Dataset Information

Population-based neuroimaging reveals traces of childbirth in the maternal brain.

ABSTRACT: Maternal brain adaptations have been found across pregnancy and postpartum, but little is known about the long-term effects of parity on the maternal brain. Using neuroimaging and machine learning, we investigated structural brain characteristics in 12,021 middle-aged women from the UK Biobank, demonstrating that parous women showed less evidence of brain aging compared to their nulliparous peers. The relationship between childbirths and a "younger-looking" brain could not be explained by common genetic variation or relevant confounders. Although prospective longitudinal studies are needed, the results suggest that parity may involve neural changes that could influence women's brain aging later in life.

SUBMITTER: de Lange AG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6825266 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Population-based neuroimaging reveals traces of childbirth in the maternal brain.

de Lange Ann-Marie G AG Kaufmann Tobias T van der Meer Dennis D Maglanoc Luigi A LA Alnæs Dag D Moberget Torgeir T Douaud Gwenaëlle G Andreassen Ole A OA Westlye Lars T LT

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20191015 44

Maternal brain adaptations have been found across pregnancy and postpartum, but little is known about the long-term effects of parity on the maternal brain. Using neuroimaging and machine learning, we investigated structural brain characteristics in 12,021 middle-aged women from the UK Biobank, demonstrating that parous women showed less evidence of brain aging compared to their nulliparous peers. The relationship between childbirths and a "younger-looking" brain could not be explained by common ...[more]

PMID: 31615888

Similar Datasets

Project description:OBJECTIVE:Instrumental vaginal delivery is associated with birth trauma to infant and obstetric trauma to mother. As caesarean delivery rates increased during the past decades, the rate of instrumental vaginal delivery declined. We examined concomitant temporal changes in the rates of severe birth trauma and maternal obstetric trauma. DESIGN:A retrospective observational study. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS:All hospital singleton live births in Washington State, USA, 2004-2013, excluding breech delivery. Severe birth trauma (brain, nerve injury, fractures and other severe birth trauma) and obstetric trauma (third/fourth degree perineal lacerations, cervical/high vaginal lacerations) were identified from hospitalisation data. Pregnancy and delivery characteristics were obtained from birth certificates. Temporal trends were assessed by the Cochran-Armitage test. Logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted ORs (AORs) and 95% CI. RESULTS:Overall, 732?818 live births were included. The rate of severe birth trauma declined from 5.3 in 2004 to 4.5 per 1000 live births in 2013 (P<0.001). The decline was observed only in spontaneous vaginal delivery, the rates of fractures and other severe birth trauma declined by 5% and 4% per year, respectively (AOR: 0.95, 95%?CI 0.94 to 0.97 and AOR: 0.96, 95%?CI 0.93 to 0.99; respectively). The rate of third/fourth degree lacerations declined in spontaneous vaginal delivery from 3.5% to 2.3% (AOR: 0.95; 95%?CI 0.94 to 0.95) and in vacuum delivery from 17.3% to 14.5% (AOR: 0.97, 95%?CI 0.96 to 0.98). Among women with forceps delivery, these rates declined from 29.8% to 23.4% (AOR: 0.98, 95%?CI 0.96 to 1.00). CONCLUSION:While the rates of fractures and other birth trauma declined among infants delivered by spontaneous vaginal delivery, the rate of birth trauma remained unchanged in instrumental vaginal delivery and caesarean delivery. Among mothers, the rates of severe perineal lacerations declined, except for women with forceps delivery.

Project description:ObjectiveTo estimate whether maternal sense of control in labor is associated with breastfeeding at 4-8 weeks postpartum.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of data from a multicenter randomized controlled trial of elective induction of labor at 39 weeks of gestation in low-risk nulliparous women. In this trial, women completed the Labor Agentry Scale, a validated measure of women's feelings of control over the childbirth process, 6-96 hours after delivery. The Labor Agentry Scale score, which is higher with more perceived control during childbirth, was analyzed both as a continuous and a categorical variable (quintiles). Self-reported breastfeeding at 4-8 weeks postpartum was categorized as exclusive breastfeeding, breastfeeding and formula feeding, or exclusive formula feeding. Women were included in this analysis if they labored, filled out a Labor Agentry Scale questionnaire, had a neonate who survived until the postpartum visit, and provided information on infant feeding. Multinomial logistic regression was used to adjust for confounders.ResultsOf 5,185 women, 32.9% (n=1,705) were exclusively breastfeeding, 31.2% (n=1,620) were breastfeeding and formula feeding, and 35.9% (n=1,860) were exclusively formula feeding 4-8 weeks after delivery. Overall Labor Agentry Scale score ranged from 34 to 203 (median 167, interquartile range 145-182). The median Labor Agentry Scale score was 169 (interquartile range 151-183) for women exclusively breastfeeding, 166 (interquartile range 142-182) for women who were breastfeeding and formula feeding, and 164 (interquartile range 142-181) for women who were only formula feeding (P<.001). In the unadjusted multinomial model, women with Labor Agentry Scale scores in the lowest two quintiles (ie, those with lower perceived control during childbirth) were less likely to be exclusively breastfeeding (as compared with those exclusively formula feeding) than women in the highest Labor Agentry Scale quintile. When controlling for confounders, however, this association was no longer significant.ConclusionAfter adjustment for confounders, perceived control during childbirth was not associated with breastfeeding at 4-8 weeks postpartum among nulliparous women.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01990612.

Dataset Information

Population-based neuroimaging reveals traces of childbirth in the maternal brain.

Publications

Population-based neuroimaging reveals traces of childbirth in the maternal brain.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure