Utilization of family planning health services, and its continuation rate, El-Minia governorate, Egypt, 1990

To study and evaluate the family planning [F.P.] methods used and the health services [H.S.] utilized among wives in the childbearing period, we chose 3 groups randomly from medical records [280]; from Outpatient Clinics of Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of El-Minia University Hospital [160]; and from Rural Area [40]. A medical questionnaire was designed for each group to study cross-sectionally the factors affecting F.P. utilization rates and its continuation among these groups. Between the period of January 1989 and February 1990 we followed-up the target population and we found out that the users of contraception for less than 5 years were 18.0 percent of skilled and professional women [P < 0.05], compared to 5.9 percent of educated women who were users for more than 10 years [P < 0.05]. Also, there was a positive correlation between every one of: age, duration of lactation, and crowding index, and the duration of contraception use. The sources of knowledge were; mass media [45.1 percent] and other sources [39.2 percent] who used contraception for less than 10 years. The most effective variables which were associated with increasing the duration of use of contraception were expenditure/month, education of wife, and then parity and crowding index [r[2] = 0.29 and P < 0.05]

Comparison between growth of infants of working and non-working mothers in El-Minia city

This work was carried out to study the impact of work of mothers on the anthropometric measurements of the infants in El-Minia City. A follow-up of infants of 500 working mothers was done during the first year of life. 458 infants [244 males and 214 females] were followed up by anthropometric measurements [weight, length and head circumference] at birth and monthly up to 12 months. The measurements were compared with measurements of 244 infants [126 males and 118 females] of non-working mothers. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between both groups of infants in achieving physical growth during the first year of life [P < 0.05]. All measurements were compared with National Center of Health and Statistics USA [NCHS-USA] growth chart. In the present study, the irregularity in practice of breast feeding and lack of time for daily care and proper nutrition as regards working mothers were the most common causes of under growth of infants of working mothers during the first year of life