Relation between mothers' types of labor, birth interventions, birth experiences and postpartum depression: A multicentre follow-up study.

AIM: This definitive and cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the relation between mothers' types of labor, birth interventions, birth experiences and postpartum depression. METHODS: A total of 1010 mothers who gave birth in four different provinces of Turkey were chosen to participate in the study via purposive sampling method Results: The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale score was determined to be 13 and over in 36.4% of the women. In this study, it was determined that the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale scores for women in the 18-24 age group who had a vaginal birth, did not have health insurance, experienced health problems during pregnancy and were not trained about type of labor during pregnancy were statistically higher. There was no significant correlation between the birth experiences and postpartum depression. The linear regression model showed that there was a statistically significant correlation between enema and amniotomy interventions practised during the birth and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale scores. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it is thought that preparing the mothers for birth with birth preparation training in the antenatal period and imposing the necessary regulations in the delivery room for the mothers to have a positive birth experience are important in reducing postpartum depression risk.

A morphological study of uterine alterations in mice due to exposure to cadmium.

We investigated the morphologic and molecular effects of exposure to cadmium (Cd) for 30 and 60 days on the uteri of mice. We assessed uterine morphometric measurements, eosinophilia, mast cell numbers, endometrial apoptosis, proliferation and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) immunoreactivity. We examined vaginal smears that reflected the hormonal alterations in the female reproductive tract. Because the female reproductive tract exhibits different morphology at each stage of the estrous cycle, we sacrificed all animals at estrus to make appropriate comparisons. Female BALB/c mice were exposed to 200 ppm Cd in their drinking water for either 30 or 60 days. Cd exposure caused significant decreases in endometrial thickness and number of glands in estrus phase uteri. The endometrial eosinophilia in the groups exposed to Cd also decreased compared to controls. Cd exposure increased the number of mast cells. Luminal and glandular epithelia were examined using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay and by immunostaining proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and estrogen receptor α (ERα). Compared to controls, the apoptotic index increased with time in both Cd exposed groups, while the proliferation index decreased. ERα immunoreactivity was decreased in both Cd exposed groups compared to controls; the decrease was most apparent in the 30 day Cd group. We found that 60 day Cd exposure increased apoptosis in the endometrium, which may affect the receptivity of the uterus for implantation.

Violence experienced by nurses at six university hospitals in Turkey.

This research was conducted to analyse the violence experienced by nurses employed at six university hospitals. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. The research sample consisted of 441 nurses who worked in the emergency, intensive care and psychiatry units of six university hospitals in Turkey between June 2008 and June 2009 and who voluntarily agreed to participate. It was found that 60.8% of the nurses were subjected to verbal violence and/or physical violence from patients, visitors or health staff. Of the nurses who were subjected to workplace violence, 42.9% stated that their experience of verbal and/or physical violence had a negative impact on their physical and/or psychological health, and 42.9% stated that their work performance was negatively affected. Of these nurses, 1.8% stated that they received professional help, 13.6% stated that a report was made and 9.5% stated that they contacted the hospital police in some way. According to the findings of this research, similar to the situation worldwide, nurses in Turkey are subjected to verbal and/or physical violence from patients, visitors and health staff.