Impact of trauma, support, and control perceptions during childbirth on post-traumatic stress disorder among Syrian immigrant adolescent pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: The probability of experiencing mental health problems in the perinatal period is high for adolescent women. Immigration is a complicated phenomenon that increases the risk of encountering temporary or permanent psychological problems. This study aims to determine Syrian immigrant adolescent women's support and control perception levels during childbirth, birth trauma levels, and posttraumatic stress disorder incidence and affecting factors. METHODS: This study used a prospective cohort design and was conducted in a hospital in Adana, a city in southern Turkey, between February and April 2022. It included 122 Syrian adolescent immigrant women, and data were collected in two interviews. While the first interview was conducted within the first 24 hours following birth, the second interview was conducted one month after birth. Data were collected through structured interviews using standardized questionnaires, including the Personal Information Form, the City Birth Trauma Scale, the Support and Control in Birth Scale, and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5. FINDINGS: The average age of participating women was 17.40±0.94. The participants' Perceived Support and Control in Birth Scale total score was 100.55±20.12, the City Birth Trauma Scale total score was 43.11±13.29, and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist total score was 30.36±16.86. Of all the participating women, 26% were found to have post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in the postpartum period. A relationship was found between support and control perceptions during childbirth and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. CONCLUSION: This study found that immigrant adolescent women's support and control perceptions during childbirth were better than expected, and they had a high level of perceived trauma during childbirth. The presence of birth trauma emerged as a robust predictive factor for posttraumatic stress disorder, underscoring its critical role in maternal mental health. A positive childbirth experience, which is important for all women, has become an increasing need for immigrant women. There is a need for developing and sustaining health policies guaranteeing culturally sensitive care to prevent immigrant women from having a traumatic birth experience.

The Impact of the Human Milk Microbiota in the Prevention of Disease and Infant Health.

Background: Human milk is recognized as an ideal food for newborns and infants owing to the presence of various nutritive factors, including healthy bacteria. Aim/Objective: This review aimed to understand the effects of human milk microbiota in both the prevention of disease and the health of infants. Methods: Data were obtained from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, clinical trial registries, Dergipark, and Türk Atif Dizini up to February 2023 without language restrictions. Results: It is considered that the first human milk microbiota ingested by the newborn creates the initial microbiome of the gut system, which in turn influences the development and maturation of immunity. Bacteria present in human milk modulate the anti-inflammatory response by releasing certain cytokines, protecting the newborn against certain infections. Therefore, certain bacterial strains isolated from human milk could serve as potential probiotics for various therapeutic applications. Conclusions: In this review, the origin and significance of human milk bacteria have been highlighted along with certain factors influencing the composition of human milk microbiota. In addition, it also summarizes the health benefits of human milk as a protective agent against certain diseases and ailments.

Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Prevalence of Insomnia, Anxiety, and Depression During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis study aims to determine the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the prevalence of insomnia, anxiety, and depression symptoms during pregnancy. Reviews were done through PubMed, EBSCO (Medline, CINAHL), Embase (OVID), Web of Science, PsycINFO, TR Index, Turkish Thesis Center databases using (pregnancy OR pregnant) and (sleep OR sleep disorders OR insomnia), and (anxiety OR depression) keywords between April and May 2021. The meta-analysis included 48 articles (sample: 77,299). It was found that the Covid-19 pandemic did not affect the prevalence of depression symptoms and anxiety during pregnancy, but it increased insomnia. While insomnia ratio was reported 39.6% (95% CI: 0.253-0.560) in the studies conducted before the pandemic, it was reported 88.8% (95% CI: 0.821-0.921) in the studies conducted during the pandemic. This study found that the Covid-19 pandemic did not have effects on depression symptoms and anxiety, but it increased insomnia complaints.

Evaluation of women's sexual quality of life, depression, and sexual functions in the pregnancy and postpartum periods: A multi-centered study.

AIM: This multi-centered, longitudinal, and prospective study aims to identify women's sexual functions, sexual quality of life, and depression and their relationships with each other in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. METHODS: The participating pregnant women (n = 113) were interviewed six times: once in each trimester, and once in the eighth week third month, and sixth month postpartum. This study was conducted in three regions of Turkey including Marmara, Mediterranean, and Central Anatolia regions. Data were collected through the "Socio-demographic Form," "Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)," Sexual Quality of Life-Female Questionnaire (SQLQ-F), and "Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D)." While the first interviews were administered face to face, successive ones were administered via phone. RESULTS: The sexual dysfunction rates of the participants were found to be high in the pregnancy and postpartum periods, and their sexual quality of life, which decreased as the pregnancy months progressed, was found to increase significantly with the progress in the postpartum period. The sexual dysfunction increased and sexual quality of life decreased significantly with the increase in depression symptoms in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. When the depressive symptoms decreased especially in the sixth month postpartum, sexual quality of life was also found to increase. CONCLUSIONS: As a result, in the pregnancy and postpartum periods, it is highly important to provide women with diagnosis through a holistic approach by creating available environments to assess their psychological health and sexual functions and refer them to the related physicians when necessary.

An investigation of individuals' health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic within the framework of the functional health patterns.

PURPOSE: This study investigates individuals' health perceptions and health anxiety within the framework of functional health patterns (FHP) during COVID-19 pandemic. DESING AND METHOD: This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional design. Data were collected from participants (n = 3464) through a three-part web-based form. FINDINGS: Individuals' health anxiety and perceptions are at a medium level. The participants' health perception and health anxiety scale mean scores demonstrated significant differences according to the FHP except for sexuality. CONCLUSIONS: It can be stated that individuals use the anxiety they experience to be vigilance against a potential health threat. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Researchers can use findings in the examination of psychological health problems that can be seen in individuals after the pandemic.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Attitudes and Beliefs Scale about Sexuality during Pregnancy.

This study aims to develop the Attitudes and Beliefs Scale about Sexuality during Pregnancy (ABSSP) and to test its validity and reliability. The study utilized a methodological approach and was conducted at a university hospital. The ABSSP developed in this study consisted of 25 items and 4 sub-scales. As a result, the ABSSP was found to be a valid and reliable measurement tool in Turkish pregnant women. The scale developed is believed to contribute to the literature as a measurement tool to identify attitudes, myths, beliefs, and knowledge of pregnant women and their partners about sexuality in pregnancy.

Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the PEER-U scale.

Background: Antenatal care is necessary for mother and infant by reducing or eliminating the risks which may occur in the antenatal and postnatal period. Ultrasound is one of the most commonly used examination methods in antenatal monitoring. Evaluating the expectations, experiences and reactions of both parents during routine ultrasound examinations is essential to provide the best antenatal care. Objective: This study aims to test the validity and reliability of the PEER-U scale developed for Sweden by Ekelin et al. Method: The PEER-U scale consists of before and after ultrasound scales. Four hundred and thirty-six parents participated in the study. Interviews were conducted with all participating parents in a private room 15 minutes before and five minutes after the ultrasound. Researchers analysed the PEER-U scale for language, content, construct, criterion-referenced validity and internal consistency reliability. Results: The Turkish version of PEER-U has 21 items in the before ultrasound scale and 21 items in the after ultrasound scale. Cronbach's alpha was 0.65 for the before ultrasound scale and 0.89 for the after ultrasound scale. Conclusion: The study determined that the Turkish version of the PEER-U scale is a valid and reliable scale for Turkish society.

Sexual function and urinary incontinence complaints and other urinary tract symptoms of perimenopausal Turkish women.

Urinary incontinence (UI) and other lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) which are quite common among women, have a significant level of impact on women's sexual function. Improving sexual function improves the quality of life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between UI complaints with comorbid LUTS and sexual functions in Turkish women. The study is cross-sectional and descriptive. A total of 436 women was included in the study. Data were collected through Personal Information Form, The Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Questionnaire (BFLUTS) and The Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12). The mean total of BFLUTS score was 31.99 ± 11.46, while the mean total of PISQ-12 score was 28.72 ± 6.92 in women. The most common symptoms were identified as storage and incontinence. There was a negative significant correlation between the total PISQ-12 scores and sub-dimension of BFLUTS scores (p < 0.01). Results of the study suggest that sexual function is negatively affected as the severity of symptoms increases.

The effect of music on pain and anxiety of women during labour on first time pregnancy: A study from Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims at analyzing the effect of music on pain and anxiety felt by women in labor during their first pregnancy. METHOD: When the pregnant women in the experimental group progressed into the active phase of the labor, they were made to listen to music in Acemasiran mode with earplugs for 3 h (20 min of listening with 10-min breaks). FINDINGS: It was observed that after the first-hour women indicated that their pain was statistically less in the experimental group. Trait anxiety scores of the women in labor were similar for experimental and control groups. Following the practice, state anxiety average scores became lower in favor of the experimental group and the correlation was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In order to facilitate women's coping with labor pain and improve their wellbeing with the activity during the labor, musicotherapy, a non-pharmacological method, is an effective, simple and economical method.

Sexual function and quality-of-life-related problems during the menopausal period.

This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the sexual functions and quality of life and the problems during menopausal period. This descriptive, cross-sectional study included a total of 317 women. The mean total Female Sexual Function Index score was 18.8 ± 8.7, while the mean total Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Female score was 72.7 ± 13.7. Sexual dysfunction was found in 82 percent. There was a positive significant correlation between the total Female Sexual Function Index scores and total Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Female scores ( p < 0.05). Our study results suggest that women do not often experience serious menopausal symptoms, but have sexual dysfunction with a moderate sexual quality of life.