The effects of mindfulness eating and yoga exercise on blood sugar levels of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

AIM: This randomized controlled trial was carried out to investigate the effect of mindfulness eating and yoga exercise on blood sugar levels among pregnant Thai women with GDM. BACKGROUND: Interventions promoting achievement of good glycemic control result in desired pregnancy outcomes. Little is known about the health benefits of mindfulness eating and yoga exercise on blood sugar levels among pregnant with GDM. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was carried out. Main outcome measures were capillary fasting plasma glucose, 2-h postprandial blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1c. RESULTS: The intervention group showed significantly reduced fasting plasma glucose, 2-h postprandial blood glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in the intervention group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness eating and yoga exercise had health benefits on glycemic control in pregnant women with GDM. It should be recommended in clinical and community health services.

Management of continuing education of nurse midwives by chief nurses in community hospitals in southern Thailand.

PURPOSE: To explore the levels of continuing education management in hospitals according to their size, and to investigate problems in the management of continuing education of nurse midwives by chief nurses in community hospitals. METHODS: The target population was 128 chief nurses, 103 of whom (80.47%) returned the questionnaires. Data were collected using a questionnaire that had been tested for its content validity by three experts (content validity index was .80 and the Cronbach's alpha was .83). Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were used to investigate if differences existed among groups. RESULTS: The mean score of the level of continuing education management in nurse midwives for the chief nurses was low. The levels of education management for chief nurses according to hospital size (10-bed, 30-bed, and 60-bed hospitals) were not significantly different (p > .05). The problems for chief nurses in the management of continuing education in nurse midwives in the community hospitals were: lack of manpower (70%); financial problems (45%); lack of lecturers in advanced nurse midwifery (38%); insufficient number of courses in advanced nurse midwifery (29%); length of time for study leave taken for training (21%); and safety problems in the unrest areas in the southern provinces (21%). CONCLUSION: The levels of continuing education management by chief nurses in all the community hospitals were low, primarily due to a lack of manpower and budgetary constraints. Therefore, the Nursing Council of Thailand should provide training and funds to support advanced nurse midwifery education programs in all parts of the country.