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Background: Prolonged labor is associated with various maternal and neonatal complications. This study aims to investigate the relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and pain intensity and duration of labor stages in primiparous women. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in Iran from November 2021 to January 2022 and comprised primiparous women who were in active labor after a term pregnancy (37-42 weeks). Five milliliter of blood was taken from each subject and centrifuged for the measurement of vitamin D level using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HLPC) method was used to measure 25-OH vitamin D. In addition, through history, examination, and investigations, the subjects were evaluated according to the pain intensity and duration of the first (active phase) and second stages of labor. Results: The results of the Pearson correlation test indicated a significant relationship between vitamin D and active phase duration (r = 0.64, p = 0.012), second stage duration (r = 0.73, p = 0.001), pain intensity of the active phase (r = 0.61, p = 0.022), and pain intensity of the second stage (r = 0.65, p = 0.026). According to the analysis of variance table, based on vitamin D, there were statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of the active phase duration, second stage duration, pain intensity of the active phase, and that of the second stage of labor (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Low levels of vitamin D may influence the progress of labor and increase the rate of prolonged labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Fetal occiput posterior (OP) position is associated with more maternal and neonatal complications. This study aimed to investigate the effect of maternal position during labor on fetal OP position and pregnancy outcomes. Materials and methods: This randomized clinical trial study included 180 primigravida women in labor with a single fetus and approved OP position. Participants were randomly allocated into three groups: semiprone position (n=45), knee-chest position (n=45), and supine position (n=90). All participants were placed in the defined positions 15-30 min in labor until delivery. Data collected using Visual Analogue Scale and researcher made checklist. The ANOVA, Tukey post hoc, and the chi-square test were used to analyze. Results: Among all participants who had OP, after intervention 16.3% in the semi-prone position, 14/3 % in the knee-chest position, and 33.7% of the control groups remained with OP at birth (X3=7/87, P=0.019). The rate of natural delivery was significantly higher in the semi-prone position and knee-chest position. The duration of active phase of labor and low back pain were significantly reduced in the semiprone and knee-chest position compared to the control groups (P<0.05). There were no differences in the duration of the third stage of labor, APGAR score, and the rate of neonatal addition to neonatal intensive care unit, using oxytocin, and perineal tears (P>0.05). Conclusion: The semi-prone and knee-chest positions increase the spontaneous rotation of occiput to the anterior position, vaginal delivery rates as well as a reduction in duration of active phase of labor and low back pain after delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Sexual dysfunction (SD) is a common symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In women with MS, there are no specific pharmacological or non-pharmacological therapies which have been proven effective for SD. Objectives. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pelvic floor muscle exercises on improving sexual function in women with MS. Material and methods. This study was a pre-/post-intervention clinical trial conducted on 45 MS women who had been referred to the MS Clinic in Ahvaz, Iran. All participants were selected by the purposeful sampling method. The data collection tools in this study included a demographic data form and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. The study participants (n = 45) performed pelvic floor muscle exercises for 12 consecutive weeks. The data were analyzed as descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) with the Shapiro-Wilk test, the independent t-test, and the paired t-test using SPSS software version 24; a p-value of < 0.05 was selected as the significance level. Results. The results revealed that after pelvic floor muscle exercise, the mean score of sexual function of women with MS had increased from 10.58 to 30.17 and that this increase was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Conclusions. Pelvic floor muscle exercise can improve sexual function in women with MS. Thus, performing these exercises is recommended as an easy and cost-effective method to improve the sexual function of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are so many studies with controversial results focusing on pregnancy outcomes in adolescents. Gynecologic age (GA)- the time between menarche and chronological age at the first pregnancy- has been considered as a physiological maturity indicator with a lower GA assumed as a risk factor for pregnancy outcomes in adolescents. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between GA and maternal/fetal weight gain in adolescent pregnancies. Methods: This is an analytical study in which 275 primiparous women aged 20 to 29 years, were compared with two groups of adolescent women: GA =3 (n=141) and GA >3 years (n=131) in terms of weight gain during pregnancy, anemia and birth weight of newborns. All women were married and had been admitted to the health centers of two cities in south west Iran in 2017. Results: Inadequate/excessive weight gain in adolescents who had a GA=3 was significantly more than that in adult group (p=0.04). There was no significant difference among three groups in terms of anemia and birth weight (p> 0.05). Conclusion: The association was revealed only between the GA=3 years and increased risk of undesirable weight gain. Including only married adolescents, is the main difference between this study and other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]