Browsing by Author "Figueiredo, B."
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- Crescimento e actividade fetal às 20-24 semanas de gestação (estudo preliminar)Publication . Conde, A.; Figueiredo, B.; Tendais, I.; Pereira, A.; Nogueira, R.BACKGROUND: Recent researches show that psychological development begins much before birth and prenatal influences can explain a significant part of the future variability in infants' behaviour and development. AIMS: The aim of this study was to characterize the fetal development between 20 and 24 weeks of gestation, related to the measures of fetal growth-- iparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, head circumference, femur length and fetal weight-- and fetal activity--fetal heart rate and fetal movements. We also tried to establish if there are any differences in these measures related to the mothers' and fetus' sociodemographic features, obstetrical conditions and exposure to drugs. METHOD: The sample of this study involved 48 fetus (52.1% female and 47.9% male) with an estimated gestational age (GA) between 20-24 weeks (Mean = 21 weeks and 1 day), whose mothers had appointments at the Obstetric and Gynaecological medical consultation of Júlio Dinis Maternity Hospital (MJD, Oporto). A video tape of the fetal behaviour was made and ultrasound biometry measurements were collected from the morphological ultrasound report. RESULTS: A statistical analysis of fetal data, after gestational age control, showed differences in fetal growth measures related to mothers' occupational status [F(1,41) = 7.28; p = .000], marital status [F(1,41) = 2.61; p = .04], household arrangements [F(1,41) = 2.91; p = .03] and coffee consumption [F(1,40) = 2.55; p = .05]. Differences in fetal activity measures (fetal heart rate) associated to fetus gender [F(1,16) = 5.84; p = .009] were also found. CONCLUSIONS: We can conclude about the sensibility of fetal development to prenatal factors related to the mothers' and fetus' sociodemographic features and exposure to drugs.
- Fathers’ emotional involvement with the neonate: impact of the umbilical cord cutting experiencePublication . Brandão, S.; Figueiredo, B.Abstract Aims. This paper is a report on a study analysing the effect of the umbilical cord cutting experience on fathers’ emotional involvement with their infants. Background. Participation in childbirth offers an opportunity for father and mother to share the childbirth experience, so it is vital that midwives improve the fathers’ participation in this event. Design. A quasi-experimental study with a quantitative methodology was implemented. Methods. One hundred and five fathers were recruited as part of a convenience sample in a Maternity Public Hospital in a Metropolitan City in Portugal, between January and May of 2008. The Bonding Scale, the Portuguese version of the ‘Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale’ was used to evaluate the fathers’ emotional involvement with the neonate at different moments: before childbirth, first day after childbirth and first month after childbirth. After childbirth, the fathers were divided into three separate groups depending on their umbilical cord cutting experience. Results. The results demonstrate that the emotional involvement between father and child tends to increase during the first days after childbirth and to decrease when evaluated 1 month after birth, for fathers who did not cut the umbilical cord. However, fathers who cut the umbilical cord demonstrate an improvement in emotional involvement 1 month later. Conclusion. Results suggest that the umbilical cord cutting experience benefits the father’s emotional involvement with the neonate, supporting the benefits of his participation and empowerment in childbirth.
- THE FATHER’S EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT WITH THE NEONATE: THE IMPACT OF CHILDBIRTH EXPERIENCEPublication . Brandâo, S.; Figueiredo, B.