RESUMEN
Considering that vaginal delivery is a painful process, the present study investigated the effects of Citrus aurantium on the severity of first-stage labor pain in primiparous women. This study was a randomized clinical trial conducted with 126 eligible primiparous patients. The pain severity of patients was measured at the time of enrolling in the study. In the intervention group, [aromatherapy] gauze squares were soaked in 4 ml of Citrus aurantium distillate, and in the control group, gauze squares were soaked in 4 ml of normal saline; each gauze square was attached to the respective patients' collar. The intervention was repeated every 30 min. Pain severity was measured after the intervention at 3-4, 5-7, and 8-10 cm cervix dilatations. The two groups were standardized with regard to age, profession, education, desire to conceive, and number and severity of uterine contractions. The Bishop's score was also calculated. Before intervention, pain severity was the same for both groups, but following intervention, pain severity reduced in the intervention group at 3-4 centimeter [P < 0.05], 7-5 centimeter [P < 0.05], and 8-10 centimeter [P < 0.05] dilatations compared with that in the control group. The findings of the study revealed that aromatherapy using Citrus aurantium distillate alleviates labor pain. This method is recommended because of its ease of use and low cost and because it is a non-aggressive method to reduce labor pain
RESUMEN
High incidence of menstrual disorders at late ages of fertility accounts for 20% of clinical visits and 25% of gynecological surgeries. This study was conducted to identify the relationship between delivery type and menstrual disorders in women referring to hospitals affiliated to Medical Universities in Tehran in 2008. In this case-control study, which was conducted from April to August, 2008 in Tehran, 160 women aged 36 to 44 years, 80 women with and 80 without menstrual disorder as case and control groups were enrolled respectively. Data collection tool was a questionnaire [included questions regarding demographic and obstetrical characteristics]. Higham pictorial chart [scores more than 80 denoted menorrhagia], a verbal multidimensional scoring scale [from 0 for painless to 3 for severe pain], and Holmes-Rahe scale for assessing stress were used. About 93.1% of the cases and 65% of the controls had experienced dysmenorrhea at the begging of the study [P=0.009]. In other words, 65% of women with dysmenorrhea had a history of C-section. Women with menstrual disorders had more caesarian sections [53.7%] than those without the disorders [27.5%] [P<0.001] with an odds ratio estimate of 3.06 [95% CI: 1.58, 5.91]. There were significant differences in the number of pads/tampons used [P=0.009] and amount of uterine bleeding based on Higham chart [P=0.009] among case and control group. Caesarian may be considered as a risk factor for menstrual disorders particularly at late ages of fertility. Therefore, pregnant women should be consulted by health providers regarding advantages versus disadvantages of caesarian before selective C-section