This report presents data for the nation's 50 largest cities for every year from 1990-98 on eight measures of a healthy start to life (teen births, repeat teen births, births to unmarried women, low maternal education, late or no prenatal care, smoking during pregnancy, low-birthweight births, and preterm births). It identifies cities that have…

Based on the premise that birth order powerfully influences one's personality, one's marital partner, and one's parenting style, this book presents personal anecdotes, testimonials, and descriptions of well-known individuals or individuals seen in counseling to illustrate the impact of birth order. The book also presents practical ways to take…

The firing of Stephen Mumford, a leading fertility researcher at Family Health International (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), because he exposed the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to influence population policy may be the beginning of a new campaign to cripple population-control leaders and institutions. (IS)

Findings indicate that high-risk infants are not exposed to greater exogenous stress during the prenatal and perinatal periods, although subsequent caregiving provided by disturbed mothers may not be optimal. Several findings point to the existence of a constitutionally vulnerable subgroup of high-risk infants. (Author/RH)

Study examined perceptions of pregnancy, including life-expectations, desire for pregnancy, and knowledge of menstrual cycle in a sample of pregnant urban adolescents. Results indicate that, although teens were aware of birth control methods, they had little understanding of menstrual cycle and its relationship to intercourse. And while few…

This longitudinal study tested the contribution of age and marital status at first birth to depressive symptomatology in early adulthood. Findings indicated that unmarried teenage childbearers displayed higher levels of depressive symptoms than women who first gave birth as married adults. The psychological health of married teenage mothers in…

Scheduled tribe students (n=300) attending grade X at Indian schools were examined. Compared to girls, boys had better study habits, found home environments more conducive to study, and were more systematic in planning work. Study habits had a close positive relation with self-concept, but no relation with birth order. (Author/JDD)

Surveys efforts to assess rates of return to education in developing countries. Compares estimates based on regression techniques to those produced by direct measurement. Discusses noneconomic effects of education on health and fertility. Examines the links among education, economic growth, and fertility, using a simulation model of overlapping…

Outcomes for infants with birth weights less than 800 grams, consequences for their families, and implications for primary care providers are considered. Early identification of difficulties, such as disorders of sensory integration and learning disabilities, and early intervention are advocated. Follow-up when the child is school-age is also…

A survey of 1,383 faculty at a large university examined perceptions of the implications of childbirth and institutional leave policies on tenure and promotion. Although faculty expressed approval of institutions providing parental leave, women faculty were notably reluctant to take advantage of them. Policy implications are discussed. (Author/MSE)

Compared 14 healthy children who had low birthweight and were small for their gestational age with 14 control children at 10 years of age. The experimental group scored lower than control children on measures of visuospatial ability, nonverbal reasoning, strategy formation, and gross motor coordination. (BC)

Examined effects of prenatal drug exposure on infants born preterm and full-term to African American mothers. Found more extreme fetal growth deficits in later-born infants, and more extreme irritability increases in earlier-born infants. Gestation length did not moderate cardiorespiratory reactivity effects. Exposure effects occurred for…

Used data from the National Child Development Study of Great Britain to examine the sex education lessons reported at age 16 and subjects' report of teenage motherhood at age 23. Results showed that sex education may be associated with teenage motherhood positively or negatively, depending on the topic and the individual's marital status when she…

Data from the 1990 Ecuadorian census indicate that expected fertility-reducing effects of women's education, student status, and labor force participation were lessened in the Amazon as a consequence of its family-based economy, class structure, and high-fertility demographic regime. Development of the extractive periphery in Ecuador is…

Compared outcomes of middle-school-age children born at very low (less than 750-g) or low birthweights (750 to 1,499-g) and full-term. Found that the very-low-weight group fared less well at school age than the low weight and term groups on cognitive functioning, achievement, behavior, and academic performance. Those without neurosensory disorders…