Knowledge and attitudes towards premarital counseling and examination

Premarital counselling and examination have begun to play a very important role in the management of many genetic disorders. 600 villager's knowledge and attitudes toward premarital counselling and examination in Menofia Governorate was studied in order to predict the community acceptance and behaviour toward utilization of such service. The result showed a big lack in knowledge even among educated respondents about the term. The main source of information was mass media followed by medical personnels who should participate more in this service. Most respondents, except unmarried males, have a favourable attitude toward either premarital counselling and examination or consanguanous marriage. This may be related to certain social changes in village life such as declining illiteracy, increased economic pressures, increase number of nuclear families and accordingly delay in beginning a family. It was unlikely that non-contraceptive users would resort to induced abortion rather to use contraceptive methods. Educational programs should be directed toward: [a] unmarried males so that their attitude toward premarital counselling and examination can be changed to correct direction, [b] unmarried females to make consanganous marriage more undesirable, and [c] non-contraceptive users to make them more intended to use safe contraceptive methods than induced abortion

Social and environmental factors related to the prevalence of paramenstrual syndrome among Menoufia women

The paramenstrual syndrome was studied among 220 women in Monoufia governorate of 15-35 years of age. The modified Moos Menstrual Questionnaire was used to record the prevalence rates of the different symptoms. The most common somatic symptom was backache and psychological symptom was irritability. Somatic symptoms rates surpassed the psychological ones. Almost all symptoms subsided during the menstrual phase. Education, occupation, crowding index, high tension field, and menstrual cycle characteristics were associated more with the severity of nearly all symptoms. It was recommended that proper examination of women should be done to detect medical and legal problems related to this syndrome which would benefit from hormonal treatment and assurance. Further investigations have to be done to determine the prevalence rates of paramenstrual syndrome among the Egyptian women and the factors affecting their aggravation