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Immunomodulatory proteins in human milk (HM) can shape infant immune development. However, strategies to modulate their levels are currently unknown. This study investigated whether maternal prebiotic supplementation alters the levels of immunomodulatory proteins in HM.
Influenza and COVID-19 infections during pregnancy may have serious adverse consequences for women as well as their infants. However, uptake of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy remains suboptimal. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a multi-component nudge intervention to improve influenza and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among pregnant women.
First Nations Peoples endure disproportionate rates of stillbirth compared with non-First Nations Peoples. Previous interventions have aimed at reducing stillbirth in First Nations Peoples and providing better bereavement care without necessarily understanding the perceptions, knowledge and beliefs that could influence the design of the intervention and implementation.
The stillbirth rate among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and communities in Australia is around double that of non-Indigenous women. While the development of effective prevention strategies during pregnancy and improving care following stillbirth for women and families in communities has become a national priority, there has been limited progress in stillbirth disparities. With community permission, this study aimed to gain a better understanding of community experiences, perceptions, and priorities around stillbirth.
Growing evidence from preclinical studies, epidemiology, and randomized controlled trials supports a causal role for diet quality in mental disorder risk, and clinical psychiatric guidelines now place diet, along with other life-style behaviors, as foundational treatment targets for mood disorders.
Gut microbiota play a critical role in long-term health by supporting metabolism, immune function, inflammation regulation, and neurological development via the gut–brain axis. Beneficial bacteria enhance gut integrity through short-chain fatty acid production, pathogen inhibition, and mucosal barrier support.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience a disproportionate burden of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. A multi-component health systems intervention aiming to improve antenatal and postpartum care was implemented across Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) and Far North Queensland (FNQ) between 2016 and 2019. Components included clinician education, improving recall systems, enhancing policies and guidelines, and embedding Diabetes in Pregnancy (DIP) Clinical Registers in systems of care. This program was evaluated to determine impacts on clinical practice and maternal health.
Jane Pillow BMedSci (Dist) MBBS, PhD (Dist) FRACP Head, Developmental Chronobiology jane.pillow@thekids.org.au Head, Developmental Chronobiology
Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy with major maternal and fetal consequences. While the molecular basis of early-onset preeclampsia is well studied, the mechanisms underlying late-onset disease-and how they differ by fetal sex-remain poorly understood. Placental transcriptomic profiling at term can reveal persistent molecular alterations reflecting cumulative disease processes.
We aimed to assess perceived stress and influencing factors in mothers with children at risk of type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease who did, or did not, develop islet autoantibodies or coeliac autoantibodies by 4 years of age.