Background The study was conducted to examine the hypotheses that adolescent and young adult women who perceived they are susceptible to pregnancy when birth control is not used are less likely to practice unsafe sex, discontinue oral contraception (OC), and become pregnant during a 12-month follow-up period. Study design We conducted secondary analyses using data collected for a randomized, controlled trial on OC adherence among 1,155 low-income women 16–24 years of age. Demographics, lifestyle variables, perceived susceptibility to pregnancy assessed at baseline and data on OC and condom use, and pregnancy status collected during 12 months of follow-up were used for the analyses. Results Overall, 62.3% of women accurately understood the risks of pregnancy without using any birth control method. However, perceived susceptibility was not associated with OC continuation (odds ratio (OR) 0.94, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.79–1.11), condom use at last sexual intercourse (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.84–1.24), dual method use (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.92–1.48) and subsequent pregnancy (hazards ratio 1.08, 95% CI 0.77–1.49) during the 12-month follow-up period. Conclusions Perceived susceptibility to pregnancy, an important component of the health belief model, does not seem to have any impact on use of birth control methods, safer sex or rate of subsequent pregnancy among low-income adolescent and young adult women.

In the context of opportunistic cervical cancer screening settings of low‐and‐middle‐income countries, little is known about the benefits of high‐risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing on high‐grade cervical abnormality detection among women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC‐US) cytology in routine clinical practice. We compared the effectiveness of immediate colposcopy (IC), conventional cytology at 6 and 12 months (colposcopy if ≥ASC‐US) (RC) and hrHPV testing (colposcopy if hrHPV‐positive) (HPV) to detect cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or more severe diagnoses (CIN2+) among women aged 20 to 69 years with ASC‐US in routine care. Participants (n = 2661) were evenly randomized into three arms (n = 882 IC, n = 890 RC, n = 889 HPV) to receive services by routine healthcare providers and invited to an exit visit 24 months after recruitment. Histopathology was blindly reviewed by a quality‐control external panel (QC). The primary endpoint was the first QC‐diagnosed CIN2+ or CIN3+ detected during three periods: enrolment (≤6 months for IC and HPV, ≤12 months for RC), follow‐up (between enrolment and exit visit) and exit visit. The trial is completed. Colposcopy was done on 88%, 42% and 52% of participants in IC, RC and HPV. Overall, 212 CIN2+ and 52 CIN3+ cases were diagnosed. No differences were observed for CIN2+ detection (P = .821). However, compared to IC, only HPV significantly reduced CIN3+ cases that providers were unable to detect during the 2‐year routine follow‐up (relative proportion 0.35, 95% CI 0.09‐0.87). In this context, hrHPV testing was the most effective and efficient management strategy for women with ASC‐US cytology.

Our results show the benefit of lactation is not just limited to the immediate postpartum period but it also extends into midlife in a murine model.

Background The association between prolonged non‐nutritive sucking habits (NNSHs, ie, sucking pacifiers or fingers) and maxillofacial growth anomalies in the general population has been widely described. Because maturation of sucking abilities is not fully achieved in very preterm infants (<32 weeks’ gestation), neonatal services worldwide rely on the use of pacifiers to promote the development of adequate sucking reflexes, possibly prolonging NNSHs during infancy. Objective We aimed to describe the frequency and to identify factors associated with NNSHs at age 2 years in very preterm children. Methods The study was based on data from EPIPAGE‐2, a French national prospective cohort study of preterm births during 2011 that included 2593 children born between 24 and 31 weeks’ gestation. The primary outcome was NNSHs at 2 years. Multivariable log‐linear regression models with generalized estimation equations were used to study the association between the characteristics studied and NNSHs. Multiple imputations were used to take into account missing data. Results The frequency of NNSHs was 69% in the overall sample but higher among girls (adjusted risk ratio [RR] 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05, 1.17), children born from multiple pregnancies (eg, twins/triplets) (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00, 1.11), children who were fed by nasogastric tube (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01, 1.13), or those who benefitted from developmental care programmes (RR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02, 1.19). The NNSHs frequency was lower if mothers were not born in France (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.64, 0.77), children had 2 or more older siblings (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82, 0.96), or children were breast‐fed at discharge (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85, 0.95). Conclusions NNSHs at 2 years seemed associated with cultural background, development care programmes, and breast feeding. Whether NNSHs at 2 years among very preterm children are associated with future maxillofacial growth anomalies deserves further attention.