Effectiveness of Cognitive Group counseling to self-esteem in nulliparous women

Background and aims: Self-esteem is a powerful and important factor in creating health, satisfaction and happiness, and is an important determinant factor of the coping capacities of women during labor and delivery. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of group counseling on cognitive-behavioral approach on the self-esteem in primiparous pregnant women. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 46 pregnant nulliparous women in one of the hospitals in Tehran. Women who were in the first pregnancy and had a self-esteem score of zero or less selected after taking written inform consent. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups in the intervention and control group. The intervention group participated in 7 sessions of cognitive-behavioral group counseling, while the control group received only the routine pregnancy care. Two weeks after the last session, the Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem questionnaire was recompleted by both groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive (percent and mean) and inferential statistical tests (Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney, t-test and K2 and using SPSS. Results: The results showed that difference between mean age among women in the intervention group (28.32±3.26), and the control group (25.88±4.24) was significant (P=0.035). The self-esteem scores mean of the intervention and control groups was (4.77±4.07) and (-1.79±2.26), which difference was significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: It seems that cognitive-behavioral group counseling can increase the self-esteem of women during pregnancy. So, it is recommended to use counseling methods to improve the mental health of pregnant women in childbirth preparation classes

Controlled Breathing With or Without Lavender Aromatherapy for Labor Pain at the First Stage: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objectives: There is a wide range of interventions available for managing labor pain. Complementary medicine and nonpharmacological approaches to relieve pain are the components of midwifery practice that can simply be started by midwives. This study aimed to examine the effect of breathing technique with lavender on labor pain compared to breathing technique alone in an Iranian setting in 2015. Materials and Methods: A single-blind randomized trial was conducted on the pregnant women hospitalized in labor room in Fatemieh maternity hospital. A total of 120 laboring mothers who were eligible for the study were randomly assigned to two groups of breathing technique with lavender and breathing technique with sterile water. The labor pain was measured using the visual analogue scale at different dilatations. Data analysis was done by t test and χ2 using SPSS version 18.0. Results: The mean age of women in the group of breathing technique with lavender and of breathing technique with sterile water were 25.5±4.3 and 26±4.9, respectively (P=0.6). The mean total pain scores in the experimental and control groups were 6.77±1.89 and 7.44±1.66 (CI: -1.35, 0.014), respectively (P=0.05). Conclusions: The results of the study indicated that breathing technique with lavender reduced labor pain at the end of labor (i.e.at the cervical dilatation of 9-10 cm) compared to breathing technique without lavender. Further research is needed to confrm the effect of lavender aromatherapy on labor pain

Development and Psychometrics of Perceived Experiences of Natural Vaginal Childbirth in Iranian Primiparous Women Questionnaire

Objectives: Delivery is a different experience in Iran. Delivery rooms are not private, women are not accompanied by their husbands or mothers, and the number of midwives per shift is not enough. Midwives also have a lot of responsibilities including labor control, doing delivery, and filling out the digital forms. The aim of this study is to develop psychometrics of perceived experiences of natural vaginal childbirth in Iranian primiparous women. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done in the postpartum unit of Taleghani hospital (Arak, Iran). In the design stage, questionnaire items were extracted from a comprehensive review of qualitative and quantitative studies and similar tools. A 25-item questionnaire was then designed, validated, and distributed among 400 primiparous women (selected via simple random sampling). The filled questionnaires were used for factor analysis. The validity of the tool was then found using face and content validity. Its reliability was also confirmed by internal consistency. Results: The questionnaire to assess the perceived experiences of natural childbirth in primiparous women contained six domains including privacy (6 items), mother"s experience of childbirth (5 items), mother"s experience of midwife"s behavior (5 items), midwife"s support (3 items), experience of childbirth pain (3 items), and understanding mother"s expectations of the personnel (3 items). The internal consistency of the questionnaire was calculated as 0.72. Conclusions: Valid and reliable tools like the one designed in the current research can facilitate the evaluation of services provided in delivery rooms and help women have a more pleasurable experience of childbirth

Misconceptions about sexual intercourse during pregnancy: cognitive-behavioral counseling in prenatal care

Background. The fears, concerns, and negative attitudes of pregnant women towards sex during pregnancy can have a negative impact on the sexual relationship and sexual performance of couples. Objectives. We aimed to determine the effects of cognitive-behavioral counseling on misconceptions about sexual intercourse during pregnancy in pregnant women. Material and methods. In this randomized educational study, five clinics were randomly selected in Arak, Iran. A total of 20 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria were selected from each clinic. The Misconceptions about Sexual Intercourse during Pregnancy Questionnaire (MSIP-Q) was completed after written informed consent. Finally, twenty-two women with the lowest scores on the MSIP-Q were selected. Eleven subjects were allocated to the intervention group (cognitive-behavioral counseling), while eleven subjects were assigned to the control group. The questionnaire was also completed by the participants over a three-month interval. For statistical analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics (student’s t-test, paired t-test and Fisher exact test) were calculated using SPSS software. Results. The mean MSIP-Q score was 77.81 ± 10.03 in the intervention group and 71.27 ± 8.29 in the control group before the intervention; no significant difference was found between the groups. On the other hand, the mean MSIP-Q score was 113.3 ± 11.16 in the intervention group and 76.90 ± 19.07 in the control group following cognitive-behavioral counseling; a significant difference was found between the two groups (p < 0.001). Based on the findings, no significant difference was reported in the intervention group in the three-month follow-up; in fact, the effects of training remained stable. Conclusions. This study showed that there are misconceptions about vaginal intercourse during pregnancy in Iranian women. Therefore, providing sexual health services and training during pregnancy are necessary at health clinic

Child sexual abuse based on the crosswise model: a cross-sectional study on 18–24-year-old Iranian students

Background. Child sexual abuse refers to the compulsory sexual stimulation of a child or adolescent by an adult or older adolescent and includes a wide range of behavior, such as exhibitionism, fondling, sexual intercourse and using children for pornography. Objectives. The present study used the crosswise model to investigate childhood sexual abuse among Iranian university students. Material and methods. This cross-sectional study used a multi-stage method to examine 1,500 subjects in the universities of Shahroud, Iran. The questionnaire consisted of a pair of questions evaluating sexual abuse based on the crosswise approach, one sensitive and the other non-sensitive. To ensure the confidentiality of information, the questionnaire was distributed anonymously among the 1,500 students of 6 universities, and the students’ field of study was not mentioned. The collected data was analyzed with descriptive tests (mean and percent) and inferential tests, (independent t-test, chi-squared and crosswise) using SPSS 18 and STATA software. Results. A total of 11% of the girls and 27% of the boys were found to have suffered a form of sexual abuse. Conclusions. The results indicate a high prevalence of sexual abuse among Iranian children. Evaluating sexual abuse helps health policymakers to focus on parent training through health programs and educational programs in school

Effectiveness of Cognitive Group counseling to self-esteem in nulliparous women

Background and aims: Self-esteem is a powerful and important factor in creating health, satisfaction and happiness, and is an important determinant factor of the coping capacities of women during labor and delivery. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of group counseling on cognitive-behavioral approach on the self-esteem in primiparous pregnant women. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 46 pregnant nulliparous women in one of the hospitals in Tehran. Women who were in the first pregnancy and had a self-esteem score of zero or less selected after taking written inform consent. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups in the intervention and control group. The intervention group participated in 7 sessions of cognitive-behavioral group counseling, while the control group received only the routine pregnancy care. Two weeks after the last session, the Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem questionnaire was recompleted by both groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive (percent and mean) and inferential statistical tests (Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney, t-test and K2 and using SPSS. Results: The results showed that difference between mean age among women in the intervention group (28.32±3.26), and the control group (25.88±4.24) was significant (P=0.035). The self-esteem scores mean of the intervention and control groups was (4.77±4.07) and (-1.79±2.26), which difference was significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: It seems that cognitive-behavioral group counseling can increase the self-esteem of women during pregnancy. So, it is recommended to use counseling methods to improve the mental health of pregnant women in childbirth preparation classes

Investigating Different Factors of Fear in Normal Delivery among Pregnant Women, in Arak -A Cross Sectional Study

Background & Objective: This study was designed to investigate the causes and factors related to natural childbirth among pregnant women who attended prenatal care of Arak. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study   was carried out among 595 women who attended to prenatal care of Arak. Five hospitals were selected randomly. Only the pregnant women who wish to complete the questionnaire were enrolled in the study. The data were analyzed using chi-square test, t-test, the Mann-Whitney –u test, x2, Friedman Test through SPSS16 software. Results: The average sample age was 26 ±5.3 years. The mean score for nulliparous women on the Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire (26.2 ± 7.8) was significantly higher than that of multiparous women (23.9 ± 7.9), p<0.0 01. There was a significant difference between the scores of childbirth, women who chose the caesarian 27.5 ±5.1   and the women who chose natural childbirth 24.1±3.2 p= (0.02). The results indicated that the most common cause of fear was of the possible harm to the baby 77.9% (459). Conclusion: As far as the women’s fear regarding child birth were mostly higher among nulliparous and cesarean women, it is recommended to make them aware about the causes of fear and provide consulting services in order to reduce the demand of caesarean as a way of childbirth