Women’s Health Bulletin
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Jan 2020

Maternal mental health is one of the most important indicators of pregnancy health. Anxiety and stress affect maternal and fetal outcomes. The present review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of certain complementary medicine methods in reducing pregnancy anxiety.

Evidence Acquisition:

 Data source in this review was related to articles searched in local scientific databases and international databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar. Search for articles was done by using keywords of pregnancy anxiety, complementary medicine, acupuncture and acupressure, aromatherapy, spiritual therapy, and psychotherapy without any time limitations. At the end of the search, out of 165 obtained articles, 70 were reviewed. Exclusion criteria were irrelevant research studies, inadequate data in the study, lack of access to the full text of articles, animal studies, editorial studies, and reports.

Aromatherapy, acupressure, relaxation training skills, maternal, fetal, and neonatal attachment techniques, psychotherapy, and spiritual therapy have been employed in different studies to control pregnancy anxiety. These methods had significant and measurable effects on reducing and controlling maternal anxiety during pregnancy, and in some studies, they improved neonatal growth and development indices.

The efficiency of complementary medicine along with the use of therapeutic techniques in classical medicine can provide a new model for reducing the anxiety of pregnant women. It is recommended that health care planners use this integrated, easy-to-use, cost-effective approach so as to reduce the anxiety of pregnant mothers.

Self-assertiveness is the ability to stand up for one’s rights and express one’s thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in an appropriate and direct manner. Adolescence is an important time to establish the social position of individuals. This study aimed to investigate the effect of positive thinking training on adolescences. The target population was female students of Hazrat-e-Masumeh School in Ilam, Iran in the academic year of 2017-2018. According to simple random sampling, 42 subjects were randomly selected and allocated into two equal groups (experimental and control). The experimental group experienced Positive Thinking Training and both groups were given pre-test and post-test through Adolescence Self-Assertiveness questionnaire. The findings showed that the mean of self-assertiveness in the experimental group was 18.81 before Positive Thinking Training (PTT) and 19.95 after PTT. In the control group, the mean of this variable was 18.95 before PTT and 18.51after PTT. This indicates that after training, the mean of self-assertiveness increased in the experimental group but decreased in the control group. Data analysis through analysis of covariance test (ANCOVA) showed significant differences between self-assertiveness scores F (1, 39)=4.65 in the experimental group level in post-test compared to that of the control group (P≤0.05). According to the results of this study, PTT can be effective in increasing the self-assertiveness of teenage girls. The effect of positive thinking showed that optimism is an important factor in coping with difficult life events and assisting teenagers to deal with their negative thoughts and promoting their self-assertiveness.

In pregnant women, primary infection with rubella and herpes virus may lead to serious complications, including abortion, stillbirth, and severe birth defect. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of rubella and herpes IgG and IgM antibodies in pregnant women.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in Zakho city, Kurdistan, Iraq. A total of 200 women aged 18-45 years with a history of miscarriage and stillbirth were recruited. Samples were collected from Private Clinical Health Centre at Zakho City between January 2015 and December 2018. All samples were then tested by Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay (ELFA) (VIDAS instrument) for detection of rubella and herpes specific IgG and IgM classes of antibodies.

Of the total study participants, 166 (83%) were seropositive for anti-rubella IgG antibodies while nine (4.5%) were positive for anti-rubella IgM antibodies. In addition, seroprevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies to Herpes simplex virus was observed in 154 (77%) and 10 (5%) subjects, respectively. As far as age is concerned, the highest seropositivity of specific IgG and IgM antibodies to Rubella and Herpes was found in participants younger than 30 years, but statistically not significant differences were found.

This study provided pilot data on Rubella and Herpes virus infections among women in Zakho city, Kurdistan, Iraq. Data from the present study showed a high anti-Rubella and Herpes IgG and a low IgM positivity in the recruited subjects. Screening women with miscarriage or stillbirth might be conducive to specifying the causes of abortion or stillbirth.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug has been reported to be effective in the management of primary dysmenorrhea, but it has associated side effects. The present study determined the influence of electrical stimulation on the pain intensity in female undergraduates with primary dysmenorrhea.

This is a randomized control study including 50 participants with primary dysmenorrhea lasting for five days equally. They were randomly allocated into two groups: transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and Control. Subjects in TENS group were treated with TENS for 15 minutes twice daily while the other group served as control. Participants were treated for five days, the severity of pain was examined in both groups pre-treatment and post-intervention. Values of the obtained variables were analyzed and the significant level was set at 0.05.

Results revealed a significant reduction (t=7.956, P<0.001) in the severity of pain between pre-treatment and posttreatment on the 1st day; also, in the TENS group, there was a substantial change (t=3.610, P<0.001) in the severity of pain on the 5th day post-treatment. There was a substantial reduction (t=2.599, P<0.001) in the severity of pain in the TENS group compared with the control group on the 3rd day (1.80 1.15, 2.38±1.77,) and 5th day (0.52±0.65, 0.94±1.33), respectively.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation was found to be an effective approach to relieving primary dysmenorrhea among female undergraduates.

Induced and unhealthy abortions exist worldwide, especially in developing countries. Awareness of the prevalence of abortion in the community can be an indirect measure of maternal health status. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of induced (forensic medicine referrals and obstetric indications) and spontaneous abortions based on demographic characteristics in 2018. This epidemiologic-cross-sectional study was conducted in the hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Out of 5848 pregnant women, 437 cases of abortion were diagnosed within 3 months, making up the sample size. Data were collected using a researcher-made demographic questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, percentage, and so forth). The overall prevalence of abortion in this study was 7.46%. The highest prevalence was observed in induced abortion with other causes (4.17%), followed by induced abortion with a forensic medicine letter (1.5%), and spontaneous abortion (1.79%), respectively. The highest frequency of induced abortion was found in the age group 30-34 (34.3%) and in housewives (76.2%). The highest frequency of education was high school belonging to mothers with spontaneous abortion (53.3%). There was a statistically significant difference among the variables of age, mother’s education, age, spouse’s occupation, and type of abortion (P≤0.05). The prevalence of abortion was 7.46%, two thirds of which were abortion induced by other causes (55.8%). In addition to group education, health educators should plan effective methods of face-to-face and individual counseling to change mothers’ attitudes and inform them of the consequences of abortion.

Pregnancy-related changes in women’s body shape and size predisposes to negative body image. However, the nexus between pregnancy-related body image and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is still controvertible. This study assessed the relationship between body image and HRQoL among Nigerian nulligravid, pregnant, and postpartum women. 385 women volunteered for this cross-sectional study between November 2016 and January 2017 from two selected clinics in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. Body image was assessed using the Body Attitude Questionnaire (BAQ) and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), respectively. HRQoL was assessed using the SF-12 questionnaire. Data was summarized using descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics including Chi-square test was used to test the associations between body image and HRQoL in pregnant and postpartum women. Alpha level was set at P<0.05. Body attitude satisfaction and pregnancy-related women status was significantly associated with respect to abdomen (P=0.021) and genitalia (P=0.005). Postpartum women were most satisfied with their abdomen (95.2%). There was significant correlation between BAQ score and health perception (P=0.001), emotional functioning (P=0.001), and mental health (P=0.040) scales of the SF-12. There was significant correlation between BSQ score and bodily pain (P=0.020), health perception (P=0.001),and emotional functioning (P=0.003) scales of the SF-12. Postpartum women had better body attitude and body shape perception than their pregnant and non-pregnant counterparts. Body attitude is related to HRQoL in non-pregnant, pregnant and postpartum women. Body shape perception is only correlated with bodily pain, health perception and emotional functioning scales of the HRQoL.

The sexual function of men and women is affected by many factors. One of these factors is the contraceptive method used. The aim of this study was to investigate the sexual function profile and male and female sexual function correlation in couples using intrauterine device (IUD) and withdrawal (WD) methods.
In this descriptive study, the sample consisted of 55 couples (55 women and 55 men=110 persons) living in a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey between December 2015 and June 2016. The data were collected by the questionnaire form, male and female Premature Ejaculation Profile, The International Index of Erectile Function, and the Female Sexual Function Index. The data were analyzed with the descriptive statistics, Chi-square, t-test, Wilcoxon, Kappa, and Spearman’s correlation test.
Male and female Premature Ejaculation Profile was lower in couples using the WD method, and these couples had more problems with ejaculation (P<0.001). In couples with better male erectile functions, orgasm and sexual satisfaction were higher in both sexes. Premature ejaculation had a significant positive relationship with the sexual functions of females (P<0.01).
The results showed that there are problems associated with premature ejaculation in couples using WD; the sexual function of the couples might be related to the erectile function and premature ejaculation status of men rather than the method used.

Mental health is one of the most important of health components.Mental and behavioral diseases are major disease burdens. Women make up half of the world's population and raise the other half. While women are an integral part of societies, their diverse roles put them at a higher risk of psychological issues The 8th conference on women's health was the collaboration of Health Policy Research Center, affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical sciences, and Health Promotion and Women’s Health workgroup affiliated with the Academy of Medical Sciences. It is believed that we must move towards promoting and broadening women's health issues beyond the sole reproductive and sexual rights. Through a coordinated action, which has involved all concerned stakeholders including governmental health, social, and economic sectors, local authorities and stakeholders, industries, NGOs, volunteers, and the media aiming to enhance women’s mental health, the conference had three priorities: 1) family cohesion and lifestyle, 2) vulnerable women, and 3) resilience.