Recent research has implicated infant sleeping body position and bed sharing as risk factors in the sudden infant death syndrome. The sociodemographic associations of infant sleeping body position and location were examined in this study. This showed that the majority (86.40/o) of New Zealand parents now place their infants to sleep on their sides. The remainder place their infants supine (1-3%), prone (4.8%), or no particular way (7. 5%). In the waking position, 57-9% were usually found on their sides, 18.2% supine, and 6l1% prone. Infant sleeping position showed marked sociodemographic variability. These findings are a marked contrast to previous New Zealand studies which showed a reversed pattern, with most infants put to sleep prone.There were also highly significant sociodemographic differences in the place of sleeping. Overall 12.2% of infants shared a bed, with infants of younger less well educated mothers who were of nonEuropean origin, with a parity of five or more, or unmarried significantly more likely to do so. Infants of unemployed and lower socioeconomic group (Elley-Irving groups 5 and 6) fathers were also more likely to share a parental bed.
In the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society's 1990-91 Cohort study, 581 of 4,286 women questioned (13.7%) had not initiated antenatal care until after the first trimester. These late attenders were more likely to be non-European or of high parity; 42.9% of Pacific Islander mothers and 28.9% of Maori mothers did not initiate antenatal care until after the first trimester. Late attenders were also more likely to be unmarried, of lower socioeconomic status, young or with lower educational attainment. The reason for delayed antenatal care needs to be investigated and mothers who are high parity and non-European need to be particularly targeted to encourage them to attend for antenatal care early.
The Plunket National Child Health Study is a 5-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 4285 children born in New Zealand during 1990-1991. This paper describes the major lines of epidemiological research, the methods and study design, and reports on the demographic data of New Zealand children. During this first report from the Plunket Child Health Study, we examine on the smoking rates of New Zealand mothers during pregnancy. Overall 33% of mothers smoked during pregnancy. Particularly high rates were found amongst teenage mothers,. Maori women, single women and women with lower educational levels. Over 60% of women in these categories smoked during pregnancy.
In the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society's 1990-91 cohort study, of 3902 children, 985 (25.2%) had fallen behind the immunization schedule by 6 months of age. These children were more likely to be from lower socio-economic groups or to have mothers who were older, with high or low education, or of higher parity. The infants were also more likely to be from non-European families, or to have unemployed fathers. Eight hundred and ten (82.2%) of the incompletely immunized children at that age could be brought up-to-date with their immunizations by a single visit to the doctor. The most common reason for delaying immunization was that the baby was sick. This was a false contraindication in 69.2, 79.0 and 78.4% of these children at the 6 week, 3 month and 5 month immunization, respectively.
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