African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery

African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 475-479, September, 2015.  © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Papers

A study of the attitudes of women toward mode of delivery during postpartum period

*¹Çağatay Dink, Deniz Ben-Zvi¹ and Yitzhak Gezmiş²

¹Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.

²Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 8 August, 2015

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of the women toward mode of delivery during postpartum period. The descriptive study was conducted in 600 puerpera women at a private hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. We collected data with “attitudes toward mode of delivery” (ATMOD) form during face to face interview. The researchers prepared the ATMOD form according to the literature. The ATMOD was 14 attitude statements. Participants answered statements as agree (1), or disagree (2). We evaluated data using the SPSS program. Average age was higher in cesarean deliveries (CD) than vaginal deliveries (VD). 28.1% of women had an elective CD; 71.8% stated that they would advise other potential mothers to opt for a CD; and 82.3% would choose CD in case of another delivery. In the study, women’s overwhelmingly favored VD and regarded CD as an appropriate procedure for abnormal pregnancies. Nevertheless, it was found that participants opted for CD as they think it is easier and less painful. The prenatal training programs aim at assisting couples in choosing VD by attracting their attention on delivery and correct breathing and relaxation techniques and by helping them in feeling less pain.

Key words: Attitudes, childbirth methods, cesarean delivery, prenatal training program, postpartum vaginal delivery, women.

African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (6), pp. 352-356, August, 2015. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

A phenomenological study of the first sexual encounter by the adolescent

*Oscar R. Neymar, Fernanda P. Ambrosio and Thiago Diego Luiz

Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Norte do Paraná, Londrina, Brazil.

*Corresponding author’s E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 13 July, 2015

Abstract

To uncover the meaning of the first sexual intercourse to the adolescent. Descriptive and qualitative study with a phenomenological approach guided by Martin Heidegger references. The background/scenario used is (was) the first response ambulatory specialty clinic at the Nucleus of Teenage Health Studies (Núcleo de Estudos da Saúde do adolescente or NESA) at Rio de Janeiro State University (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ). Data were collected in January and March of 2014. The subjects were 13 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 20. The project was approved by CEP/HUPE/UERJ, CAAE: 01270112.9.0000.5259. The analysis uncovered the facticity, the being-with, and revealed the in authenticity and awkwardness of being-adolescent at sexarche. Their first sexual experiences appeared to be steered by hearsay. The results lead to reflection on the integral care of the adolescent, because a new approach from the health services as well as a new stance/attitude from the professionals is needed, taking into consideration their sexual and reproductive rights.

Keywords: Sexual Behaviour, Sexuality, Adolescent, Nursing, Health Education.

African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 450-453, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Papers

A study on the care and satisfaction of expectant mothers during labour, birth and lying-in period in Ghana

*Kwesi Terkper, Ahwoi Tettey-Enyo and Alexander Opuku

Department of Nursing Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ashesi University, Accra, Ghana.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 9 August, 2015

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the care and satisfaction of expectant mothers during labour, birth and lying-in period in Ghana. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit participants, based on the needs of the study and on predetermined variables. Participants were second or third time mothers, who were admitted in the first stage of labour with a cervical dilatation of not more than 5 cm. They were those who had returned there for their two weeks post natal visits, who had no history of neonatal loss and who had normal vaginal deliveries, excluding forceps deliveries and vacuum extractions. Eight individual interviews were conducted with volunteering respondents within 48 h after delivery. This was followed by two focus group discussions two weeks after delivery. The groups were made up of three and four volunteering respondents. Data were inductively examined using content analysis, the process of first level coding, pattern coding and memoing. The respondents were between the ages of 22 and 37; they had limited educational backgrounds with the exception of two who were graduates from the university and teachers training college, respectively. All participants had two or three previous pregnancies and for at least one of these pregnancies, they have had experiences in the Mampong maternity hospital. The majority (seven) of them gave birth within 2 h of coming to the hospital. Findings from this study have established that: (a) multiple factors influence mothers’ satisfaction with their care in labour, birth and the lying in period; (b) maternal satisfaction during this period is determined mostly by the attitude of care givers; (c) dissatisfaction with care leads to non-usage of the hospital in future or using the hospital only as a last resort. It is recommended that (1) staffs of the hospital have frequent continuing education on communication and interpersonal relationship, (2) The code of ethics of the nursing profession should be strictly enforced, (3) Care givers need to fully understand the expectations that patient have for their care, and provide care that is consistent with those expectations.

Key words: Maternal, mothers, satisfaction, care, labour.

African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (7), pp. 461-464, September, 2015. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Papers

A comparative study of the effect of treatment for labor pain with changes in VAS scores

*Fredrik Anders Bildt, Carl Reinfeldt and Svante A. Palme

School of Life Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 10 August, 2015

Abstract

Assessing pain in relation to childbirth is one of the midwife’s more important tasks. However, pain research shows that health care professionals often assess patients’ pain inaccurately. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) is one of the most used instruments for assessing pain and pain relief both in research and clinical practice. On the other hand, a patient’s verbal report is considered to be the single most reliable indicator of how much pain the patient is experiencing. The aim of this study was to compare women’s verbally reported effect of treatment for labor pain with changes in VAS scores. This comparative prospective study was carrying out on a labor ward with approximately 2,500 deliveries annually in western part of Sweden. Women (n=122) at gestational week 37 to 42 with spontaneous onset of labor, requesting pain relief, were randomized to one of two treatments: acupuncture or sterile water injections. Pain was assessed on a VAS before as well as 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min after treatment. Within two hours after delivery the women were asked to verbally report the effectiveness with the treatment. Main outcome measure was agreement between VAS scores and verbal reports. Non-parametric tests were used. All tests were two-tailed at the significance level p< 0.05. The distribution of the VAS scores 30 min after administration of pain relief showed that the women verbally responding that treatment was “very effective”, also rated their pain significantly lower (p< 0.001) on the VAS, compared to the women verbally reporting otherwise. A moderate correlation (r = 0.56; p< 0.001) was obtained between VAS-scored pain change after 30 min and verbally reported pain relief effect. The women who stated that treatment was “very effective” also rated their pain significantly lower at 30, 60 and 90 min on the VAS, compared to baseline. This study confirms that verbal reports and changes in VAS scores are reliable indicators of treatment effect for labor pain. It might, however, be valuable to combine VAS scores with verbal reports for a more extensive assessment of treatment effect.

Key word: Childbirth, pain, pain relief, verbal reports, visual analogue scale.

African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ISSN 2198-4638 Vol. 2 (6), pp. 307-308, August, 2015. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

An evaluation of the tools used by nurses in the assessment of their patients’ pains in Abakaliki, Nigeria

Oraka N. Gabriel  and Igboje Nathan

Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 25 July, 2015

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the tools used by nurses in assessment of their patients’ pains using a cross–sectional descriptive research design. The instrument used was questionnaire developed by researchers with Validity of 0.86. 450 nurses used in the study were randomly selected from Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki. The results show that majority of the nurses use mainly patients’ verbal report of pains (87%) and simple descriptive pain intensity scale (57%) as their pain assessment tools. This revealed that despite the number of pain assessment tools available, nurses only use the subjective method to assess their patients’ pains. It was recommended that intensive training programme on pain assessment should be organized for nurses to improve their use of pain assessment tools.

Keywords: Pain assessment, patients’ pain, assessment tool.