Emotional experiences in surrogate mothers: a qualitative study

Surrogacy is one of the new techniques of assisted reproduction technology in which a woman carries and bears a child for another woman. In Iran, many Shia clerics and jurists considered it permissible so there is no religious prohibition for it. In addition to the risk of physical complications for complete surrogate mothers, the possibility of psychological complications resulted from emotional attachment to a living creature in the surrogate mother as another injury requires counseling and assessment prior to acceptance by infertile couples and complete surrogate mothers. The purpose of this study was to assess the emotional experiences of surrogate mothers. This was a qualitative, phenomenological study. We selected eight complete surrogate mothers in Isfahan. We used convenient sampling method and in-depth interview to collect the information. The data analysis was fulfilled via Colaizzi's seven-stage method. Reliability and validity study of the roots in the four-axis was done. The findings of these interviews were classified into two main themes and four sub themes: acquired experiences in pregnancy [feelings toward pregnancy, relationship with family, relatives and commissioning couple] and consequences of surrogacy [complications of pregnancy, religious and financial problems of surrogacy]. Surrogacy pregnancy should be considered as high-risk emotional experience because many of surrogate mothers may face negative experiences. Therefore, it is recommended that surrogates should receive professional counseling prior to, during and following pregnancy

[ study of the status of use of drug plants and its related factors in Qom city, Iran]

Herbal medicine as a type of complementary medicine has long been used by different societies. The studies of the last two decades have indicated the growing use of drug plants in the world, sometimes without consulting a physician and with no knowledge about their side-effects. This study was done with the aim of determining the status of use of drug plants and its related factors in Qom city. This descriptive cross-sectional study was done on 372 people of Qom city in 2012, using convenience sampling. The data were collected through a questionnaire that its validity and reliability had been confirmed. The data were analyzed via frequency tables, chi 2, Mann-Whitney and Fisher's tests. Significance level was considered p<0.05. In this study, 35.48% and 11.55% of participants had used drug plants for treatment and prevention, respectively. The most cases of consumption belonged to abdominal pain [48.4%], cold [42.2%] and sore throat [35.8%], and the most used plants were mint [72.3%], Sisymbrium irio [65.1%] and cinnamon [62.9%]. The most important reason of use of drug plants were fewer side-effects [51.1%] and better results [39.9%] compared to chemical medicine. Among studied variables, a statistically significant relationship was observed between gender and the amount of using drug plants [p=0.01]. Concerning the results of this study, the most reason of using drug plants was their fewer side-effects compared to chemical drugs. So, it is necessary to give accurate information, at the society level, about their side-effects and possible interactions

[Relation between home work and preterm labor]

Preterm birth is the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity; so, prevention of preterm labor is a priority in health care. This study aimed to determine relationship between house works with preterm labor. In this case-control study, 150 term pregnant women [control group] and 150 preterm pregnant women [case group] delivered in Izadi hospital in Qom were selected in 2008-2009. The data were collected using the "physical activity in pregnancy" scale. Data were analyzed using the Chi-squared test, t-test, and logistic regression. The P-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant level and the adjusted OR was reported for all variables. We used the SPSS- 16 for analyzing the data. According to the findings, there was no significant relationship between house work regarding duration and severity of activity in pregnancy with preterm labor. There was no relationship between house work in pregnancy and preterm labor. Further studies are recommended

[Quality of life in pregnant women]

To assess quality of life in pregnant women. This was a cross-sectional study of 600 pregnant women receiving prenatal care in health centers of Kashan University of Medical Science. The Short Form 36 Health Survey [SF-36] was used to assess quality of life. The lowest perceived well-being was role limitation due to physical problems 56.23 +/- 18.77 and vitality 56.40 +/- 18.07. The results indicated that women's scores on the SF-36 were correlated with age, gestational age, gravidity, education, income, wanted and unwanted pregnancy and satisfaction with life [P<0.05]. To improve guality of life in pregnant women it is important to improve background conditions for women