Women’s Health Bulletin
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Apr 2014

Context: Cash payments or other incentive policies to improve population growth rate have been used for many years; but the efficiency of these policies has not yet been fully understood. We provide a brief background to different incentive population policies for accelerating birth rate and its underlying rationale and consequences.. Evidence Acquisition: For our search strategy, we reviewed the J store, Medline, science direct, ISI database, and the WHO Reproductive Health Library. The study comprised all published and unpublished accounts on cash and other incentive programs, with especial reference to key considerations on the use of these policies. The majority of studies have been conducted in developed countries and policies are focused on addressing basic factors such as women’s decision making on childbearing, poverty, or western life style.. In general, there are four different types of incentive policy instruments that can potentially influence childbearing: direct cash payments such as baby bonus payments and family allowances, indirect transfers such as tax exemptions, housing policies, health care or child tax credits, creating better working conditions for mothers like improving work–family compatibility such as maternity and paternity leave with or without salary-maintenance, or availability, acceptability, accessibility of high quality and inexpensive nursery in the workplace, and inadvertent policies such as new graduate recruitment system which help young people find regular jobs, and schools could act as go-betweens in the recruitment process since employers prefer hiring recent graduates.. We conclude that policies aimed at reducing the incompatibility between work and the factors associated with mothers'' roles such as maternity leaves, childcare, and early education affecting women’s childbearing and younger age pregnancies. However, ongoing researches will shed more light on the efficacy of each incentive policies in the context of Iran..

Anxiety is among the pregnancy complications affecting maternal mental and physical health and attachment to the fetus and newborn. Relaxation training is an effective, simple and available method to address this dismal condition.. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of relaxation training on anxiety and maternal attachment to fetus and neonate in primigravida women.. This clinical trial comprised 84 primigravida pregnant woman including 42 experimental and 42 controls from a population of pregnant women referred to Shushtari and Hafez hospitals in the summer of 2010. Before the beginning of the study, anxiety and attachment levels of mothers to the fetus were assessed in both groups. In addition to the routine prenatal cares, the experimental group underwent four weekly 90-minutes of relaxation training for one month. The control group received only standard care during pregnancy. At the end of one month intervention, the anxiety and attachment levels of mothers to the fetus were assessed in both groups. The researcher visited mothers, while breastfeeding, on the first day after delivery, and recorded the mothers-neonates attachment behaviors.. The two groups were homogeneous in terms of age, sex and attachment and anxiety levels before the intervention. There were no significant differences in mean score of anxiety (P = 0.618) and attachment (P = 0.897) levels before the intervention in both groups. However, significant differences were observed in the anxiety (P = 0.017) and attachment (P = 0.005) mean scores after the intervention between both groups. Also, the mean score of maternal attachment after the first breastfeeding in the two groups showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.0001).. The results of this study showed that relaxation training reduces anxiety in pregnant women and improves maternal attachment to the newborn..

Preeclampsia is a unique idiopathic syndrome in human pregnancy that can involve almost all organ systems.. The aim of the present study was to compare the periodontal diseases between the preeclamptic and normal pregnant women in order to find a possible risk factor relationship.. This case-control study was performed on 200 pregnant women, with maternal age ≤ 35 years and gestational age 20 weeks with singleton pregnancies. Of these, 100 women were preeclamptic with proteinuria and blood pressure ≥ 140/90 and 100 women with normal blood pressure in the control group. Oral examination was performed on all women by a dentist for detection of periodontal diseases. Gingivitis and periodontitis were diagnosed based on the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP)/American Dental Association (ADA) classification, using the measurement method of Ramfjord. The preeclamptic women were then sub-classified into mild and moderate and comparisons were made between all groups.. The mean maternal age, BMI, neonatal birth weights and gestational age at delivery were not significantly different between the preeclamptic and normal groups. There was a significant association between preeclampsia and periodontal diseases (P 0.01). The mean number of involved teeth (P 0.001) and the mean pocket depth (P = 0.04) were higher among the preeclamptic group. Gingivitis was more frequent among the cases with mild (56.8%) compared to (31.6%) in the severe preeclamptic group (P = 0.04). Periodontitis was more prevalent among the cases with severe preeclampsia which was not statistically significant. The mean neonatal birth weight was significantly lower in the group with severe preeclampsia (P < 0.01).. There was a significant association between preeclampsia and periodontal diseases. The number of involved teeth and pocket depth were higher among the preeclamptic mothers compared to normal pregnant women..

Ramadan fasting is a religious practice and an exceptional ritual compared to all other religious conventions. The aim of fasting in Ramadan is to establish a proper religious model of self-control and healthy lifestyle.. The purpose of this study was to compare the biochemical neurohormones between women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) with and without fasting.. This study was conducted during July 2011 at the Infertility Center of Royan Institute, and comprised 40 patients diagnosed with PCOS, aged from 20-40 years without any special disease. The study group included 20 women with PCOS and fasting during Ramadan. The control group consisted of 20 non-fasting women with PCOS. The study on the effects of fasting on patients with polycystic ovary syndrome involved demographic data and biochemical stress hormones including cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline, beta-endorphin and insulin.. In patients with PCOS, mean of cortisol in subjects with and without fasting were 8.2 ± 4.4 and 11.2 ± 4.7, respectively (P = 0.049). Also the respective median of nor-adrenaline in fasting and non-fasting patients were 1273.5 and 1503.5 (P = 0.047). However, no significant differences were found in adrenalin (P = 0.151), beta-endorphin (P = 0.543) and insulin (P = 0.818) between PCOS two groups.. This study showed that Ramadan fasting is a well known practice to reduce stress hormones in women with PCOS. So, Ramadan, beside its spiritual benefit is a blessing from God for improving human lifestyle..

Osteoporosis is a serious problem worldwide, mainly because of the consequences of the diagnosis. However, many osteoporotic fractures can be prevented and treated.. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between lifestyle and bone mineral density (BMD) in women referring to bone densitometry Research center.. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1170 Pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. Demographic, anthropometric, lifestyle data including physical activities, smoking habits, dairy intake and its consumption pattern, calcium intake, as well as, history of steroid intake was asked.. Lumbar and femoral bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Based on the WHO definition the T-score value was considered for analysis.. Participants'' mean age was 52.77 (± 9.8) years. Adjusted for age, the BMD significantly correlated to body weight for women. A lower body weight was a risk factor for the osteoporotic process in our participants (P < 0.001). The BMD of women who had more than four pregnancies showed a positive relationship with the osteoporosis of femoral neck and lumbar spine (P < 0.001). Physical activities were positively associated with BMD. This effect was stronger with hip than with spine BMD. Weakly positive associations were found between consumption of dairy products and BMD at the two measurement sites. Low dietary calcium intake and poor physical activity together with advancing age since menopause were independent risk factors for low BMD.. Bone densitometry should be used to assess the severity of bone loss, and to identify those in need of therapy. The follow up and early diagnosis of osteopenia should be carried out in order to institute proper therapy and prevent further osteoporosis..

It is suggested that the type and frequency of snacks as well as dairy consumption can influence body weight and composition.. This study attempts to assess the correlation of BMI and waist circumference with snacking pattern and dairy consumption among female university students.. We randomly selected 112 female students who were residents of Shiraz University dormitories as participants in this cross-sectional study. Weight, height and waist circumference of the participants were measured. Demographic and food frequency questionnaires were completed in face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.. The results showed that 17% of participants were underweight, 74.1% were normal weight and 8.9% were overweight. Among participants, 95.5% had a normal waist circumference whereas the waist circumference in 4.5% was above normal. There were 63.3% of female students who consumed just one snack per day. Confectionaries (84.1%) were the most popular snacks. Mean ± SD dairy consumption was 1.78 ± 1.20 servings per day. There were no correlations between body mass index and waist circumference with snacking pattern or dairy intake.. The majority of our subjects had normal weight and waist circumference, thus we did not find any correlation between body mass index and waist circumference to snacking pattern or dairy intake. Similar studies should be conducted that enroll both overweight and normal weight subjects..

The relationship between nutritional pattern and non-communicable diseases such as coronary artery diseases, diabetes, and obesity has already been established.. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between nutritional pattern and education level of rural women in Iran.. The present research was conducted on 209 randomly selected women who consented to take part in the study, and lived in kaftarak area of Shiraz during the past year. A questionnaire used in the study was prepared in collaboration with all residents of the department Community Medicine of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Chi-square and t-tests were used for statistical analysis.. Among participants, 45% were in the low educated group and 55% were literate. According to our findings, the participants used five major groups of food in appropriate amounts. Of these, 49% consumed fruits, 54.3%, vegetables, 69.5% protein, 57.6%, dairy products, and 5.7% bread and cereals. Our study showed a significant relationship between education level of the participants and the appropriate consumption of fruits, vegetables, protein and dairy products. However, there was no significant association between education level and consumption of fat and carbohydrates. The participants became overweight or obese when deriving most of their calories from carbohydrates. The mean BMI of the subjects was 26.68 ± 5.8 which was consistent with their inappropriate use of fats and carbohydrates.. The women in rural areas became prone to overweight and obesity by inappropriate consumption of some foods..