International Journal of Women’s Health and Reproduction Sciences
Volume:12 Issue: 2, Apr 2024

 The concept of menstrual rights is usually discussed as a marginalized topic; in addition, the realization of women’s menstrual rights faces ambiguous structures and challenges. This study, therefore, aimed to systematically review the concept and the most important structural dimensions of the menstrual rights of menstruators in order to evaluate the suggestions on different dimensions of menstrual rights and to raise the awareness of health service providers in this regard.

 In this study, all papers and documents addressing this subject and accessible in international databases (i.e., PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science) and Iranian ones (i.e., IranMedex and Magiran) were reviewed from September to November 2021. Then 28 papers and documents were selected for final review and analysis.

 The concept of menstrual rights concerned with the ability of women and girls to manage menstrual issues and enjoy a healthy and sanitary period of menstruation. The structure of menstrual rights consisted of menstrual rights in subcultures and religions, components of menstrual rights (e.g., social rights, health rights, educational rights) and menstrual rights in special cases (e.g., natural disasters, disabilities, transgender, etc).

 According to our findings, decisive evidence was found about different dimensions of menstruation rights, which may have provided useful background information for the authorities involved in national and reproductive health, private sectors, charities, and activist groups in this field. These authorities, in turn, may have used the obtained evidence to perform civil acts focused on women and girls’ menstruation and reproductive health.

This study aimed to assess the geographical distribution of birth defects in Ecuador.

This study employed spatial analysis techniques using the records of birth defects from the Ecuadorian Public Health Ministry from January 2015 to December 2019. Morbidity rates, per 1000 newborns, were calculated by birth defect detected and the province of birth, and then the map of its distribution was depicted. The spatial distribution was assessed in each province and canton.

29276 confirmed cases born between 2015 and 2019 were registered. The distribution of every disease tends to be different in every canton and birth defect type in Ecuador. The relative rates show a higher incidence in some eastern and highland cantons.

We found a different distribution and rate of birth defects in Ecuador. The higher incidence of birth defects in some cantons should be investigated in future studies, as should environmental factors, consanguineous rates, and genetic polymorphism distribution

The aim of this study was to compare the impact of two different doses of magnesium on severity of menstrual symptoms.

In this double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 60 students with moderate or severe dysmenorrhea were randomly allocated to two intervention groups and one control group (receiving 150 mg and 300 mg magnesium stearate, or placebo from the 15th day of menstruation until the following cycle, respectively). All participants reported their menstrual symptoms according to the Symptom Severity Scale 2 cycles before and 2 cycles after the intervention. The main outcomes included menstrual symptoms such as cramps, headache, foot pain, depression, irritability, general pain, and abdominal pain.

According to the results, although both doses of magnesium could significantly reduce all symptoms of dysmenorrhea compared to the placebo (P<0.001), magnesium 300 mg was more effective in decreasing symptoms such as cramps, headache, back pain, foot pain, depression, irritability, and abdominal pain.

The results showed that both doses of magnesium stearate (150 and 300 mg) can reduce severity of menstrual symptoms although the effect was greater with magnesium stearate 300 mg.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of Vitex agnus-castus (VAC), and Salvia officinalis extracts on serum lipids in postmenopausal women referred to the Bone Densitometry Center, Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran.

This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 89 postmenopausal women in 2016 using random permuted blocks with a block size of 3 in the three groups, including the VAC group (3.2-4.8 mg/q8h), S. officinalis group (100 mg/q8h), and placebo group for three months. Women were finally compared in terms of low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides (TG), and highdensity lipoprotein before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software. Descriptive statistical tests and paired t test were used to compare the groups.

A significant decrease in serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides levels and also increase in mean serum high-density lipoprotein levels were observed in VAC and S. officinalis groups before and after the intervention (P = 0.0001). In comparison, no significant change was observed in serum level of any lipoproteins in the placebo group.

Considering the decrease in the level of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and increased highdensity lipoprotein after using VAC and S. officinalis in this study, these herbs can be proposed as blood lipid-lowering agents in postmenopausal women.

Despite advancements in the assisted reproduction technology (ART), the proportion of unexplained infertility is 30% among infertile couples. This study aimed to explore the pregnancy proportions in women with primary unexplained infertility who were given follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) along with the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) trigger compared with those who were only given the hCG trigger.

In this randomized controlled trial, the women eligible for intrauterine insemination (IUI) were investigated between April 1, 2022 and April 1, 2023 at Al-Zahra referral academic center. To this end, a total of 130 women were primarily screened and then 50 ones were excluded from the study based on the pre-defined inclusion criteria. Therefore, the final study population consisted of 80 eligible women with primary unexplained infertility, who were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=40) and control group (n=40). The patients in the intervention group received two ampules (75 IU) of FSH in addition to two ampoules (5000 IU) of hCG, while the patients in the control group only received hCG. Both groups underwent IUI 34-36 hours after the hCG triggering. The biochemical and clinical pregnancy rates were evaluated as primary outcomes.

No significant differences were observed between the baseline and clinical characteristics, including endometrial thickness and the number of follicles before intervention (P>0.05). However, the clinical pregnancy rate was higher in the dual FSH and hCG group (40.0%, 16/40) than that in the hCG group (20.0%, 8/40) (P=0.048). The chemical pregnancy rates were 32.5% (13/40) and 37.5% (15/40) for the hCG and dual FSH and hCG groups, respectively. No significant relationships were detected between the biochemical pregnancy and the number of gestational sacs (P>0.05).

The dual administration of FSH and hCG for oocytes, compared with the injection of hCG alone, improved the clinical pregnancy. The biochemical pregnancy and live birth rates as well as the number of gestational sacs were not improved significantly.

This study aimed to evaluate the short-term and long-term outcomes of adopting two types of resectoscopes and hysteroscopic scissors metroplasty methods.

In this prospective, comparative, and cohort study, participants who were candidates for septum resection were recruited during 2015-2018. The uterine septum was removed using hysteroscopic scissors or a resectoscope. The second-look hysteroscopy was performed in the follicular phase after two months. In the second-look hysteroscopy, surgery outcomes were evaluated, and the residual septa or adhesions were removed in case of incidence. The study followed participants for up to five years to observe pregnancy outcomes. This involved recording the duration from hysteroscopy to pregnancy and determining if these pregnancies led to live births.

A total of 119 female patients with a mean age of 30.20±6.14 years were enrolled in this study, out of who 62 cases (52.1%) were in the hysteroscopic scissors group, and 57 cases (47.9%) were in the resectoscope group. The 63 (52.9%) cases had primary infertility, and the prevalence of abortion was 46 (38.7%). During the second look, hysteroscopy adhesion was diagnosed in 18 cases (15.1%), and septum residue was seen in 49 cases (67.1%). The adhesion rate in the hysteroscopic scissors group was higher than that in the resectoscope group, but it was insignificant (P=0.223). At the second follow-up stage, only 85 patients out of 119 ones were available. The successful pregnancy rate was 46 out of 85 (54.1%). The mean age of the patients in the successful pregnancy group was significantly lower than that in the unsuccessful pregnancy group (P<0.001).

There were no differences among resectoscope and hysteroscopic scissor methods’ outcomes in term of metroplasty associated with septate uterus (SU).

Infertility is one of the reproductive health issues that not only affects infertile couple’s life, but it is a matter of demographic concerns on a vast scale. This study aims to examine the impact of socio-demographic factors on the incidence of infertility.

We used data from our cross-sectional fertility survey conducted in 2017 in four selected provinces of Iran including Gilan, West Azarbaijan, Sistan and Baluchistan, and Yazd. Using a structured questionnaire, 4088 women of reproductive age were interviewed in the survey for their reproductive life history as well as their socio-demographic and economic condition. Bivariate (chi-square test), and multivariate (Multiple Logistic Regression) analyses are applied to the data to meet the aim of the study. P values less than 0.05 are considered statistically significant where differentials are tested.

The prevalence of current infertility according to clinical definition varied from 7.4% in Yazd, 8.6% in West Azerbaijan, 12.4% in Gilan, and 22.3% in Sistan and Baluchistan. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between infertility and the age and age at marriage of women. Controlling for other socio-demographic variables probability of being infertile increases as women get married at an older age. In addition, women who lived in a household with the lowest socio-economic conditions were 80 percent more likely to experience infertility compared to those living in households with the highest socio-economic conditions. Living in Sistan and Baluchistan was also a strong predictor of infertility in the study resulting in a high odds ratio (3.050) compared with women living in Yazd province

Women’s age and age at marriage are the most important demographic characteristics in explaining infertility and having a lower socio-economic condition trigger it. Since the age of marriage is increasing in Iran, it may affect primary infertility where childbearing is postponed to the late 30s and early 40s.