Effect of acupressure on cervical ripening

Background: Cervical ripening is one of the main stages of initiation labor. Acupressure in Chinese medicine is considered as an invasive technique, which through reliving oxytocin ripens the cervix. Acupoint Sanyinjiao (SP6) was selected in this study because it is the acupoint selected in gynecology and it is easy for women to locate and apply pressure without medical assistance. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acupressure on cervical ripening. Patients and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 150 primigravida with term pregnancy who had referred to Deziani hospital in Gorgan were chosen and divided to three groups: in the first group acupressure was done by the researcher while in the second groups this was performed by the mother her self, and the third group served as a control and only received routine care. For both intervention groups the pressure was applied on Sp6 for about 20 minutes during one to five days. Elements were checked from cervical ripening at 48 and 96 hours after intervention and at the time of hospitalization. The tools for gathering information included demographic characteristics and midwifery history questionnaire, daily records and follow up forms. Content validity was used for validity of tools. Reliability of the observation check-list and physical examination was confirmed by inter-rater scores (inter observer), and daily records by test-re-test. Data was analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-squared tests (P ≤ 0.05). Results: There was a significant difference between mothers’ educations in the three groups. Most of the mothers (59.5%) in the researcher-performed acupressure group had secondary education. Cervical ripening was significantly different between the three groups after 48 hours (P ≤ 0.05), yet there was no significant difference after 96 hours and at the time of admission. Mean Bishop score was enhanced after 48 hours in the researcher-performed acupressure group (P ≤ 0.021) and the self-performed acupressure group (P ≤ 0.007) in comparison to the control group. Conclusions: The results showed that acupressure is a safe technique and leads to cervical ripening. Thus, regarding the desired results that were achieved when mothers applied acupressure themselves, it could be suggested that it is beneficial for mothers to be trained to apply this method at home. © 2015, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Satisfaction of mothers with the performance of health care providers in postpartum wards of hospitals in Zahedan

Background and aimThe main goal of health care providers is to gain satisfaction of patients. Accordingly, one of the criteria in assessing quality of maternity care is satisfaction of mothers. The aim of this study was to determine satisfaction of mothers with the performance of health care providers in postpartum wards of selected hospitals at Zahedan. Materials and methods  In this descriptive study, 72 women with normal vaginal delivery were selected via quota sampling method in two hospitals. A questionnaire completed by interview from mothers in 4 parts including demographics and satisfaction with the performance of physicians, nurses as well as other staff was used to collect data. Its validity was determined by content method and its reliability by internal consistency. Data were analyzed by SPSS 15. Findings Mean age of the subjects was 23.65±5.49. Mean amounts of satisfaction with the performance of physicians, nurses and staff were 68.32%, 60.81% and 68.40% respectively. The highest means of satisfaction were related to the knowledge and skills of physicians as well as nurses and the lowest to the conduct of physicians and responsiveness of nurses. ConclusionWith respect to the proper satisfaction of mothers with the competency of clinical staff which cannot be authentically cited due to their limited information regarding professional medical services, the conduct and responsiveness should be well attended. Keywords: Satisfaction of mothers, Postpartum care, Nursing care, Staff performance. *Corresponding Author: Torkzahrani, SH. Dept. of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences & Health Services, Tehran, Iran E-mail: [email protected]