This document presents summaries of the 147 demonstration grant projects sponsored by the federal Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Their Infants initiative, which is jointly funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. This substance abuse prevention grant program, the largest federally funded…

A psychological and pedagogic study was made of a group of 22 children between the ages of 7 and 12 years in whom the only abnormal feature in the case history was neonatal cerebral effects. (Author)

The study examined pre-, peri-, and neonatal factors in 271 British infants (weighing less than 1500 grams at birth), 188 of whom survived to 2 years. The study represented an attempt to define those factors which predict normal neurodevelopmental outcome in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Surviving infants were seen at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24…

The study examined the relationship between perinatal stress and decreased right handedness and decreased left cerebral dominance for speech with 215 children born prematurely, followed from birth, and tested at age 5. Results indicated that neither hand preference nor hand performance correlated with degree of perinatal stress and that eye…

The Learning Problem Indication Index an instrument intended to help identify the preschool child with potential learning problems, was evaluated with 432 children (ages 4 to 19 years) from varying backgrounds referred to the Pupil Appraisal Center at North Texas State University. (DB)

An instrument for naturalistic observation in the childbirth environment is presented. Observable features of the parturient woman's physical state, stimulus contact she experiences, and themes of conversations with the woman are recorded using a system of categories to time-sample in cycles of 30 seconds for observing followed by 30 seconds for…

The eighth in a series of annual bibliographies of the Collaborative Perinatal Project lists 30 manuscripts and journal articles from studies on cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and other neurological and sensory disorders of infancy and childhood. Entries are grouped under the categories of core and non-core data publications (based on…

A description of infant capabilities and review of perinatal intervention programs are used to clarify the relationship between enhancing parent-infant interactions and preventing child abuse and neglect. Research data demonstrating the efficacy of the programs are reviewed and suggestions offered for the practical application of the programs.…

Reviews the process of tailoring an online search that would span several files on the topic of music during the childbirth experience. Search strategies and terms used in PsycINFO, Mental Health Abstracts, MEDLINE, ERIC, Sociological Abstracts, Social Scisearch, Scisearch, and Dissertation Abstracts Online are noted. A nine-item bibliography is…

Addresses the utility of a noninvasive measure of cardiac vagal tone in predicting developmental outcome among infants at risk for cognitive disabilities. Results suggest that measurement of cardiac vagal tone may provide an important means for assessing risk in birth-stressed populations. (Author/RH)

From a large sample of seven-year-olds in Dunedin, New Zealand, a group of 52 boys and 32 girls with stable behavior problems was selected and compared with the remainder of the sample. Content concerns perinatal histories, family background characteristics, and developmental status, with particular reference to cognitive development. (RH)

Recent neuropathology studies identify hypoxia as the main cause of perinatal cerebral damage. Cerebral lesions present at birth, with transition to chronic scar lesions, are correlated to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and minimal brain dysfunction. Gestation age and severity of hypoxic exposure essentially determine the cerebral…

The article reviews a variety of biophysical variables which contribute to autism or autistic symptoms, and discusses the nature and manifestations of these psychobiological variables in terms of the need for individual yet comprehensive educational interventions and family support services. (DLS)

A prospective study of growth and development during the first 2 years of life was performed on 71 preterm SGA (small-for-gestational-age) infants. Journal Availability: C.V. Mosby Company, 11830 Westline Industrial Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63141. (Author/SBH)

A study examined rates of labor induction using pitocin in 41 boys with autism and 25 matched controls with either typical development or mental retardation. There were no differences in pitocin induction rates as a function of either diagnostic group (autism vs. control) or IQ level (average vs. subaverage range). (Contains references.)…