Shared breastfeeding in central Africa

Facilitators and Barriers of Wet Nursing from Antiquity to the Present: A Narrative Review with Implications for Emergencies

Background: If maternal breastfeeding is not possible, wet nursing allows infants to receive the nutrition and protection against disease that breastfeeding provides. Such protection may be particularly valuable in emergencies. However, while wet nursing is recommended in the Operational Guidance on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies it is underutilized. This narrative review aimed to develop an understanding of wet nursing practice across time and location, and why wet nursing is currently so little supported to inform interventions to support wet nursing in emergencies. Method: Medline and Embase were searched for "wet nursing," "cross-nursing," "shared breastfeeding," and "non-maternal nursing". Included articles were inductively analyzed to identify positive and negative factors associated with previous wet nursing practice. Results: This review included 74 records. Our analysis of the wet nursing literature includes historical and contemporary themes with milk kinship and wet nursing as risky being shared themes across time periods. Our analysis revealed that it is how wet nursing is undertaken that influences whether it benefits women, children, and societies or not. Facilitators and barriers to wet nursing in emergencies related to infant mortality rates, cultural and individual support for wet nursing, availability of wet nurses, and resources to support wet nursing. Conclusion: Understanding the conditions under which wet nursing has positive outcomes and what can be done to facilitate beneficial wet nursing practices will assist in enabling wet nursing to be more commonly implemented in emergencies.

Mother-to-Neonate Transmission of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: A Cross-Sectional Study

We evaluated carriage rates of extended spectrum β-lactam-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E), Carbapeneme-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among pregnant women and determined the maternal-to-neonate transmission rates of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). Pregnant women provided rectal and vaginal samples, proximal to delivery. Stool samples were collected from newborns within 48 h of birth. All samples were cultured on selective media for ARB identification. Clinical and demographic data were collected from the participants' medical files. We performed molecular and phenotypic characterization of the different resistance mechanisms, and determined the isolates' antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm-forming ability. The prevalence of ESBL-E, MRSA and VRE among pregnant women were 16%, 6% and 1%, respectively. The prevalence of ESBL-E and MRSA among neonates were 7.6% and 1.6%, respectively. Maternal-to-neonate transmission rates of ESBL-E and MRSA were 48% and 27.8%, respectively. Maternal and neonatal isolates shared similar characteristics. Maternal-to-neonate transmission of ARB plays an important role in bacterial colonization in newborns. Future studies should investigate the outcomes of the high ESBL-E transmission rate. The biofilm-forming ability of ARB was found to affect transmission. Additional factors should be investigated in order to understand the differences between transmitted and non-transmitted bacteria.

Young adolescent girls are at high risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: an observational multicountry study

OBJECTIVES

One of Africa's most important challenges is to improve maternal and neonatal health. The identification of groups at highest risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes is important for developing and implementing targeted prevention programmes. This study assessed whether young adolescent girls constitute a group at increased risk for adverse birth outcomes among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.

SETTING

Data were collected prospectively as part of a large randomised controlled clinical trial evaluating intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (NCT00811421-Clinical Trials.gov), conducted between September 2009 and December 2013 in Benin, Gabon, Mozambique and Tanzania.

PARTICIPANTS

Of 4749 participants, pregnancy outcomes were collected for 4388 deliveries with 4183 live births including 83 multiple gestations. Of 4100 mothers with a singleton live birth delivery, 24% (975/4100) were adolescents (≤19 years of age) and 6% (248/4100) were aged ≤16 years.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary outcomes of this predefined analysis were preterm delivery and low birth weight.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of low birthweight infants and preterm delivery was 10% (371/3851) and 4% (159/3862), respectively. Mothers aged ≤16 years showed higher risk for the delivery of a low birthweight infant (OR: 1.96; 95% CI 1.35 to 2.83). Similarly, preterm delivery was associated with young maternal age (≤16 years; OR: 2.62; 95% CI 1.59 to 4.30). In a subanalysis restricted to primiparous women: preterm delivery, OR 4.28; 95% CI 2.05 to 8.93; low birth weight, OR: 1.29; 95% CI 0.82 to 2.01.

CONCLUSIONS

Young maternal age increases the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes and it is a stronger predictor for low birth weight and preterm delivery than other established risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa. This finding highlights the need to improve adolescent reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT00811421; Post-results.

Short report: premastication in rural Gabon--a cross-sectional survey

Premastication-defined as pre-chewing of food for infants by their caregiver-is a common feeding practice in various societies. To date the impact of premastication on children's health including the potential for transmission of infectious diseases is not well understood. Since there are no epidemiologic data on premastication from resource poor regions in Central Africa, we investigated the epidemiology and demographic variables associated with premastication in Central Africa. Between 2011 and 2012, mothers were interviewed about child feeding behaviors in three rural communities in Gabon. A quarter (n = 20, 24%) of 82 participants stated to perform premastication regularly. Despite the small sample size, our study provides first baseline data for the epidemiology of premastication in Central Africa, indicating that this feeding practice is common in rural communities.

Comparing local perspectives on women's health with statistics on maternal mortality: an ethnobotanical study in Bénin and Gabon

BACKGROUND

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), reproductive health problems are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality for women in Africa. In spite of this scenario and the importance of plants in African health care, limited research has been conducted linking maternal health and plant-based medicine. The objective of our research was to examine how closely Beninese and Gabonese women's health perspectives, medicinal plant knowledge, and plant use practices reflect the statistical causes of maternal mortality.

METHODS

In Bénin (2011) and Gabon (2012), we conducted 87 ethnobotanical questionnaires with the corresponding collection of 800 botanical specimens. We used free-listing analysis, citation frequency and species counts to determine women's top health concerns. We also interviewed 18 biomedical healthcare providers in national hospitals and local clinics.

RESULTS

Informants' perceptions of the main causes of maternal suffering included malaria, infertility, and menstruation and pregnancy concerns. Women were knowledgeable on plants to treat the top causes of maternal morbidity, but knew more plants for conditions such as anemia, infertility, breast milk production, and the maintenance of menstruation and pregnancy. The biomedical staff recognized the role of traditional medicine in their patients' lives and expressed concern for herbal remedies to facilitate birth, but were restricted by national policies on advising on medicinal plant use.

CONCLUSIONS

Plants serve as an entry point to understanding Beninese and Gabonese women's perceptions of common health concerns and local health management strategies. Plant use practices in both countries did not closely parallel the top statistical causes of maternal mortality, but highlighted key issues such as menstruation and infertility as salient health concerns for women. More research is needed on the role of plants in women's gynecological healthcare.

Transmission of Staphylococcus aureus between mothers and infants in an African setting

Staphylococcus aureus colonization is a risk factor for invasive disease. There is a need to understand S. aureus colonization in infancy as the burden of S. aureus infections in infants is high. We aimed to investigate the transmission of S. aureus between mothers and their newborns during the first year after delivery in an African setting. In a longitudinal cohort study, colonization of Gabonese mother-infant pairs was assessed at delivery and after 1, 9 and 12 months. Swabs were taken from mothers (nares, mammillae) and infants (nares and throat). Isolates were characterized and risk factors for colonization were assessed using a standardized questionnaire. We recruited 311 mothers and 318 infants including seven sets of twins. Maternal and infant colonization rates declined synchronously following a peak after 1 month at 40% (mothers) and 42% (infants). Maternal colonization was a risk factor for S. aureus carriage in infants. Based on spa typing, direct mother-to-infant transmission was evident in 5.6%. Of all methicillin-resistant isolates (n = 9), 44.4% were related to the USA300 clone; 56.7% (n = 261) of all S. aureus carried Panton-Valentine leukocidin encoding genes. Direct mother-to-infant transmission was rare and cannot explain the increase of carriage in infants within the first month. A transmission from external sources is likely and challenges the S. aureus infection control in newborns and infants in an African setting. The detection of USA300-related MRSA fuels the concern about the spread of this clone in Central Africa.

A review of evidence for transmission of HIV from children to breastfeeding women and implications for prevention

BACKGROUND

Child-to-breastfeeding woman transmission (CBWT) of HIV occurs when an HIV-infected infant transmits the virus to an HIV-uninfected woman through breastfeeding. Transmission likely occurs as a result of breastfeeding contact during a period of epithelial disruption, such as maternal skin fissures and/or infant stomatitis. Despite extensive epidemiologic and phylogenetic evidence, however, CBWT of HIV continues to be overlooked.

OBJECTIVE

This article summarizes the available evidence for CBWT from nosocomial outbreaks, during which nosocomially HIV-infected infants transmitted the virus to their mothers through breastfeeding. This article also explores the CBWT risk associated with HIV-infected orphans and their female caretakers, and the lack of guidance regarding CBWT prevention in infant feeding recommendations.

METHODS

We searched online databases including PubMed and ScienceDirect for English language articles published from January 1975 to January 2011 using the search terms "HIV," "perinatal," "child-to-mother" and "breastfeeding." The citations from all selected articles were reviewed for additional studies.

RESULTS

We identified 5 studies documenting cases of CBWT. Two studies contained data on the number of HIV-infected women, as well as the proportion breastfeeding. Rates of CBWT ranged from 40% to 60% among women reporting breastfeeding after their infants were infected.

CONCLUSIONS

Poor infection control practices, especially in areas of high HIV prevalence, have resulted in pediatric HIV infections and put breastfeeding women at risk for CBWT. Current infant feeding guidelines and HIV prevention messages do not address CBWT, and fail to provide strategies to help women reduce their risk of acquiring HIV during breastfeeding.

Adolescence as risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcome in Central Africa--a cross-sectional study

Background

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of maternal and neonatal mortality worldwide. Young maternal age at delivery has been proposed as risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcome, yet there is insufficient data from Sub-Saharan Africa. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of maternal adolescence on pregnancy outcomes in the Central African country Gabon.

Methodology and Principal Findings

Data on maternal age, parity, birth weight, gestational age, maternal Plasmodium falciparum infection, use of bednets, and intake of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy were collected in a cross-sectional survey in 775 women giving birth in three mother-child health centers in Gabon. Adolescent women (≤16 years of age) had a significantly increased risk to deliver a baby with low birth weight in univariable analysis (22.8%, 13/57, vs. 9.3%, 67/718, OR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.5–5.6) and young maternal age showed a statistically significant association with the risk for low birth weight in multivariable regression analysis after correction for established risk factors (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.1–6.5). In further analysis adolescent women were shown to attend significantly less antenatal care visits than adult mothers (3.3±1.9 versus 4.4±1.9 mean visits, p<0.01, n = 356) and this difference accounted at least for part of the excess risk for low birth weight in adolescents.

Conclusion

Our data demonstrate the importance of adolescent age as risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcome. Antenatal care programs specifically tailored for the needs of adolescents may be necessary to improve the frequency of antenatal care visits and pregnancy outcomes in this risk group in Central Africa.