Current Women's Health Reviews - Current Issue

Endometrial scratching (ES) has been reported as a strategy to improve the outcome of IVF. Considering that the follicular phase and luteal phase have their specific characteristics and hormonal secretions, we investigated whether scratching in different phases affects a woman's chances of becoming pregnant following frozen embryo transfer.

A total of 300 frozen embryo transfer candidate women with normal cavities and good embryo quality were randomly divided into two groups: Group A with ES in the follicular phase and group B with ES in the luteal phase. In both groups, endometrial scratching was performed before IVF. The rate of pregnancy and baseline characteristics, such as age, education, and embryo quality, were compared between the two groups.

Our results showed no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the groups. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between the women who underwent ES in the follicular phase and those in the luteal phase for the outcome of IVF and chemical or clinical pregnancies.

ES in different phases of the cycle preceding frozen embryo transfer did not affect the outcome of pregnancy.

There is no reliable data on the perceived need of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for mental services, and it is unclear how much of mothers' needs are met in Western Iran.

This study aimed to quantify the perceived need and avoidance/delay for mental health care among mothers of children with ASD and also to elucidate the factors associated with perceived need and avoidance/delay.

This is a cross-sectional study involving all mothers of children with ASD in Hamadan City, Western Iran. Socio-demographic characteristics, depression, anxiety, stress as well as perceived need and avoidance/delay, and associated factors were obtained using researcher-made and standard validated questionnaires. Penalized logistic regression analysis via data augmentation was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

In total of 103 mothers, approximately 75% and 61% of mothers reported a perceived need and avoiding/delaying needed services during the past 12 months, respectively. Psychological stress and lower family income were significant determinants of the perceived need for mental health care. Minimization (OR: 6.06; 95% CI: 1.33-27.68), low perceived treatment effectiveness (4.40; 1.05-18.35), and financial barrier (4.26; 1.01-17.86) were the most important reasons for avoiding/delaying needed services, respectively.

The prevalence of perceived needs and unmet needs is high. Effective psychosocial interventions should be provided to reduce the mental health care gap among mothers of children with ASD.

Menopause refers to the natural process of the “cessation of the menstrual cycle.” This phase predominantly affects aged women and can lead to various symptoms such as hot flashes, insomnia, night sweats, and sexual dysfunction, among others. Unfortunately, many women remain unaware of this condition, and some even choose to overlook the symptoms. However, those who recognize the symptoms consult with a doctor, who may recommend Hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Initially, Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be effective, but prolonged use can result in side effects. To mitigate these effects, there is a need to explore and investigate herbal therapies as an alternative treatment for menopausal symptoms.

The objective of this review is to explore and summarize various herbs used in managing menopausal symptoms as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy.

For this review, we conducted a literature survey spanning from 1998 to 2023. We used keywords such as menopause, endocrinology, hormone replacement therapy, and herbs used for reducing menopausal symptoms to search databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and SciDirect. Relevant data were sourced from various journals like Plos One, JAMA, Frontier, Drug in Context, MDPI, Molecules, BMC Women's Health, Research Gate, Heliyon, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Nutrients, JMM, Wiley, OXFORD, Hindawi, Clinical Phytoscience, Pharmaceuticals, Phytomedicine, and Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society.

The literature review encompassed 40 research articles and 200 review articles, including randomized controlled trials. The findings revealed that several herbal plants, including Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Foeniculum vulgare, Trigonella foenum, Actaea racemosa, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Oenothera biennis, Trifolium pratense, Humulus lupulus, Vitex agnus-castus, Valeriana officinalis, Linum usitatissimum, Cannabis sativa, and Asparagus racemosus, have shown efficacy in treating menopausal symptoms.

In conclusion, medicinal plants can play a significant role in managing acute menopausal syndrome. The intent of this review is to highlight the most recent research on estrogenic plants for medicinal purposes and their therapeutic impact on cognitive deficiencies brought on by estrogen shortage during menopause and aging.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that menstrual health be recognized, defined, and addressed as a health and human rights issue rather than hygiene. The UN has acknowledged menstrual health as a worldwide public health and human rights concern. Poor menstrual health, inadequate sanitation facilities and inadequate education are defining characteristics of period poverty.

To assess and compare among different age groups of respondents regarding knowledge and awareness regarding menstrual cup and their future possibilities for usage among women of Delhi, India.

A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted between 1^st April and 30^th May 2022 among the females of Delhi NCR region, India.

A total of 339 females participated in our study, which included 250 (73.7%) above the age of 20 years, whereas 89 (26.3%) were below that age. Most of the respondents were aware of menstrual health products such as menstrual pads -241 (96.40) above 20 years, 83 (93.26) below 20 years with [CI-1.03 (0.73, 1.46) p-value = 0.85], cotton pads-158 (63.20%), 50 (56.18%), [CI-1.12 (0.75, 1.67) p-value = 0.56], tampons-190 (76.00), 61 (68.54), CI- 1.10 (0.76, 1.61) p- value = 0.59, and menstrual disc-34 (13.60%), 18 (20.22%), CI-0.67 (0.36, 1.25) p-value = 0.21. Among respondents above 20 years of age, 83.60% of respondents were aware of menstrual cups. When asked about the biodegradability of the menstrual health product, 158 (63.2%) respondents aged above 20 years and 54 (60.67%) respondents aged less than 20 years negated it [CI-1.04 (0.70, 1.54), p-value = 0.83].

Our research can help organization policymakers understand that a menstrual cup is an effective alternative to disposable sanitary products.

The postpartum period is considered a vulnerable and stressful period for many women due to various hormonal, physical, and psychosocial changes, such as adapting to parental rules, changes in body and self-image, loss of autonomy, breastfeeding, and taking care of the baby.

This study aimed to test a conceptual model considering the interrelated role of anxiety, body image satisfaction, sexual function, type of personality, income, and education on women’s marital satisfaction. Also it also aimed to test the mediating role of sexual function and anxiety.

In this cross-sectional study, 447 lactating women were recruited from January to April 2019. Women answered some questionnaires including a socio-demographic checklist, female sexual function index (FSFI), Body Self-Relation Questionnaire (BSRQ), the Enrich Marital Satisfaction, and the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R). Data were analyzed using the descriptive test, and Path analysis was done with LISREL software.

Results show that sexual function (β= 0.44), anxiety (β= -0.26), and educational level (β= 0.47) are the main predictors of marital satisfaction (dependent variable). Sexual function and anxiety were two main mediators; variables, such as anxiety (β= -0.35), body image satisfaction (β= 0.19), and extraversion personality (β= 0.19) (independent variables), with an effect through sexual function, can impress marital satisfaction indirectly.

Identifying relationships between anxiety, educational level, sexual function, anxiety, body image, and personality with the quality of life of postpartum women highlights the importance of designing interventions to improve marital satisfaction. Given these relationships, it is recommended that health professionals educate women about body changes during postpartum and find ways to improve mothers' marital satisfaction.

Cesarean section imposes a huge social and economic cost on the individual and health care system. Iran is one of the countries that have experienced a significant increase in cesarean section in recent decades. There are few studies on the causes of women's reluctance to give natural birth. This study was conducted to determine the women’s unwillingness to have vaginal delivery through qualitative methods.

The present qualitative study was conducted between March to July 2023 at private and three public centers in Qom City. Purposeful sampling was used and based on inclusion criteria; 17 women were recruited in the study. MAXQDA software was used to analyze and manage the qualitative data.

Three main categories appeared from the data analysis, which included individual factors, professional factors, and social factors. The findings of this study showed that beliefs, fear, lack of knowledge, previous experiences, and psychological factors are the most important individual factors that cause unwillingness to give birth vaginally. Factors related to midwives and physicians, birth environment, social modeling, and legal protection affected women’s decision to choose cesarean delivery.

The findings of this study showed that unwillingness to have vaginal delivery by women is an issue that has various reasons. These reasons remind us that education, awareness, and support in prenatal care should be considered more than ever. In addition, treatment systems play a role in increasing cesarean section, so it is the responsibility of midwifery and obstetric experts to make improvements in the treatment systems.

Negative childbirth experiences impact the well-being of women and their families. With rising induction of labor (IOL) rates and the inconsistent evidence regarding its impact on childbirth experiences, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the overall effect of IOL versus expectant management on women’s childbirth experiences, defined as a woman’s self-assessment of her lasting memories of the childbirth event.

We searched databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, ProQuest and EBSCO) for RCTs and observational studies from 1970 to September 2023. Inclusion criteria covered women aged 19 and older with live, singleton, cephalic pregnancies at 37 0/7 until 41 6/7 weeks gestation. Quality was assessed using the Jadad and Newcastle-Ottawa Scales. RevMan 5.4 software and random-effects meta-analysis were used, adhering to PRISMA guidelines.

Of the 1.467 screened articles, we included nine studies from five European countries. Six studies (2.376 women) used the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). Overall CEQ scores showed no significant IOL vs. expectant management differences (MD = 0.01 [95% CI -0.06, 0.08]; p=0.78; I² = 65%). Subgroup analyses favored IOL in RCTs (MD = 0.07 [95% CI 0.02, 0.13]; p=0.006; I² = 0%) and studies with ≥500 participants (MD = 0.09 [95% CI 0.02, 0.15]; p=0.006; I² = 0%). Conversely, four studies (48.324 women) using the Childbirth Experience Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) favored expectant management (OR = 0.73 [95% CI 0.63, 0.85]; p<0.001; I² = 86%).

VAS assessments suggest a more positive childbirth experience with the expectant management group. Improvements in the IOL process, transfer to delivery, and pain relief administration may benefit the IOL group. In contrast, the overall CEQ scores did not significantly differ between groups. Clinical practice should consider individualized approaches that align with patient needs and medical contexts. Limitations, such as variability in study quality and data heterogeneity, should be acknowledged.

CRD42023464153

The incidence of challenging delivering experiences varies among societies and is impacted by various factors. The primary goal of this review was to assess the effect of supportive interventions pre- and during delivery on the likelihood of a positive childbirth experience.

This study reviewed articles related to childbirth experience in international databases, such as PubMed, Cochrane, and ScienceDirect. A total of 1433 articles were found using the PRISMA guideline. Review research emphasized the supporting interventions during labor and women's subjective experience. Quality assessment was conducted using the modified Jadad scale.

Overall, fifteen studies passed the eligibility criteria. The effective approaches to develop a favorable understanding of the whole birthing process encompassed the following supportive interventions: yoga exercise during pregnancy, antenatal hypnosis program, continuous supportive care during labor, family companion during labor, massage during labor, therapeutic touch program, acupressure during labor, birth ball exercise during labor, warm showers during the first stage, and dancing with music during the active phase of labor.

Various supportive interventions related to childbirth may reduce pain and anxiety, build confidence, encourage, and serve as valuable psychosocial interventions for childbirth. Becoming a mother is not a frequent occurrence for all women, contributing to an overall experience in childbirth. Our study recommends interventions, such as yoga exercises during pregnancy, an antenatal hypnosis program, continuous supportive care during labor, a family companion during labor, massage during labor, a therapeutic touch program, acupressure during labor, birth ball exercise during labor, warm showers during the first stage, and dancing with music during the active phase of labor.

To research menstrual cycle characteristics and related factors among Vietnamese female medical students.

Female medical students, juggling demanding academic schedules, face the additional challenge of managing the impact of their monthly cycles on daily routines, academic achievements, and professional obligations.

To investigate the factors influencing the menstrual cycle during this particularly stressful period by surveying these students.

This cross-sectional study was from the 3^rd year of female medical students studying full-time.

Individuals in the severe stress group experienced irregular periods in 100% of cases. Dysmenorrhea was the next most prevalent abnormal symptom, affecting 39.7% of students. Furthermore, abdominal pain and lower back pain were the most common symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The percentage of menorrhagia in the overweight-obesity group was almost 5 times higher than that of the other groups. Besides, central obesity increased the incidence of menorrhagia by a factor of 19. Average to high levels of physical activity can increase the risk of having dysmenorrhea. Remarkably, students who were affected by COVID-19 in terms of quality of life were also more likely to experience dysmenorrhea.

Although most medical students had normal menstrual cycles, abdominal pain and lower back pain were the leading PMS. Moreover, overweight-obesity, central obesity, physical activity, stress, and the COVID-19 pandemic may be relative factors of the menstrual cycle.