the prenatal education program was evaluated by t-test and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: Learning experience (t = - 2.35, p = .025), feasibility (t = - 2.46, p = .019), satisfaction (t = - 2.23, p = .032) were higher in the experimental group than in the control group in the first post-test. Feasibility (t = - 2.40, p = .022) was higher in the experimental group than in the control group in the second post-test. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed significant interactions between time and group in environmental susceptibility (F = 9.31, p < .001), self-efficacy (F = 3.60, p = .033), and community behavior (F = 5.41, p = .007). Conclusion: This study demonstrates the need for a prenatal education program to promote environmental health perceptions and behavior during pregnancy. We suggest a prenatal class adopting the creative cartoon comics to promote the maternal environmental health behaviors.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.241-251
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore preserved belief system supporting Korean immigrant women's Taekyo practices and influencing factors while they observe the tradition within US sociocultural context. Methods: Leininger's exploratory focused ethnographic approach was used. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with purposive sample of sixteen Korean immigrant women who gave birth in the US within last 6 months. Researcher's observation and reflective field notes were also integrated into the interview data. Leininger and McFarland's four phases of ethnographic analysis guided data analysis process. Results: The perceived belief system supporting Taekyo practices included Taekyo as an enculturated Korean tradition, connecting parents with fetus, and positive impacts on fetal development. And Korean immigrant women's Taekyo practices were influenced by resources of information, woman's orientation toward Taekyo, pressure from local Korean community, and child order. Conclusion: The findings from this research would serve as an important knowledge base to expand US health care providers' understanding of Korean traditional Taekyo practices observed by Korean immigrant women's as important prenatal self-care practices. The findings could also aid in providing more patient-centered and culturally-tailored prenatal care plan to Korean immigrant by including Korean traditional belief system supporting Taekyo practices.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.10
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• pp.367-373
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• 2019

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease of preterm infants with multiple factors affected from prenatal to postnatal periods. Despite significant advances in neonatal care over almost 50 years, BPD rates have not decreased; in fact, they may have even increased. Since more preterm infants, even at periviable gestational age, survive today, different stages of lung development affect the pathogenesis of BPD. Hence, the definition of BPD has changed from "old" to "new." In this review, we discuss the various definitions of BPD, risk factors from the prenatal to postnatal periods, management strategies by phase, and future directions for research.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.121-130
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• 1990

Pregnant Wister rats were given daily subcutaneous administrations of methamphetamine (MAPT; varying doses ranging from 1.0 to 4.5mg/kg) from days 7 to20 of gestation and teratogenic effects have been determined. The teratogenic effects inducible with orally administered caffeine (90mg/kg/day)for the same durations were used as the positive controls. MAPT doses greater than 2.0 mg/kg have suppressed the rate of maternal weight gain. Some of the offsprings (F1) of the prenatal MAPT treated groups had decreased growth rate and delayed development of physical characters and functional reflexes. The male offsprings of the MAPT treated groups had significant decreases in their spontaneous motor activity but had enhanced conditioned avoidance responses. However, the mating performances of these offsprings were not affected. These results indicated that prenatal exposure of MAPT may induce some behavioral teratogenicity in rats.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.363-368
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• 2009

One of the frequent occurrences in rearrangements is chromosome inversion. Pericentric inversion is considered to be the variant of normal karyotype. We investigated the karyotypes of 1195 cases being referred to prenatal diagnosis using standard GTG banding for karyotype preparation. The chromosomal analysis revealed a total of 15 (1.26%) inversions. The characteristics of inversion type [(inv(4), inv(8), inv(9), inv(11)) were investigated on the basis of chromosomal analyses of fetuses and their parents. The results from chromosomal examination of the parents, whose fetuses were diagnosed as inversion, show that either parent might be the carrier. Inversion in human chromosome is commonly seen in normal humans and the frequency estimated to be 1 to 2% in general population and the exact amount of this phenomenon is still unclear. These results indicate that inv(8), inv(9), and inv(11) are phenotypically normal. However these may often cause clinical problems in offspring of the carrier, such as fetal wastage repeated spontaneous abortions and infertility with unknown mechanisms related to sex. We describe an inversion of human chromosome and its clinical correlation with human genetic disease.