The factors that influence the actual initiation and duration of breastfeeding were studied among low-income women followed by the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP). A group of 196 pregnant women were selected at random from a sample of 6223 pregnant women who registered with the CPNP. Two 24-hour recalls and information regarding lifestyle habits, peer support, and infant-feeding practices were obtained between 26 and 34 weeks of gestation and 21 days and 6 months after birth. Women who received a university education (completed or not completed) versus women with < or = high school education (odds ratio [OR], 8.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-69.50), women born outside Canada (OR,8.81; 95% CI, 3.34-23.19), and women of low birth weight infants (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.96) were more likely to initiate breastfeeding. Late introduction of solid foods (P = .004), nonsmoking (P = .005), multiparity (P = .012), and a higher level of education (P = .049) were positively associated with the duration of breastfeeding among initiators. Understanding factors associated with initiation and duration of breastfeeding among low-income women is critical to better target breastfeeding promotion.

Children placed in foster care families usually continue to see their birth parents in supervised and home visits. These children deal with the fact that they belonged to two families in a context where the relationship between the two families is sometimes complex and tense. Based on 45 semi-structured interviews conducted with foster care families and kinship foster care families, the present study examines the relationship between foster care parents and birth parents in a placement context, and focuses on the factors affecting the nature and quality of this relationship. The results showed that the quality of the relationship dynamics varies according to the following: how well and how often the parent-child visits took place, the birth parents' characteristics, and the foster carers' attitudes. The results also showed that placements in kinship foster care families were more likely to result in conflict and tension between the two parties than placements in regular foster care families. KEYWORDSchild welfare, contact (with birth relatives), family placement, foster care (family), kinship care, parenting/parenthood

Some authors postulate that coverage of child maltreatment by the news media increases public awareness about this issue and helps individuals realize the need to report such situations. Can we therefore assert that an increase or reduction in the number of such news stories leads to a corresponding increase or reduction in the number of reports made to child protective services?This article looks at the short-term impact that the media coverage of children in need of protection had on the number of cases reported to child protection agencies. The number of reports (N = 11,646) made to these agencies in the greater Quebec City region (Canada) was tallied each week over a 24 month period. During the same period, a content analysis of the print media was conducted regarding child maltreatment and/or child protection services so as to identify and count the number of articles published (N = 1,211) and single out media frenzy events. The relation between the number of child abuse reports and the number of published newspaper articles was explored with two tools: a) a statistical correlation approach and b) an intervention time-series analyses. Two conclusions were drawn from our analysis. First, a statistically significant relationship does indeed exist between media coverage of child welfare agencies and the number of cases reported to child protection agencies. Second, media frenzy concerning child maltreatment and/or CPS does not show a statistically significant effect on the number of reports made to child protective services. Implications for practice in social services and future research avenues are discussed.

This study aims to identify which therapeutic factors supported members in their commitment to a group for abusive men. Seventy-one members of therapy groups for men who batter were asked to rank therapeutic factors based on how they experienced the relative importance of these factors in their experience at the beginning of the group process. Findings indicate that at this stage, abusive men place greater importance on cognitive aspects that correspond to a process of self-understanding and awareness of their problem, whereas the interactive and emotional aspects of the group experience appear less significant. Results are discussed in terms of members’ characteristics and purposes for these groups.