ABSTRACT
Background: Mastalgia is a common problem among women. Severe mastalgia can have a negative impact on sexual, physical and sleep activities and behaviors. Regarding the absence of a study on the prevalence and severity of mastalgia in southern Iran, the current study was conducted
Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study. The participants were women who referred to health centers affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz. The inclusion criteria were willingness to participate in the study, not being pregnant and breastfeed. The severity of breast pain was calculated with visual analog scale. The data of 845 questionnaires were analyzed with SPSS software
Results: The participants' age ranged from 15-50 years; the mean age was 32.84+/-9.49 years. Among 845 participants, 33% [279] of them had experienced mastalgia in the past three months. Among those who had experienced mastalgia, 81% [226] had cyclical mastalgai and 19% [53] had non-cyclical mastalgia. The mean of pain score was 4.32+/-2.38 and 12.9% of the participants [36] had pain scores of 8 to 10. The impact of mastalgia on daily and sexual activities and sleep behaviors was reported 9.31% [26], 12.66% [29] and 13.97% [36], respectively
Conclusion: Results of this study showed that the spread of mastalgia in women referred to health centers affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences is lower than that reported in western studies and has lesser effects on their daily, sexual and sleep activities and behaviors. We suggest further studies about mastalgia in others locations in Iran
ABSTRACT
Background: Sleep disorders like snoring, mouth breathing, and insomnia are frequent in pregnancy and studies have shown that poor sleep is linked to obstetric complications. Muscle relaxation technique is an effective method used for improving sleep quality. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of muscle relaxation technique on fetal outcomes in complicated pregnancies with sleep disorders
Methods: This study was performed as a clinical trial on 160 pregnant women who suffered from preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. The participants filled the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] in order to measure the quality and patterns of their sleep. The participants with the total score of 5 or more were included in the present study. Intervention group were asked to use muscle relaxation technique twice a week at home for 8 weeks alongside the routine care. Study variables included sleep quality, Apgar scores, birth weight, levels of Interleukin- 6 [IL- 6], as well as umbilical cord PH and PO2
Results: The mean score of PSQI before the intervention was 9.28+/-4.16 and 9.18+/-3.06 in the intervention and control groups without a significant difference [P=0.6], respectively. However, PSQI global score of the experimental group was smaller than the control group at the end of the study [P<0.001]. Also, birth weight [P=0.04], Apgar score [P=0.01], and umbilical cord blood po2 [P=0.03] and PH [P=0.01] were higher, and IL-6 [P=0.04] was smaller in the experimental group compared to the control group
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that muscle relaxation, as a simple, inexpensive and safe method, can improve the fetal outcomes such as birth weight, Apgar score, cord blood po2, and cord blood PH, and also it leads to lower IL-6 in complicated pregnancies
ABSTRACT
Vasoconstriction during anxiety reduces fetal oxygenation and leads to hypoxia. Hypoxia in turn results in increase of the number of nucleated red blood cells [NRBCs] in the cord blood. The present study aimed to assess the effect of decreasing maternal anxiety on fetal oxygenation and NRBCs count in the cord blood. In this study, 150 women were randomly divided into two intervention groups [supportive care and acupressure in BL32 [bladder] acupoint] and a control group [hospital routine care]. The infants' cord blood was investigated regarding the number of NRBCs and the intensity of hypoxia after birth. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software [v. 16] and analyzed using ANOVA, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis. The significant difference was found between the two groups regarding the number of NRBCs counted in the peripheral blood smear [P<0.001]. Besides, a significant relationship was observed between the length of the first and second stages of labor and the number of NRBCs in the cord blood [P=0.01]. Also, a significant association was observed between the type of delivery and the number of NRBCs in the cord blood in both intervention [P<0.001] and control groups [P=0.03]. Doula supportive care and acupressure at BL32 point reduced the length of labor stages as well as the anxiety level. Also, nucleated red blood cells were less in the 2 groups of intervention than in control group. Regarding the fact that nucleated red blood cells cannot be the only factor for hypoxia predicting, for affirmation of this theory study with higher sample size and survey of mothers at high risk are needed