Effects of supportive counseling using a positive psychology approach on coping patterns among pregnant women with nausea and vomiting.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy nausea and vomiting (NVP) are associated with a wide range of physical and mental changes in the mothers and could affect their adaptation to pregnancy. There is a gap of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of a positive psychology approach counselling on improving coping patterns in women with NVP. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the effect of supportive counselling with a positive psychology approach on improving coping patterns in women with NVP. METHOD: The current study was a randomized controlled trial on 60 pregnant women who experienced nausea and vomiting in Zanjan a province in the northwest of Iran, 2020-2021. Using four-block random sampling, eligible women were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. According to the Seligman protocol, the intervention group received supportive counselling in six sessions of 45 min3 times a week. The revised prenatal coping inventory (Nu PCI) was used to collect data and analyzed using Chi-square, repeated measures ANOVA, and MANOVA at a 95% confidence level. RESULTS: In the counseling group, the mean (SD) of a total score of coping with pregnancy before the intervention was 6.11 (1.31) which increased to 8.40 (1.03) in 4 weeks after the intervention. Based on the MANOVA test with adjusting the number of pregnancies, the mean total score of coping with pregnancy was statistically significant 4 weeks after the intervention compared with the control group (Adjusted mean difference (AMD) = -1.84, CI95% -2.36, -1.32, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The use of positive psychology in supportive counselling improved the coping of mothers suffering from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. It is recommended that this approach be incorporated into prenatal care to promote the health of pregnant women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials website under the code IRCT20150731023423N17 . Registration date: 2020-10-31, Expected recruitment start date: 2020-11-01. IRCT Id: IRCT20150731023423N17.

Maternal death due to COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Despite 2.5 million infections and 169,000 deaths worldwide (as of April 20, 2020), no maternal deaths and only a few pregnant women afflicted with severe respiratory morbidity have been reported to be related to COVID-19 disease. Given the disproportionate burden of severe and fatal respiratory disease previously documented among pregnant women following other coronavirus-related outbreaks (SARS-CoV in 2003 and MERS-CoV in 2012) and influenza pandemics over the last century, the absence of reported maternal morbidity and mortality with COVID-19 disease is unexpected. OBJECTIVE: To describe maternal and perinatal outcomes and death in a case series of pregnant women with COVID-19 disease. STUDY DESIGN: We describe here a multiinstitution adjudicated case series from Iran that includes 9 pregnant women diagnosed with severe COVID-19 disease in their second or third trimester. All 9 pregnant women received a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction nucleic acid testing. Outcomes of these women were compared with their familial/household members with contact to the affected patient on or after their symptom onset. All data were reported at death or after a minimum of 14 days from date of admission with COVID-19 disease. RESULTS: Among 9 pregnant women with severe COVID-19 disease, at the time of reporting, 7 of 9 died, 1 of 9 remains critically ill and ventilator dependent, and 1 of 9 recovered after prolonged hospitalization. We obtained self-verified familial/household cohort data in all 9 cases, and in each and every instance, maternal outcomes were more severe compared with outcomes of other high- and low-risk familial/household members (n=33 members for comparison). CONCLUSION: We report herein maternal deaths owing to COVID-19 disease. Until rigorously collected surveillance data emerge, it is prudent to be aware of the potential for maternal death among pregnant women diagnosed as having COVID-19 disease in their second or third trimester.

Adverse Maternal, Perinatal, and Neonatal Outcomes in Adolescent Pregnancies: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increase in the age of marriage, early marriage and subsequent adolescent pregnancy remain a serious problem in many regions and societies. Due to low evidence in this regard, this study was conducted to determine the health consequences of adolescent pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: This was a case-control study. METHODS: The present study was performed on pregnant women who were referred to Ayatollah Mousavi hospital of Zanjan for delivery in 2021. Pregnant women with gestational age less than 19 years were considered as the case group and those with gestational age between 19-35 years as the control group. The pregnancy outcomes on the mother and the neonate were obtained through the researcher-made checklist. Chi-square test and student's t-test were used to compare variables between the two groups. RESULTS: In this study, 169 adolescent and 258 adult mothers were compared as the case and control groups, respectively. The mean age of cases and controls was 17.41±1.22 and 30.66±6.46 years, respectively. Cesarean delivery (34.5% vs. 23.67%, P=0.017) and anemia during pregnancy (16.28% vs. 10.7%, P=0.005) were significantly higher in the control group, while mood disorder after delivery was significantly higher in the case group (11.24% vs. 5.84%, P=0.04). The Apgar score 5 minutes after birth and birth weight were significantly higher in mothers of the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that adolescent mothers are more prone to postpartum depression, and babies born to these mothers are more prone to low birth weight and a low Apgar score. Therefore, adolescent pregnancy should be managed as a high-risk pregnancy.

Comparison of entonox and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in labor pain: a randomized clinical trial study.

AIM: The aim of performing this study was comparison of Entonox and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in labor pain in Zanjan city, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This clinical trial study was conducted on 120 pregnant women in Zanjan-Iran, 2016. The patients were randomly divided (by method of 1:1:1) into three groups (each group 40 patients): First group was TENS group; the second group was Entonox group and control group were choose from the patients that had a physiological delivery. They did not want to use analgesia. All the analyses were done using SPSS (version 23). RESULTS: Before intervention the pain severity between three group was relatively same (p = .78). After intervention, pain score was significantly higher in control group compared to other two groups (p = .005), but the differences between mean Apgar score between three groups was not significant (p = .59). Also, both Entonox and TENS had significantly lower pain compared control group (p = .005), but there was no significant difference between Entonox and TENS in regard of pain score (p = .997). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reported that two groups of Entonox and TENS had similar effect on pain relief and decreased significantly pain scores. Therefore, TENS methods as a non-drug pain relief method can propose to women for relief of labor pain.

Corrigendum to "Comparison of conventional IVF versus ICSI in non-male factor, normoresponder patients" [Iran J Reprod Med 2012; 10: 131-136].

[This corrects the article on p. 131 in vol. 10, PMID: 25242986.].

The effect of vaginal progesterone on Doppler findings in increased uterine artery resistance.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of vaginal progesterone on Doppler finding in increased uterine artery resistance compared with aspirin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is a double-blind randomized clinical trial that was conducted on 140 pregnant women with increased uterine artery resistance who were referred to the Shariati hospital (Tehran, Iran) in 2017-2018. Patients were randomized to 1 of the 3 treatment groups - group A: tablet aspirin 80 mg; group B: vaginal suppository progesterone; and group C: control group without any intervention. Low-risk pregnant women at the gestational age of 16-20 weeks, were assessed by the uterine artery Doppler. In the presence of increased resistance of the uterine artery, patients were randomly assigned to one of the three above mentioned groups. RESULTS: The results of paired t-tests for right uterine artery pulsatility index (RUA.PI), right uterine artery resistance index (RUA.RI), left uterine artery PI (LUA.PI), and left uterine artery RI (LUA.RI) before and after of intervention in the three groups were statistically significant. Also, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) results for comparison between three groups showed that before the intervention only means of RUA.PI has a significant difference between three groups (p = .025), but means of all variables after intervention shows a significant difference (p < .001). CONCLUSION: The findings showed that the use of vaginal progesterone suppressed the resistance of uterine artery compared to aspirin.

Development of a scoring system for prediction of placenta accreta and determine the accuracy of its results.

Background: Optimal management of women with placenta accreta requires accurate preoperative diagnosis. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim to evaluate a new prediction scoring items for risk assessment on placenta accreta and determine its accuracy ratio.Methods: This prospective cohort study was carried out on 159 suspected pregnant women morbidly adherent placenta (MAP) in Shariati, Imam Khomeini, and Yas Hospitals in Tehran from October 2016 to May 2018. The number of previous cesarean deliveries; lacunae stage, location of placenta; Doppler assessment; and loss of clear zone were used for review and scoring of ultrasound images. Ultimately after collecting scores, subjects fall into one of the following three categories: low (≤5 points), moderate (6-7 points), or high (8-10 points) probability for placenta accreta. Ultimately, diagnosis of accreta was based on hysterectomy during surgery or reports of pathology. A logistic regression model was used to calculate the probability of placenta accreta on univariable analysis, to assess the discriminant power of all explanatory variables assessed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results: The area-under-the-ROC curve of the composite scores was 98% and the overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of our developed scoring system were 91.84%, 87.27%, 86.54%, and 92.31%, respectively.Conclusion: Combination of several simple ultrasound and clinical characteristics in a scoring system may be highly effective for prenatal risk assessment and prediction of placenta accreta. Output of scoring system helps medical staff to prepare appropriately before surgery and avoid perinatal mortality and morbidity.

Is there any association between vitamin D levels and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotypes?

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the serum vitamin D level in a retrospective study in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to the different phenotypes of the disease. Subjects and methods In this retrospective study, the records of 351 infertile women who were diagnosed with PCOS were examined, and 200 of them were enrolled in the study randomly in 4 PCOS phenotypes. Fifty normal ovulatory women with the history of male factor were selected as the control group. Parameters, including age, infertility duration, body mass index (BMI), hormone profile, as well as the serum vitamin D level were compared among the 4 phenotypes, with the P-value ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results The findings showed a higher serum vitamin D level in the control group than in PCOS patients, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). In addition, there was no significant difference in the serum vitamin D level among the four phenotypes of PCOS. Conclusions No significant difference was found in the serum vitamin D level of the different phenotypes of PCOS. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to be done to establish the role of the serum vitamin D level in PCOS patients.

The frequency of gonorrheal and chlamydial infections in Zanjanian women in 2013-2014.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted diseases in women. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of gonorrheal and chlamydial infections and determination of related risk factors in married women with vaginal discharge attending gynecological outpatient department (OPD) in Zanjan in 2013-2014. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross sectional study, 100 married women aged 18-49 years with vaginal discharge were evaluated for signs and symptoms of gonococcal and chlamydial infections. Then cervical discharge samples and blood samples were collected from each subject for the detection of Nisseria gonorrhea and Chlamydia trachomatis by bacterial culture and serological tests, respectively. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Nisseriagonorrhoeae were 16% and 4%, respectively. There was no significant relationship between the contraception methods, previous history of vaginal infections, previous history of urinary tract infections, number of coitus per week and self-reported symptoms (itching, burning, abdominal pain) with prevalence of Nisseriagonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. CONCLUSION: According to our results, the prevalence of gonococci infection in Zanjan was remarkable and relatively was higher than other parts of Iran, therefore it is necessary to put emphasis on education and further preventive and therapeutic programs.

Is there any association between vitamin D levels and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotypes?

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this study was to assess the serum vitamin D level in a retrospective study in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to the different phenotypes of the disease. Subjects and methods In this retrospective study, the records of 351 infertile women who were diagnosed with PCOS were examined, and 200 of them were enrolled in the study randomly in 4 PCOS phenotypes. Fifty normal ovulatory women with the history of male factor were selected as the control group. Parameters, including age, infertility duration, body mass index (BMI), hormone profile, as well as the serum vitamin D level were compared among the 4 phenotypes, with the P-value ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results The findings showed a higher serum vitamin D level in the control group than in PCOS patients, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). In addition, there was no significant difference in the serum vitamin D level among the four phenotypes of PCOS. Conclusions No significant difference was found in the serum vitamin D level of the different phenotypes of PCOS. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to be done to establish the role of the serum vitamin D level in PCOS patients.

Prevalence of Abnormal Papanicolaou Test Results and Related Factors among Women Living in Zanjan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Currently, a comprehensive program for screening and early detection of cervical cancer does not exist in Iran. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smears and some related factors among women living in Zanjan, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 in Zanjan on 4274 married women aged 20-65 years. The study participants were selected through two-stage cluster sampling. After obtaining written consent, demographic and fertility questionnaires were completed. Samples from cervix were obtained through a standard method using the Rover Cervex- Brush. Evaluation and interpretation of the samples were reported using the Bethesda 2001 method. Data were statistically analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Most inflammatory changes in the samples were mild (37.4%). Abnormal atypical changes in the epithelial cells were found in 4.04%. The highest percentage of abnormal changes in the epithelial cells was atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) (1.9%). Abnormal results of Pap smear was significantly and independently associated with age, papillomavirus infection, and lack of awareness about Pap smear tests. CONCLUSIONS: Given the high prevalence of inflammatory and precancerous changes in this study, compared to other studies in Iran and other Muslim countries, and the effect of demographic variables and individual factors on abnormal results, increasing the awareness of women and their families regarding the risk factors for cervical cancer, preventive measures such as screening, and timely treatment seem necessary.

Comparison of conventional IVF versus ICSI in non-male factor, normoresponder patients.

BACKGROUND: Conventional IVF and ICSI are two common techniques to achieve fertilization. IVF has long been used for treatment of infertility, although it is not an effective treatment in severe male infertility. The use of ICSI has been expanded in severe male factor and fertilization failure after IVF cycle. In spite of the widespread use of ICSI in patients with non-male factor infertility, there is still little evidence to confirm its effectiveness in this population. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate assisted reproductive technology outcomes between IVF and ICSI cycles in non-male factor, normoresponder patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 220 non-male factors, normoresponder patients who were indicated for ART were enrolled in this study. The patients received standard long GnRH agonist or GnRH antagonist protocols for ovarian stimulation and after oocytes retrieval, the patients were divided into two groups (IVF and ICSI groups). In IVF group (n=112), all of retrieved oocytes were treated by conventional IVF and in ICSI group (n=88), microinjection (ICSI) was done on all of retrieved oocytes. RESULTS: In IVF group, fertilization and implantation rates were significantly higher than ICSI group (66.22% and 16.67% in IVF group versus 57.46% and 11.17% in ICSI group, respectively). Chemical and clinical pregnancy rates were statistically higher in IVF group as compared with the ICSI group (42.9% vs. 27.3% and 35.7% vs. 21.5%, respectively). CONCLUSION: According to our study, the routine use of ICSI is not improved fertilization, implantation and chemical pregnancy rates and is not recommended in non-male factor, normozoospermic patients.