Impact of childbirth preparation sessions towards the willingness and ability of husbands to accompany their wives during childbirth in the delivery room

Background and Objective: Most Fathers-to-be within Indian setting find it difficult to cooperate with their spouse抯 labour and encounter a great deal of stress during the journey of Childbirth. The study objective is to assess the impact of Childbirth preparation sessions (CPS) in a private maternity centre at Chennai towards shaping the willingness and attitudes of fathers-to be regarding their willingness and ability to accompany their wives during childbirth in the delivery room and to compare the attitudes with those fathers who did not attend the Childbirth preparation sessions. Materials and methods: A pilot study was conducted between October 2022 to January 2023 at a tertiary maternity hospital in a metropolitan city (Chennai) with a convenient sample of fathers-to-be who attended (Group 1, n=30) CPS and those who did not attend (Group 2, n =30). A questionnaire was given to fathers who had less than 2 year old child to analyze the difference in willingness and ability to go to the labour room among those who attended child birth preparation sessions and those who did not. Results: All men were well educated Indians and the mean age of men who attended childbirth preparation sessions were 33 years and most of them were fathers-to-be for the first time. The results showed that fathers-to-be who attended the childbirth preparation sessions were more likely to express willingness to attend labour room. Though majority of men (51 men out of 60) were willing to go to the labour room, only 47 men were able to go to the labour room out of which 28 had attended the CPS. There was a high significance in their ability to go to the labour room among those who attended the CPS (P-value - 0.010). Conclusions: The preliminary results of this pilot study indicated that a well-structured and delivered CPS could not only enhance the shared role of fathers-to-be in the critical childbirth journey but also provide them with adequate psychosocial support.

Safe Sex Practices of Indian Immigrant Men Living in Australia: An Exploratory Research.

There is a paucity of scientifi c information about safe sex practices of Indians immigrants living in popular multicultural nations such as Australia. An online survey of adult Indian men living in Australia was conducted to measure the frequency of use of safe sex practices using the Safe Sex Behavior Questionnaire (SSBQ). Among the respondents of the SSBQ (n = 184), 16.8% (n = 31) reported that never insist on condom use, when having sexual intercourse. One in two men surveyed, agreed that it is diffi cult for them to discuss safe sex issues with their sexual partners. One in two men said that they used alcoholic beverages prior to or during sexual intercourse. There were no signifi cant differences in SSBQ data among Indian men based on their relationship status. The current study has assessed a range of safe sex practices by involving a community sample of Indian men, and provides baseline data for further evaluation and comparison.

Activity-guided isolation and identification of anti-staphylococcal components from Senecio tenuifolius Burm. F. leaf extracts

Objective: To investigate activity-guided isolation and identification of anti-Staphylococcus aures components from Senecio tenuifolius Burm. F. (S. tenuifolius). Methods: Hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts of S. tenuifolius were prepared by soxilation for antimicrobial activity against one registered Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (ATCC No: 25923) and two clinical isolates, methicillin resistant and methicillin sensitive S. aureus. NCCL standard methods were followed for antibacterial activity. GC-MS was performed to identify the chemical composition of bio active fraction. Results:Among all solvent extracts, methanol extract significantly reduced the growth of S. aureus (ATCC No: 25923), methicillin resistant and methicillin sensitive S. aureus with the best zone of inhibition at 16.23, 14.06 and 15.23 mm and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values at 426.16, 683.22 and 512.12 μg/mL, respectively. In order to detect the active component in methanol extract, it was further purified by column chromatography, which yielded four fractions (St1, St2, St3, and St4). Among these four fractions, St3 was effective against the tested strains of S. aures, with the best zone of inhibition at 15.09, 13.25 and 14.12 mm and with best MIC values at 88.16, 128.11 and 116.12 μg/mL, respectively. Effective fraction partially purified from S. tenuifolius (St3) yielded MIC’s that were at least 20 fold less when compared to crude extract. GC-MS analysis of St3 revealed the presence of 3-[methyl-6,7-dihydro benzofuran-4 (5H)-one], 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, hydroquinone, methyl ester and 3 unknown compounds. Conclusions:The study provides scientific evidence for traditional and folklore medicinal use of S. tenuifolius in skin infections treatment.

Activity-guided isolation and identification of anti-staphylococcal components from Senecio tenuifolius Burm. F. leaf extracts

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate activity-guided isolation and identification of anti-Staphylococcus aures components from Senecio tenuifolius Burm. F. (S. tenuifolius).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts of S. tenuifolius were prepared by soxilation for antimicrobial activity against one registered Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (ATCC No: 25923) and two clinical isolates, methicillin resistant and methicillin sensitive S. aureus. NCCL standard methods were followed for antibacterial activity. GC-MS was performed to identify the chemical composition of bio active fraction.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among all solvent extracts, methanol extract significantly reduced the growth of S. aureus (ATCC No: 25923), methicillin resistant and methicillin sensitive S. aureus with the best zone of inhibition at 16.23, 14.06 and 15.23 mm and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values at 426.16, 683.22 and 512.12 µg/mL, respectively. In order to detect the active component in methanol extract, it was further purified by column chromatography, which yielded four fractions (St1, St2, St3, and St4). Among these four fractions, St3 was effective against the tested strains of S. aures, with the best zone of inhibition at 15.09, 13.25 and 14.12 mm and with best MIC values at 88.16, 128.11 and 116.12 µg/mL, respectively. Effective fraction partially purified from S. tenuifolius (St3) yielded MIC's that were at least 20 fold less when compared to crude extract. GC-MS analysis of St3 revealed the presence of 3-[methyl-6,7-dihydro benzofuran-4 (5H)-one], 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid, hydroquinone, methyl ester and 3 unknown compounds.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The study provides scientific evidence for traditional and folklore medicinal use of S. tenuifolius in skin infections treatment.</p>

Heriditary pattern of cancer.

Three thousand nine hundred and twelve patients with cancer in various sites reporting to the out patient department were questioned for history of cancer among blood relatives. A positive history of cancer was obtained in 154 of whom 89 were male and 65 female. Thirty nine patients gave history of cancer among siblings and five gave history of cancer among spouses related by consanguneous marriage. The other 110 gave history of cancer among second and third generation relatives. Sixty one percent maternal relatives of the female patients had cancer as compared to only 33 percent of paternal relatives. This difference was not seen among male patients where there were about 45 percent of maternal and 47 paternal relatives giving history of cancer. Further it was found that 6 of 20 patients with cancer of the breast, 7 of 22 with stomach cancer and 4 of 12 with cervix cancer had blood relatives with the same type of cancer.