Woman abuse and pregnancy outcome among women in Khoram Abad, Islamic Republic of Iran

We carried out a descriptive analysis on the pregnancy outcome in 313 pregnant women [153 abused, 160 non-abused]. Abuse was statistically significantly correlated with mean weight gain during pregnancy, mean frequency of the prenatal care, prolonged labour [dystocia], premature rupture of membrane, low mean birth weight and mean gestational age at birth. Given the high likelihood that a woman will access health care services during her pregnancy, physicians providing prenatal care are in a strategic position to screen for partner abuse

[Marriage criteria of brides in Tehran]

Marriage is the first and the most important stage in family cycle through which humans mate with their partners. The success of other stages mainly depends on this stage. Mate selection is a difficult decision, which plays a primary role for having a happy life; otherwise, divorce will result. Proper mate selection criteria lead to family stability and physical as well as psychological health and bring about development and better child education with resulting human convenience. This descriptive study was conducted to assess criteria of bribes living in Tehran for selecting their spouses in 2005. 252 women were selected from urban health and medical centers affiliated to Tehran, Shaheed Beheshti and Iran Medical Universities by multistage sampling. A 6- point rating questionnaire in 3 parts including demographic characteristics, mate selection criteria [based on familial, physical, psychological, socioeconomic, and religion as well as cultural conditions] and an open-ended question was used for data collection. Face and content validity methods were used to validate the tool and its reliability was measured by Cronbach Alpha. Findings showed that genuineness [%66.4], sincerity [%95.6], sociability [%67.9], belief in equality of men and women [%65.1] were the most important criteria for women in mate selection. With respect to the importance of mate selection criteria in the stability of families, it seems that couples should learn more about them

relationship between mode of delivery and postpartum depression

Postpartum period is the most vulnerable time for the onset of mood disorders including the blues, depression and psychosis. Depression is the most important mood disorder in the postpartum period that can be associated with mother-baby and family conflictual interactions and may lead to irreparable consequences if not addresses well. Regarding different etiologies of postpartum depression, among them mode of delivery, and the existence of numerous controversies about this matter, the present study was conducted to determine the relationship between mode of delivery and postpartum depression in pregnant women attending some selected Health Centers affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2005. In this prospective analytical study, 258 pregnant women in their 3[rd] trimester of pregnancy were evaluated for signs of depression within 8 months and about 50 people were excluded from the study because of depression [Getting more than 12 from Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, EPDS] and those not suffering from depression were included in the study. Subjects who had histories of quitting parents before the age of 15, abortion, infertility, complications during pregnancy, prolonged pregnancy, postpartum complications, chronic diseases, nervous diseases in the family, hospitalization of the mother or the neonate and those with fetal demise were excluded from the study too. During 2 to 6 weeks from delivery, study subjects completed EPDS, marital satisfaction and social support questionnaires, were divided into NVD [73 women] and CS [75 women] groups and were matched for confounding factors before statistical analysis. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software, version 13, and the significance level was considered 0.05. The mean age of subjects was 22.71 +/- 3.15 years. Most of them had high school diplomas and were housewives. The prevalence of postpartum depression was 20.3%. 13.6%of the cases in NVD and 27.6% in CS groups scored more than 12 on EPDS and they were at risk for postpartum depression. There was a significant relationships between mode of delivery and postpartum depression [p<0.05] and a two fold risk for depression was seen in CS group [OR=2]. According to the findings of this study that postpartum depression has been twice as much prevalent in the CS group compared to that of NVD group, it can be concluded that CS should be performed in women who meet the criteria for this procedure. Implementing this strategy can have an effective role in preventing postpartum depression and help reduce expenses from its proper practice