Raquel Alexandra Costa

Universidade Lusófona do Porto

Introduction: There is evidence that women with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of the common mental disorders of anxiety and depression. The COVID-19 pandemic may have exerted an additional burden on the mental health of this population. The aim of this analysis was to compare levels of symptoms of common mental disorders and experience...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Children born extremely preterm (EPT), <28 weeks’ gestational age, face higher risks of movement difficulties than their term-born peers. Studies report varying prevalence estimates and prognostic factors identifying children who could benefit from early intervention are inconsistent. This study investigated the prevalence...

Objectives Develop and validate a WHO Standards-based online questionnaire to measure the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) around the time of childbirth from the health workers’ perspective. Design Mixed-methods study. Setting Six countries of the WHO European Region. Participants and methods The questionnaire is based on lessons lear...

Aim: To (1) determine the proportion of 5-year-old children born extremely preterm (EPT) with movement difficulties including cerebral palsy (CP) and the proportion of these children receiving motor-related health care (MRHC), and (2) describe factors associated with receiving MRHC. Method: Children born before 28 weeks' gestation in 2011 to 201...

Background Multi-country studies assessing the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as defined by WHO Standards, are lacking. Methods Women who gave birth in 12 countries of the WHO European Region from March 1, 2020 - March 15, 2021 answered an online questionnaire, including 40 WHO Standard-based Quality Meas...

Objectives: Investigate the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) during childbirth in the first year of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, from the mothers' perspective, as key service users. Methods: Women who gave birth in an Italian facility from March 1, 2020 to February 29, 2021 answered an online questionnaire including 40 WHO Standard-bas...

Background: Mental disorders during the perinatal period are a significant health concern, especially during a pandemic, in which healthcare provision is highly demanding, and governmental measures to prevent infection influence the population’s daily living. This study aimed to analyse the role of governmental responses to the coronavirus disease...

Background/Aims There is a consistent body of evidence on the association between single nutrients and cognition, but the role of a healthful dietary pattern on cognition in children has been seldomly studied. This study aims to assess the association between dietary patterns at 4 years (y) and cognitive abilities at 10-13y and examine whether adip...

Background This study aims to estimate the economic costs of care provided to children born very preterm and extremely preterm across 11 European countries, and to understand what perinatal and socioeconomic factors contribute to higher costs. Methods Generalised linear modelling was used to explore the association between perinatal and sociodemog...

Background/Aims: Extra-uterine growth restriction (EUGR) is common among very preterm (VPT) infants and has been associated with impaired neurodevelopment. Some research suggests that adverse effects of EUGR may be more severe in boys. We investigated EUGR and neurodevelopment at 2 years of corrected age (CA) by sex in a VPT birth cohort. Methods...

Background Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a new pandemic, declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization, which could have negative consequences for pregnant and postpartum women. The scarce evidence published to date suggests that perinatal mental health has deteriorated since the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the few stu...

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding has a wide range of benefits for maternal health. However, the benefit of exclusive breastfeeding for maternal mental health needs to be further explored. Research aim: To determine the moderating role of exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months on the association between prenatal and postpartum depression. Method...

Background Temperament characteristics are key elements for infants' development. The Infant Behavior Questionnaire – Revised (IBQ-R) is one of the most used measures to assess temperament in infants aged between 3 and 12 months. Its reliability and factor structure have not yet been examined in infants younger than 3 months. Aims To analyze the r...

Anxiety and depressive symptoms may influence cortisol trajectories in women and men during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Using a multilevel approach, anxiety and depressive symptoms effects on 24-hour urinary free cortisol trajectories from the 2nd trimester to 3-months postpartum were examined in a sample of 66 women and 65 men with no kno...

Background Multi-country studies assessing the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) during the COVID19 pandemic, as defined by WHO Standards, are lacking. Methods Women who gave birth in 12 countries of the WHO European Region from March 1, 2020 - March 15, 2021 answered an online questionnaire, including 40 WHO Standard-based Quality Measu...

Background The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (Movement ABC-2) is widely used to assess children's motor function, yet there is a lack of normative data for many countries. Aims To assess the extent to which the application of different population reference norms for the Movement ABC-2 affects the classification and preval...

In the increasingly competitive hotel environment, decision-makers must consider the risks and benefits of remaining independent or affiliating with a brand or consortium. This research sought to understand the level of importance associated with a set of motivating factors considered by Portuguese four-and five-hoteliers as it relates to remaining...

Smoking during pregnancy is a major public health issue. The aim of this study isto describe the smoking habits of women during pregnancy and its association with clinically significant depressive and anxiety symptoms. 382 women answered to a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and the Edinburgh Postnatal D...

Children's autonomic nervous system activity in response to written and spoken irony: Constitution of the corpus and methodology of data analysis

To analyze the mediation effect of perinatal health on the association between prenatal depressive symptoms and postpartum depressive symptoms 180 women filled the Edinburgh Postnatal Depressive Scale (EPDS) at 35 weeks of gestation and two months after childbirth. Perinatal health data was collected during the first 4 days after childbirth, using...

Costa, R. (May, 2018). The Portuguese Study on Genetic and Environmental Factors Associated with Infant Mental Health: POSGEN – IMH. In R. Costa, S. Viaux-Savelon, C. Martinez, V. Skovgaard, & A. Guedeney (Chairs), Ongoing researches with the ADBB & the M-ADBB. Infant Mental Health.

Background: Although the original characteristics of temperament tend to remain constant over the course of development, environmental circumstances may influence infants’ reactions and behaviour. Parents’ reports of infant temperament are rich informants of infant behaviours in different contexts. Objective: This study aimed to examine the psychom...

Background: the quality of mother/father-infant interaction is a key determinant of child development. Aim: to describe and compare the patterns of mother-infant interaction and father-infant interaction. Methods: at 2 and 6 months after childbirth face to face interactions records between mother and infant and between father and infant were conduc...

Apesar de se conhecer a importância da qualidade dos comportamentos na interação mãe-bebé e pai- -bebé, pouco se conhece sobre os aspetos fisiológicos que lhes estão subjacentes. Objectivo: descrever a resposta fisiológica de mães e pais durante a interação com os filhos. Para o efeito registou-se a frequência cardíaca, a arritmia sinusal respirató...

To analyze the association between parental tobacco consumption and the prevalence of psychomotor development disorders in children between 6 and 22 months of age. One hundred and nine mothers, fathers, and their babies participated in the study. The sociodemographic and clinical conditions were assessed using questionnaires. Tobacco consumption wa...

Depression is the most common psychological disorder observed in breast cancer patients. The purposes of this study were: to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among women with breast cancer; and examine the association of depressive symptoms and demographic and clinical variables as well as the association between mental adjustment to...

In the last decades, the improvement of antenatal and neonatal care led to a continued decrease in perinatal and infant morbidity and mortality, particularly for very preterm infants. However, there is a great variability in medical procedures and interventions across health units, both at national and international levels, which can result in avoi...

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) are widely used self-report measures that still need to be further validated for the perinatal period. The aim of this study was to examine the screening performance of the EPDS and the STAI-S in detecting depressive and anxiety disorders at pregnancy and postp...

The aim of this study was to examine the mental adjustment to breast cancer considering their psychosocial characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 150 breast-cancer-diagnosed women aged between 20 and 79 years. Data was collected using: (1) a clinical and socio-demographic questionnaire; (2) the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale...

A melhoria da qualidade dos cuidados pré-natais e dos cuidados intensivos neonatais resultaram, nas últimas décadas, numa continuada diminuição da morbilidade e da mortalidade perinatais e infantis, particularmente de recém-nascidos muito pré-termo. No entanto, há uma grande variabilidade entre unidades de saúde na decisão sobre procedimentos e int...

The relationship established between the infant and the caregiver is central to both parents and infants, and provides one of the most important environments in wich children develop. This study aimed to assess the effect of infant's psychophysiological functioning early in life on the quality of mother–infant interaction and on later attachment, a...

The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2, Straus et al. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316, 1996) were conceived to measure Psychological Aggression, Physical Assault, Sexual Coercion, Injury and the use of Negotiation towards a partner in a marital, cohabiting or dating relationship. The CTS2-SP was designed for obtaining data on conflict tact...

In this article, the authors present a brief explanation of cultural diversity concerning childbirth and it's consequences regarding methods of delivery and women's experiences. They also present a conceptual and empiric framework, attending to the studies about childbirth experience as it is usually described by women, namely, the most important e...

This study aims to (a) identify and profile groups of infants according to their behavioral and physiological characteristics, considering their neurobehavioral organization, social withdrawal behavior, and endocrine reactivity to stress, and to (b) analyze group differences in the quality of mother–infant interaction. Ninety-seven 8-week-old infan...

This study aims to analyze women’s anticipation and emotional experience of labor and childbirth of the first child. Additionally, it was our intention to examine the association between anticipation of childbirth and the real experience of childbirth. One hundred and ninety seven primiparous women, aged between 15 and 39 years old participated in...

This study is intended to analyze (1) differences in infant temperament at 3 and 12 months according to infants' psychophysiological profiles: "withdrawn" "extroverted", and "underaroused" and (2) changes in infant temperament from 3 to 12 months, namely according to the infant psychophysiological profile and the quality of mother-infant interactio...

The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS, Brazelton & Nugent, 1995) is an instrument conceived to observe the neonatal neurobehavior. Data analysis is usually performed by organizing items into groups. The most widely used data reduction for the NBAS was developed by Lester, Als, and Brazelton (1982). Examine the psychometric properties of th...

Neonates show visual preference for their mother's face/voice and shift their attention from their mother to a stranger's face/voice after habituation. To assess neonate's mother versus stranger's face/voice visual preference, namely mother's anxiety and depression during the third pregnancy trimester and neonate's: 1) visual preference for the mot...

To examine effects of mother's anxiety and depression and associated risk factors during early pregnancy on fetal growth and activity. Repeated measures of mother's anxiety (State-Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S)) and depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)) and related socio demographics and substance consumption were obtained at the 1st...

During pregnancy, the woman experiences developmental changes in terms of her significant relationships. This study aimed to compare the quality of the relationship with the partner and with other significant figure in adolescents and adult mothers, and examining socio-demographic predictors for the quality of these relationships. A sample of 130 p...

High-anxiety and depression rates have been reported in women during pregnancy; however men and parity effects have not been studied as extensively. The purpose of this study was to analyze anxiety and depression in women and their partners during pregnancy, namely differences between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd pregnancy trimesters, between women and men...

Adverse effects of maternal anxiety and depression are well documented, namely on the foetus/child behaviour and development, but not as much attention has been given to the mother's emotional involvement with the offspring. To study mother's prenatal and postpartum stress, mood and emotional involvement with the infant, the State-Trait Anxiety Inv...

Contexto: O comportamento de retraimento social prolongado da criança é um importante sinal de alarme, quer tenha origem orgânica, psicológica e/ou social. A. Guédeney construiu a Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB), para identificar este comportamento no contexto da consulta pediátrica ou da observação psicológica. Objectivos: Validação da versão po...

The way mothers reconstruct the childbirth experience during the early postpartum period may interfere in their mood and predisposition to get pregnant again. This study explored continuity and changes in the perception of childbirth experience throughout the first six postpartum months, taking into account different types of delivery. The sample c...

To study mother-to-infant emotional involvement at birth, namely factors (socio-demographics, previous life events, type of delivery, pain at childbirth, support from partner, infant characteristics, early experiences with the newborn, and mother's mood) that interfere with the mother's positive, negative and not clear emotions toward the newborn....

To study prevalence as well as risk factors for pregnancy and postpartum depression in a sample of adolescent and adult Portuguese mothers. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was administered to 108 (54 adult and 54 adolescent) Portuguese women at 24-36 weeks of pregnancy and at 2-3 months postpartum. Rates for EPDS > 12 are high durin...

While infant attachment has been largely studied, parental attachment is still relatively unknown, especially when referred to fathers. However, it is mainly recognised that parents’ emotional involvement with the newborn contributes to the quality of the interaction and the care they provide. The aim of this study was to study mother‐to‐infant and...

The delivery is an experience perceived as difficult by most mothers; the way mothers remember this experience during the early postpartum months can interfere in their mood and predisposition to get pregnant again. Aims: The main aim of this study is to explore continuities and changes in the perception of the childbirth experience throughout the...

BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a pathology occurring in the first weeks after childbirth with negative consequence not only for mothers, but also for theirs babies and families. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of postnatal depression and factors that might predict depressive symptoms one week and three months after childbirth. METHODS: 19...

With the aim of studying anxiety, depression and prenatal emotional involvement with the infant, 87 primiparous women had fulfilled the Portuguese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and New Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale. High levels of anxious and depressive symptoms as well of emotional involvement...

BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a pathology occurring in the first weeks after childbirth with negative consequence not only for mothers, but also for theirs babies and families. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of postnatal depression and factors that might predict depressive symptoms one week and three months after childbirth. METHODS: 19...

The aim of this Portuguese study is to compare the experience of pregnancy in teenage years and later adulthood and to examine insecure attachment style as a risk factor for depression during pregnancy. The Attachment Style Interview (ASI) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were administered to 66 pregnant adolescents and 64 adult...

This study is aimed to investigate the quality of the pregnant woman’s attachment and significant relationships during pregnancy. More precisely it intends (1) to deter­mine social and demographic characteristics as well as previous conditions of existence that may predict an (in)secure attachment style (2) to estimate the attach­ment style’s impac...

Com o objectivo de caracterizar as condições da gravidez na adolescência em Portugal, uma amostra de 161 utentes (<19 anos) da Maternidade Júlio Dinis (Porto) foi entrevistada no terceiro trimestre de gestação, com base no Questionário da Consulta de Grávidas Adolescentes. À semelhança do que foi observado em outros países, verificamos na amostra u...

RESUMEN. Con el objetivo de describir en Portugal las condiciones del embarazo en la adolescencia, se entrevistó a una muestra de 161 usuarios, mayores de 19 años, de la Maternidad Júlio Dinis (Porto) en el tercer trimestre de gestación, basándose en el Cuestionario de Consulta de Adolescentes Embarazadas. De igual modo que en otros países, a pesar...

The aim of this study was to characterize the conditions in which adolescent pregnancy occurs in Portugal. A sample of 161 pregnant outpatients (<19 years old) of the Júlio Dinis Maternity Hospital (Porto) were interviewed, during the third trimester of pregnancy, on the basis of the Questionário da Consulta de Grávidas Adolescentes. As pointed out...

This study presents the construction and reliability of the "Experience and Satisfaction with Childbirth Questionnaire" (QESP) to evaluate the childbirth's experience and the mother's satisfaction (concerns, emotions, relaxation, available care and conditions, pain, satisfaction and confirmation of previous expectations, as well as the support by s...

Resumo Embora a vinculação da criança aos pais tenha sido largamente investigada, a vinculação dos pais à criança está praticamente por estudar. A ideia de que o envolvimento emocional dos pais é uma circunstância determinante para a qualidade da interacção e dos cuidados que providenciam, e, por consequência, um factor que influencia o desenvolvi...

O presente estudo teve como principal objectivo estimar a influência das memórias de cuidados pelos pais durante a infância no estilo de vinculação e na qualidade das relações com pessoas significativas na gravidez. Contou com uma amostra de 48 adolescentes a quem se administrou, no terceiro trimestre de gestação, a versão portuguesa dos seguintes...

The main aim of the present study is to describe the childbirth experience in Portuguese women, particularly the expectations, satisfaction and pain during labor, delivery and the immediate postpartum. Between the 1st and the 5th day after childbirth, 115 primiparous mothers fulfilled the "Experience and Satisfaction with Delivery Questionnaire" (Q...