[ effect of ice massage of the LI4 point on severity of labor pain in primigravidas]

Labor pain is one of the severe pains women experience during their life. Today various pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are used to relieve the labor pain; one of the non-pharmacological relief methods is acupressure. This study was fulfilled to evaluate the effect of ice massage in LI4 point on severity of labor pain in primigravidas. This quasi-experimental study was carried out on 60 primigravidas admitted for delivery in Valiasr Hospital, Zanjan. The cases were primigravidas with single fetus, in the age range of 20-35 years with cervical dilatation of 3-4 centimeters and gestational age of 38-42 weeks. At first, they were selected by simple sampling and then randomly divided into two groups: Case and control. Severity of pain was measured in visual analogue scale [VAS] before and after massage of the left and right hand. The data were analyzed by T test, paired t-test, Chi-square at a significance level of alpha=0.05. There were no significant statistical differences in age, education, occupation, and severity of pain before intervention between two groups. Intensity of pain decreased significantly after intervention in case group compared to control group [p<0.0001]. Ice massage of left hand was more effective than right hand [p<0.001]. The results of this study suggested that ice massage could be considered as a safe, effective and noninvasive method of reducing labor pain

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

[Association of body mass index with sexual dysfunction in women referred to health centers of Qom city, 2010, Iran]

Satisfactory sexual performance is an important factor for strengthening families and is the source of many innovations in human life that can be affected by many factors. Obesity as a recent epidemic has influenced the global population. Researches have shown that sexual dysfunction is associated with obesity in men, but this association is unclear in women. This study aimed to investigate the association between body mass index [BMI] and sexual dysfunction in women. In this case-control study of women who referred to the selected health centers of Qom city, 77 persons with sexual dysfunction [score 28] by a standardized questionnaire of sexual function. To determine BMI, height, and weight, and distribution of body fat, waist and hip circumferences were measured. Data were analyzed using statistical tests, such as t-test, chi-square and multiple regression, on the significance level [p<0.05]. The mean BMI in case group was 34.1 +/- 5.4 and 26 +/- 4.4 in the control group, that statistical test showed a significant relationship between BMI and sexual dysfunction [p<0.05]. Also, the most dysfunction was observed in the arousal phase in the case group and in the sexual pain phase in the control group [p<0.05]. According to the results of this study, obesity affects some aspects of sexual performance in women. Therefore, interventional studies on weight loss in obese women with sexual dysfunction are necessary to reveal the association of obesity with sexual dysfunction