title: Baby bottle tooth decay and complications during pregnancy and delivery.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to investigate an association between maternal and/or fetal complications during pregnancy and/or delivery and the occurrence of baby bottle tooth decay (BBTD) in the infant. The study population comprised 50 mothers of infants with BBTD (BBTD+ mothers): 50 mothers of aged-matched children with similar eating and bottle-use habits but without BBTD (BBTD-) served as comparisons. Interviews with the mothers focused on pregnancy complications (vaginal bleeding, premature uterine contractions, viral or bacterial infections, hospitalization, diabetes, or other causes of high-risk pregnancy), mode of delivery (normal or instrumental), fetal distress, gestational age, birth weight, and mother's age at delivery. Chi-square analysis and the Student's t-test were used to analyze the data. Pregnancy complications and instrument delivery/cesarean section were significantly higher in the BBTD+ group than in the controls (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0004, respectively). In the BBTD+ group, vaginal bleeding/premature uterine contractions were most frequent (50%), while in the BBTD- group high-risk pregnancy dominated (20%). Normal deliveries were more frequent in the BBTD+ mothers (68%) than in the comparisons (40%). Gestational age and baby's birth weight did not differ between the two groups. The mean age of the BBTD+ mothers was significantly lower than that of the controls (P = 0.013). The results suggest that babies born after maternal complications during pregnancy or babies who experience a traumatic birth must be considered to be at risk of developing BBTD when exposed to excessive bottle nursing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Hebrew University-Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peretz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kafka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001424:Bacterial Infections; D001724:Birth Weight; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002585:Cesarean Section; D002675:Child, Preschool; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005316:Fetal Distress; D005865:Gestational Age; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008423:Maternal Age; D008875:Middle Aged; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; D011254:Pregnancy in Diabetics; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D014592:Uterine Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications; D014777:Virus Diseases