Exploring Married Iranian Women’s Perception of the Meaning of Sexual Marital Activity: A Qualitative Study

Sexual relationship is not limited to a merely biological process; it is an experience that is formed in a joint intrapersonal, interpersonal and cultural context. This study aimed to explore married Iranian women’s interpretation of sexual activity. The researchers conducted this qualitative study on 65 eligible married women aged 16-60 years attending prenatal care, family planning, and gynecology clinics in an educational hospital during 2012-2013. We collected data through 9 focus group discussions. We also used purposive sampling method with maximum variation for selecting study Participants. All interviews were continued until data saturation was achieved. Researchers used a conventional content analysis approach for data analyzing. Four main categories were extracted from the data. The main categories included: “Sex and response to individual’s feelings,” “Sex and intra and interpersonal challenges,” “Sex and informational challenges (the known and unknown),” and “Sex and self-sacrifice (duty-oriented sexual activity).” The participants expressed a dynamic meaning of sexual marital activity that was influenced by many basic emotional, psychological, physical, social, economic, and cultural factors. Most participants placed strong emphasis on the duty-oriented aspect of marital sexual activities, and showed a preference for their husband’s sexual needs and satisfaction

Cervical ripening before surgical evacuation of first-trimester pregnancy: a comparison between misoprostol and trinitroglycerin

Introduction: Termination of pregnancy through curettage in the first trimester requires cervical ripening (CR) which can be induced by medicinal or mechanical methods. In the pharmaceutical method, vaginal administration of misoprostol, as well as vaginal trinitroglycerin (TNG), has been shown to induce effective CR. This study was conducted with the aim of comparing vaginal misoprostol and vaginal TNG in the CR of women candidates for the first-trimester curettage. Materials and Methods: This double-blind clinical trial study was conducted on 168 pregnant women with a gestational age of less than 14 weeks who were candidates for curettage. Participants were randomly divided into two groups receiving vaginally either TNG (400 µgr)(n=87) or misoprostol (400 µgr) (n=81). Then, the state of CR and the need for mechanical dilatation were compared between the two groups. Also, the presence of any side effects caused by drug use was determined. Results: The percentage of CR in the misoprostol group (67.9%) was significantly higher than in the TNG group (32.2%) (P0.001). Generally, the rate of complications in the TNG group (35.6%) was significantly higher compared with the misoprostol group (13.6%) (P>0.001). Conclusion: Vaginally Misoprostol is more effective than vaginally TNG on CR of first-trimester curettage as well as it significantly reduces the need for mechanical dilatation of the cervix

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy with Cognitive Hypnosis on Reducing Depression in Students with Premenstrual Syndrome

Background & Aim: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is defined as a set of physical and psychological symptoms occurring during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral therapy and group cognitive hypnotism on decreased depression among female students with PMS. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on female students of Rasht, Iran in 2017. In total, 30 students with PMS were selected by random sampling and randomly divided into three groups, including two experimental groups and one control group. While eight sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnosis cognitive therapy were held for the first and second groups, respectively, the third group received no treatment. Data were collected using an eight-item researcher-made PMS questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory in two pretest and posttest stages. In addition, data analysis was carried out using the covariance analysis and Lamtriks post hoc. Results: In this study, both therapy methods were effective in reducing depression among women with PMS (P<0/001). However, hypnosis had a greater impact on PMS, compared to the other method, showing a significant difference in this regard (P=0.002). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the psychological therapies affected PMS among the subjects. It is recommended that these methods be applied more than pharmaceutical methods due to their fewer complications

Prevalence and Predictors of Low Birth Weight in Guilan, Iran

Introduction: The survivance of newborn in unfavorable circumstances was determined by birth weight. Maternal adverse demographic circumstances and illnesses are the risky factors in which the fetal conditions are described.Objectives: This study aimed to determine prevalence and predictors of low birth weight (LBW) in Guilan, Iran.Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 560 pregnant women attending healthcare centers of Rasht, Iran, from March 2012 to March 2013. Data collections were based on their health record information in health centers. Finally, relationship between infant birth weight with maternal demographic characteristics and predictor’s factors and data was analyzed statistically.Results: The mean infant birth weight obtained was 3266.14 gm while the prevalence of low birth weight (LBW) was 4.1%. According to the analysis, the factors associated with LBW were: mother pre-pregnancy, body mass index, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, preterm rupture of membrane, preterm labor and neonatal sex. The significant risk factors for infant birth weight were: birth interval, mother’s weight gain during pregnancy, gestational age, preterm labor and hypertension.Conclusions: Maternal biosocial, medical and obstetric factors have strong association with LBW

Comparison of Health Promoting Lifestyle in Guilan Medical and Non-Medical Sciences Students

Background: Since health-promoting lifestyle is an important determinant of health status, this study aimed to compare the health-promoting lifestyle in medical and non-medical students of Guilan, Iran. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a descriptive-analytical approach that was performed on 1319 students of medical sciences and non-medical sciences in Guilan, 2014. The data collection tool was 52-item HPLP Π in six dimensions (health responsibility, physical activity, nutritional habits, stress management, spiritual growth, and interpersonal relationships). Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA, T-test, and Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: The mean health-promoting lifestyle among students of Guilan University and Guilan University of Medical Sciences was (129.5± 7.17) and (128.1± 19), respectively. There was a significant difference between the two studied population in terms of health responsibility (p= 0.0001). Students of medical sciences had 3.2 times more favorable health promoting lifestyle (OR = 3.123, 95% CI = 1.57-6.3), married students 6.1 times (OR= 1.55, 95% CI = 1.05-2.32), students with mothers with under diploma degree 2.6 times (OR= 2.6 95% CI = 1.49-4.62), students with fathers with diploma 1.7 times (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2-2.56), and physical education and sports science students 5.8 times (OR = 8.5, 95% CI = 3.42- 20.95) had a more optimal health promoting lifestyle. Conclusion: In the present study, students' health-promoting lifestyles are in an unfavorable condition. Since the students in the future will be responsible for managing different sectors of the country and will play a role in changing the other health-promoting behavior of other strata of the society, it is important to consider their health-promoting lifestyles by providing facilities and eliminating the shortcomings. Keywords: lifestyle, health-promoting, student