Background Pregnancy and childbirth are significant events in women’s lives and most women have expectations or plans for how they hope their labour and birth will go. It is possible that strong expectations about labour and birth lead to dissatisfaction or other negative outcomes if these expectations are not met, but it is not clear if this is the case. The aim was therefore to synthesise prospective studies in order to understand whether unmet birth expectations are associated with adverse outcomes for women, their partners and their infants. Method Searches were carried out in Academic Search Complete; CINAHL; Medline; PsycINFO, PsychArticles, PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science. Forward and backward searches were also completed. Studies were included if they reported prospective empirical research that examined the association between a mismatch in birth expectations/experience and postnatal outcomes in women, their children and/or their partners. Data were synthesised qualitatively using a narrative approach where study characteristics, context and methodological quality were extracted and summarised and then the differences and similarities among studies were used to draw conclusions. Results Eleven quantitative studies were identified for inclusion from nine countries. A mismatch between birth expectations and experiences was associated with reduced birth satisfaction. Three studies found a link between a mismatch and the development of postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The evidence was inconsistent for postnatal depression, and fear of childbirth. Only one study looked at physical outcomes in the form of health-related quality of life. Conclusions A mismatch between birth expectations and experiences is associated with birth satisfaction and it may increase the risk of developing postnatal PTSD. However, it is not clear whether a mismatch is associated with other postnatal mental health conditions. Further prospective research is needed to examine gaps in knowledge and provide standardised methods of measuring childbirth expectations-experiences mismatch. To ensure women’s expectations are met, and therefore experience a satisfying birth experience, maternity providers should provide sensitive care, which acknowledges women’s needs and preferences, is based on open and clear communication, is delivered as early in pregnancy as possible, and enables women to make their own decisions about care. Trial registration Protocol registration: PROSPERO CRD42020191081.

Background: Maternal prenatal anxiety is among important public health issues as it may affect child development. However, there are not enough studies to examine the impact of a mother's anxiety on the child's early development, especially up to 1 year.Objective: The present prospective cohort study aimed to examine whether maternal trait anxiety, perceived social support, and COVID-19 related fear impacted speech-language, sensory-motor, and socio-emotional development in 12 months old Serbian infants during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This follow-up study included 142 pregnant women (Time 1) and their children at 12 months (Time 2). Antenatal maternal anxiety and children's development were examined. Maternal anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Child speech-language, sensory-motor, and socio-emotional development were assessed using the developmental scale in the form of an online questionnaire that examined the early psychophysiological child development. Information on socioeconomic factors, child and maternal demographics, clinical factors, and perceived fear of COVID-19 viral infection were collected. Multivariable General Linear Model analysis was conducted, adjusted for demographic, clinical, and coronavirus prenatal experiences, maternal prenatal anxiety levels, perceived social support, speech-language, motor skills, and cognitive and socio-emotional development at the infants' age of 12 months.Results: The study revealed the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal trait anxiety. The association between selected independent factors and infants' development was found in a demographically unified sample except for employment and the number of children. There was a correlation between all observed developmental functions. Univariate General Linear model statistical analysis indicated that linear models with selected independent factors and covariates could account for 30.9% (Cognition) up to 40.6% (Speech-language) of variability in developmental functions. It turned out that two-way and three-way interactions had a dominant role on models, and STAI-T Level and COVID-19 related fear were present in all interaction terms.Conclusion: Our findings reveal important determinants of child developmental outcomes and underline the impact of maternal anxiety on early child development. These findings lay the groundwork for the following interdisciplinary research on pregnancy and child development to facilitate and achieve positive developmental outcomes and maternal mental health.

Evaluation of the rehabilitation efficacy may be an essential indicator of its further implementation and planning. The research aim is to examine whether the estimation of EEG correlates of auditory-verbal processing in a child with overlapping autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) symptoms may be a predictor of the treatment efficacy in conditions when behavioral tests do not show improvement during the time course. The prospective case report reports follow-up results in a child aged 36 to 66 months. During continuous integrative therapy, autism risk index, cognitive, speech–language, sensory, and EEG correlates of auditory-verbal information processing are recorded in six test periods, and their mutual interrelation was analyzed. The obtained results show a high statistically significant correlation of all observed functions with EEG correlates related to the difference between the average mean values of theta rhythm in the left (F1, F3, F7) and right (F2, F4, F8) frontal region. The temporal dynamics of the examined processes point to the consistency of the evaluated functions increasing with time flow. These findings indicate that EEG correlates of auditory-verbal processing may be used to diagnose treatment efficacy in children with overlapping ASD and SLI.

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Quantitative EEG mapping in powers of electrical activity, concentration of main powers and area of concentration in relation to the side of presentation (left, right, and bihemisphery) and closer location was done on a 24-day-old infant first, and again when the infant was 2.5 months. EEG responses are analyzed in following acoustic modalities: (1) specific (native language speech of mother and unfamiliar female, unfamiliar female speech of foreign language); (2) unspecific (passive period). Familiar and unfamiliar texts present the contents of speech material. Comparative findings on two different ages showed that the infant maintains the processing scheme of unfamiliar stimulus (passive period, foreign language), and also very similar processing scheme of unfamiliar voice regardless if the text in native language is familiar or unfamiliar. During stimulation with familiar or unfamiliar text in native language, which is read by mother, processing type is significantly changed in relation to the age at the time of examination. While a 24-day-old infant shows a similar scheme in processing the familiar and the unfamiliar voices in native language, at the age of 2.5 months, this scheme of processing is changed, especially for theta rhythm, which now has bihemisphery presentation (at earlier stage it has right-side presentation) in the F-C-P region, what is practically the same region where also delta rhythm is processed. However, the sample of unfamiliar voice in native language observed in subsequent period, when the infant was 2.5 months old, maintains the same processing location as it has at an earlier ontogenetic stage, when the infant was 24 days old, regarding the theta rhythm processed in the F-C-P region with right-side presentation, and delta rhythm processed in C-P region with bihemisphery presentation. Post stimuli periods observed when the infant was 2.5 months old show obviously differentiation of theta and delta rhythms' samples and their electrophysiological parameters. The samples of familiar and unfamiliar texts in native language when read by mother (familiar voice) begin to differentiate regarding to closer location and number of centers for maximal powers in theta rhythm at subsequent ontogenetic period (2.5-month-old infant). The samples of quantitative EEG mapping for a 2.5-months-old infant show the signs of complex processing of different stimuli types: known/unknown voice, foreign language, with stronger inclusion of parietal regions, bihemisphery and an increase in number of maximal powers' centers, compared to the samples when the infant was 42 days old. Quantitative EEG electrophysiological parameters are discussed in relation to side representation and closer regional location with the aim of explaining the processing of complex speech and language stimulation in relation to certain characteristics in its bases.