Women's Evaluation of Intrapartum Nonpharmacological Pain Relief Methods Used during Labor.

A wide variety of pain relief measures are available to women in labor. This retrospective, descriptive survey design study examined which nonpharmacologic pain-relief techniques laboring women use most often and the effectiveness of the chosen techniques. Of the 10 nonpharmacological strategies rated by the sample (N = 46), breathing techniques, relaxation, acupressure, and massage were found to be the most effective. However, no specific technique or techniques were helpful for all participants. The results provide directions for childbirth educators in designing and implementing an effective childbirth education curriculum that assists women to have empowered birth experiences.

Effects of benzo(a)pyrene and tetrachlorodibenzo(p)dioxin on fetal dolphin kidney cells: inhibition of proliferation and initiation of DNA damage.

Dolphin kidney cells (CDK) were exposed in vitro to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in the presence or absence of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo(p)dioxin (TCDD), a cytochrome P450-inducing agent, and/or alpha-naphthoflavone (alpha NF), an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 induction. BaP inhibited mitosis in CDK cells in a dose-dependent manner. TCDD, while inhibiting cell proliferation, did not show a strict dose-dependent mode of action. BaP inhibition of mitosis was decreased by alpha NF, which also decreased the inhibitory effects of TCDD on CDK proliferation. BaP treatment initiated both 3H-thymidine incorporation and the increased alkali lability of DNA functions of the initiation of excision repair. Cells pre-treated with TCDD and then exposed to BaP exhibited increased BaP-DNA adduct levels and increased DNA excision repair. These data indicate that dolphin cells metabolized BaP in vitro as a function of cytochrome P450-associated activities, that BaP metabolites covalently bound to cellular DNA and initiated excision repair. Inhibition of the cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of BaP decreased the BaP-associated inhibition of mitosis in dolphin cells.

Reduction of embryotoxicity by protein in embryo culture media.

Experiments tested the hypothesis that one role of protein in embryo culture media is protection of embryos against potentially embryotoxic substances in the media. Mouse embryos were cultured in modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate medium and in modified Tyrode's medium, aliquots of which were supplemented with 4 mg/ml of the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA), while other aliquots were left protein free. The media were prepared using water samples that differed in purity, as reflected by differences in conductivity, with tap water being least pure (and considered to have the greatest potential for being embryotoxic) and water that had been purified by reverse osmosis, Milli-Q filtration, and triple distillation being most pure. Embryos were placed in the media while in the two-cell stage of development and their development was assessed after 24, 48, and 72 hr of culture. Rate of embryo development in BSA-supplemented media was greater than that in protein-free media only when the media were prepared with the least purified water samples. Because these water samples would have contained substances not contained in media prepared with purer water, or would have contained the substances in higher concentration, the data supported the hypothesis that protein can protect embryos during culture by negating effects of embryotoxic substances in the media.