The maternity blues and Hong Kong Chinese women: an exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: The maternity blues have been studied world-wide and are generally regarded as a cross-cultural phenomenon. However, low prevalence rates of the blues have been reported recently in studies of Japanese women. The purposes of this study are, firstly, to establish whether the low prevalence noted in Japanese women is also found in another group of Asian women, that is, Hong Kong Chinese women, and secondly, to describe the manifestations of the blues in this group of women. METHOD: A prospective survey involving a convenience sample of 88 women, recruited on the first day after normal or operative vaginal delivery. Participants completed a blues self-rating scale (Stein's Daily Scoring System) every day for the first 7 days after delivery. Data were analysed mainly in terms of descriptive statistics. RESULTS: 39 (44.3%) women experienced an episode of the blues during the first week after delivery. The manifestations of the blues showed a typical peaking on the 5th postnatal day. LIMITATIONS: This is a short-term exploratory study. Further investigation is required into the factors influencing or precipitating the blues, particularly from the cultural perspectives of childbearing Hong Kong Chinese women. CONCLUSION: Hong Kong Chinese women experience the maternity blues in similar ways to those reported by studies of women in other countries and cultures, with the exception of those describing the blues in Japanese women.

Epidemiology of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis in Jamaica

We report the findings of a cross-sectional epidemiologic of Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidum infections in Jamaica. Three hundred twenty eight stool samples from patients less than one to 81 years of age were examined using formalin-ether concentration for G. lamblia, Zeihl-Neelsen staining for Cryptosporidum, and the Prospect rapid enzyme immunoassay (EIA; Alexon, Sunnyvale, CA) for parasite diagnosis. The Prospect Giardia rapid assay detected 17 cases of G. lamblia infections compared with six by formalin-ether concentration. However, the Prospect Cryptosporidum EIA did not increase the rate of detection of Cryptosporidum when compared with Zeihl-Neelsen staining. Cryptosporidum infections were most frequently diagnosed in children less than five years old and prevalence decreased with age. In contrast, the prevalence of giardiasis increased as children became older. There were no associations between the infections and stool consistency, clinical manifestations, or sex of the individuals. The contribution of the parasites to childhood morbidity will depend on accurate laboratory diagnosis (Au)