Background As breastfeeding awareness and social acceptance are increased, maternal nutritional deficiency requires more investigation. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted to determine if vitamin A deficiency is more common in pregnant, lactating post-bariatric surgery women in an inner city population. Antepartum, women after bariatric surgery and controls with no history of malabsorption were recruited. Third trimester, postpartum maternal blood and cord blood were collected as well as three breast milk samples: colostrum, transitional and mature milk. A nutritional survey of diet was completed. Each serum sample was analyzed for total retinol and β-carotene; breast milk samples were analyzed for retinol and retinyl esters, total retinol and β-carotene. Results Fifty-three women after bariatric surgery and 66 controls were recruited. Postpartum serum retinol was significantly higher in women after bariatric surgery in the univariate analysis (P<0.0001) and confirmed in the multiple linear mixed model (P=0.0001). Breast milk colostrum retinol and transitional milk total retinol were significantly greater in the bariatric surgery group in the univariate analysis (P=0.03 and P=0.02, respectively), but not after adjusting for confounders. Serum β-carotene in the third trimester and postpartum were lower (P<0.0001 and P=0.003, respectively) in the bariatric surgery group but not after adjusting for confounders. Vitamin A deficiency was high in both groups in serum and breast milk samples. Conclusions Nutritional deficiencies in breastfeeding women after bariatric surgeries may in fact be less common than in control women in an inner city.

Hearing impairment is a common ailment in older adults. However, the acceptance of hearing aids by hearing-impaired individuals remains poor. The main reasons given by hearing-impaired individuals for not acquiring a hearing aid are primarily psychosocial in nature. Research suggests that individuals with hearing loss believe that wearing hearing aids will cause them to be perceived as old and/or less competent. The purpose of the present study was to determine the perceptions of young adults towards hearing loss and hearing aids and to compare them to the perceptions of older adults with hearing impairment. A version of the 'Attitudes Toward Loss of Hearing Questionnaire' was administered to young adults and older adults with hearing loss. Results suggest that young adults do not associate hearing aids with ageing or diminished cognitive function, although findings suggest reticence towards wearing amplification. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of increasing public awareness of hearing loss.

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