Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Standardizing lactation education for home visiting staff to improve breastfeeding duration rates(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2020) Reed, Samantha Alicia; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Angela JukkalaBreastfeeding has been shown to improve short-and long-term health outcomes to both mother and child. Health departments are in a unique role to provide community level support in breastfeeding. Gallatin-City County Health Department provides breastfeeding support through multiple programs within the community, including maternal child health home visiting. Based on a recent survey, results showed that half of home visitors did not feel confident in educating prenatal clients on breastfeeding. In addition to this, home visitors did not feel they were providing the same education on breastfeeding. Stemming from this, the need for a standardized lactation curriculum was researched. Ready, Set, Baby is an evidence-based standardized curriculum that increases a mother's knowledge of breastfeeding benefits and practices. This scholarly project examines home visiting staff education on Ready, Set, Baby curriculum, improved breastfeeding education with home visiting families, and improved breastfeeding duration rates.Item Investigating diverse sources of variation in the amount of time Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) pups spend in the water during the lactation period(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Petch, Shane Morgan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jay J. RotellaThe early-developmental period can have important consequences for offspring success later in life. Phenotypic differences among parents and offspring influence energy availability as well as patterns of allocation and trade-offs during development. Variation in behavioral development prior to weaning may be an important determinant of post-weaning success. Here, we use hierarchical Bayesian models and a long-term database of phenotypic characteristics to investigate sources of variation in total time spent in the water and age at first entry in Weddell seal pups from 11-30 days of age. We found that time in the water was greater for pups with higher birth mass, greater for female than for male pups, lower for pups first entering the water at older ages, had a quadratic relationship with maternal age that peaked at intermediate maternal ages, and was higher for pups born to mothers who skipped reproduction the previous year than those born to mothers that were pre-breeders or reproduced the previous year. Some mothers consistently gave birth to pups that spent more time in the water. Age at first entry was earliest for pups with higher birth mass born to mothers with above average reproductive experience. Maternal identity accounted for slight variation in age at first entry. We document that the first entry can occur as early as 4 days old, but on average occurs at age 14 days. Pups born heavier may have more stored energy to allocate to activity or mitigate costs of submergence. Male pups may spend less time in the water to compensate for higher developmental costs. We found support for proxies of maternal body condition but not maternal behavior in describing time in the water, although maternal reproductive experience was supported in our analysis of age at first entry. Our results indicate that some variation in time spent in the water can be explained by the phenotypic characteristics of mothers and pups, though unaccounted-for sources of variation could be involved. It would be useful if future studies would investigate additional sources of variation and seek to understand how time spent in the water is related to post-weaning outcomes.