BACKGROUND: While it is recognized that social support can alleviate mental health symptoms, this relationship is not well-understood among Chinese pregnant and parenting immigrants in the United States. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the relationships between different types of social support and women\'s anxiety and depression, and examining how these associations vary with pregnancy status.
METHODS: Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey conducted in Simplified Chinese or Mandarin between March-June 2021 among 526 women who were pregnant and/or parenting a child under five years. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Anxiety, Depression, and Social Support scales were used to measure anxiety, depression, and social support levels. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square tests, and Pearson\'s correlations were employed for analysis. Hierarchical regression was conducted to investigate the main and interaction effects of social support types and pregnancy status on mental health outcomes.
RESULTS: Compared to non-pregnant women, pregnant women reported higher mean scores for anxiety (non-pregnant: 55, pregnant: 59, p < 0.01) and depression (non-pregnant: 54, pregnant: 56, p = 0.02). Instrumental support displayed a significant main effect in relation to anxiety (β=-0.13, p = 0.01) and depression (β=-0.16, p < 0.01); emotional support exhibited a significant main effect solely on depression (β=-0.13, p = 0.01). Notably, the interaction effects between pregnancy status and both instrumental (β=-0.28, p = 0.01) and emotional support (β=-0.42, p < 0.01) were significant for anxiety. In contrast, informational support did not exhibit a significant impact on either anxiety or depression.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that tailoring support to the cultural context is crucial, especially for pregnant women in this Chinese immigrant community, with instrumental and emotional support being particularly beneficial in mitigating maternal anxiety.

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) exacerbate the impact of droughts on the survival of cattle. The inadequacies of the conventional system make it increasingly important to explore indigenous knowledge (IK) to create drought-tolerant and GIN resilient herds. The objective of the study was to assess the indigenous strategies for controlling GIN during droughts. Face-to-face interviews with experts on IK were conducted to give insight into the importance, methods and ranking of GIN control. The experts identified 86 cattle that were used to test their assertions. The control methods used were identifying cattle that were susceptible to high GIN loads using predisposing factors, diagnosis of GIN burdens using faecal appearance, and treatment using phytotherapy. Experts ranked predisposing factors as the most critical control strategy and identified body condition, class, sex, coat colour, pregnancy status and lactation status as predisposing factors to high GIN burdens. Thin, older, dark-coloured cattle, as well as pregnant and lactating cows, were considered susceptible to GIN. However, pregnancy status, coat colour and sex were significantly associated with high GIN burdens. Cows were 2.6 times more likely to have high GIN burdens than bulls. Dark-coloured cattle were 3.5 times more likely to have high GIN burdens than light-coloured ones, and the likelihood of pregnant cows was 4.9 times higher than non-pregnant cows. A dark-coloured pregnant cow was extremely susceptible to high GIN burdens. In conclusion, knowledge of predisposing factors informs selection decisions when purchasing foundation stock. Cattle that are susceptible to high GIN loads are prioritised during droughts or culled where resources are scarce.

UNASSIGNED: To evaluate the performance of a questionnaire in assessing the pregnancy status of women of reproductive age during preventive chemotherapy interventions.
UNASSIGNED: A questionnaire (20 questions) was administered to 1217 women of reproductive age (≥18 years) from Ilemela and Buchosa districts, northwestern Tanzania. A single urine sample was collected from each of them and tested using a rapid pregnancy test for presence of pregnant.
UNASSIGNED: Overall, 10.8% (132/1217) of the women reported to be pregnant at the specific question in the questionnaire. The rapid pregnancy test identified 15.1% (184/1217) of the women to be pregnant. In total, 86.4% (114/132) of the women who reported to be pregnant during the interview were confirmed to be pregnant using the rapid pregnant test. The question on pregnancy demonstrated an overall sensitivity of 62% and specificity of 98.3%.
UNASSIGNED: The questionnaire performance was not completely satisfactory; however, it managed to identify pregnant women in the first trimester. The question on the last date of the start of the menstrual period yield the highest sensitivity and appeared to be the key one used in combination with other questions. Further validation of these results in other countries with different cultures are recommended to fully evaluate the performance of this method.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) remains prevalent. Medications for OUD (MOUD) are standard care for pregnant and non-pregnant women. Previous research has identified barriers to MOUD for women with Medicaid but did not account for the type of MOUD (methadone vs. buprenorphine) or pregnancy status. We examined access to MOUD by treatment type for pregnant and non-pregnant women with Medicaid in Florida.
A secondary analysis of Florida \"secret-shopper\" data was conducted. Calls were made to clinicians from the 2018 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provider list by women posing as either a pregnant or non-pregnant woman with OUD and Medicaid. We examined 546 calls to buprenorphine-waivered providers (BWP) and 139 to opioid treatment programs (OTP). Counts and percentages were used to describe caller success by type of treatment and pregnancy status. Chi-square tests were used to identify statistical differences.
Only 42 % of calls reached a treatment provider in Florida. Pregnant and non-pregnant women were less likely to obtain an appointment with Medicaid coverage by a BWP than an OTP (p < 0.01). Nearly 40 % of OTPs offered appointments to callers with Medicaid compared to only 17 % of BWPs. Both types of providers denied appointments more often for pregnant women. Thirty-eight percent of BWP\'s and 12 % of OTP\'s denied appointments to pregnant women using cash or Medicaid payment.
Our study demonstrates logistical and financial barriers to treatment for OUD among pregnant and non-pregnant women with Medicaid in Florida and highlights the need for improved systems of care.

The implementation of various policies related to female patients of reproductive capacity was investigated using a structured telephone interview of radiological departments in Norway. The findings suggest that 60% (n=35/58) of radiological departments have written guidelines regarding female patients of reproductive capacity. The 10-day rule is implemented for a range of examinations in 12% (n=7/58) of the radiological departments questioned, and in another 9% (n=5/58) it is only implemented for hysterosalpingography. Forty percent (n=23/58) of departments are familiar with rapid urine pregnancy tests and use them in certain circumstances. In conclusion, a lack of standardisation of approaches to radiation protection is apparent, and this raises concerns as national and international recommendations are not being correctly implemented. This may lead to confusion amongst patients and staff, and may have adverse consequences such as the accidental irradiation of the unborn child.

As important members in steroids related signal pathways, bile acids are very important in regulating substance metabolism and immune homeostasis. However, bile acids are highly cytotoxic, and the excessive accumulation can induce several abnormalities such as cholestatic liver injury. It is known that the bile acid metabolism alters during pregnancy and mostly will not result in pathologies. However, the effect of dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy on bile acid metabolism is still unknown. In this study, pregnant Wistar rats were subcutaneously administered dexamethasone (0.2 mg/kg.d) or saline from gestation day 9-21, while virgin rats were given the same treatment for 13 days. We found that, physiological pregnancy or dexamethasone exposure during non-pregnancy did not affect maternal serum TBA level and liver function. Nevertheless, dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy increased serum TBA level and accompanied with liver injury. Furthermore, we discovered that the conservation of bile acid homeostasis under pregnancy or dexamethasone exposure was maintained through compensatory pathways. However, dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy tipped the balance of liver bile acid homeostasis by increasing classical synthesis and decreasing efflux and uptake. In addition, dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy also increased serum estrogen level and nuclear receptors mRNA expression levels. Finally, two-way ANOVA analysis showed that dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy could induce or facilitate maternal cholestasis and liver injury by up-regulating ERα and CYP7A1 expression. This study confirmed that dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy was related to maternal intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and should be carefully monitored in clinical settings.

BACKGROUND: Determining the possibility of pregnancy and the documentation of pregnancy status are important considerations in the assessment of females of reproductive age when admitted to hospital.
OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine the adequacy of the documentation of pregnancy status and possibility of pregnancy across multiple surgical specialties.
METHODS: A prospective audit of surgical specialties (general, orthopaedics, urology, vascular, maxillofacial, ENT, gynaecology and neurosurgery) within NHS Tayside, in May 2015.
RESULTS: A total of 129 females of reproductive age were admitted; 69 (53.5%) elective and 60 (46.5%) emergencies. Eighty-four patients (65%) were asked \'Is there any possibility of pregnancy?\' Pregnancy status was documented in 74% of patients. Eleven (8.5%) patients were not asked about possibility of pregnancy and did not have a documented pregnancy status. Documentation of the use of contraception, sexual activity and date of last menstrual period was noted in 53 (41.1%), 31 (24.0%) and 66 (51.2%) patients, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a wide variation in the documentation of pregnancy status and possibility of pregnancy amongst surgical specialties. This was not an issue in gynaecology but is an issue in ENT, maxillofacial, neurosurgery, vascular and general surgery. The reasons are unclear. Documentation of pregnancy status using ßhCG assays should be the gold standard, and national guidelines are required.