No abstract

Background: Breast engorgement is a common problem among postnatal women worldwide, some of whom use warm compresses to promote vasodilatation, improve circulation, and promote the amount of milk produced by the breasts. Conversely, the application of chilled cabbage leaves can reduce pain, the firmness of the engorged breasts, and prolong breastfeeding duration.Purpose: To examine the effect of warm compresses application as compared to chilled cabbage leaves for relieving breast engorgement and pain.Methods: Setting: The study was carried out at a postnatal ward and outpatient clinic at two hospitals in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt. Sampling: simple randomization technique was used to divide 100 post-natal women into two groups who received intervention with warm compresses (Group 1) and chilled cabbage leaves (Group 2). Instruments: Instrument I: interviewing questionnaire; Instrument II: six-points breast engorgement scale; and Instrument III: visual analog scale (VAS).Results: There was a highly statistically significant difference and improvement in terms of reduced engorgement and pain degree for both groups, with greater improvement was observed in Group 2 when compared to Group 1.Conclusions: Chilled cabbage leaves are effective in the treatment of breast engorgement and pain than warm compresses.Recommendations: The mothers should be advised to use chilled cabbage leaves as a home remedy to minimize breast engorment and promote comfort, further studies are recommended in this area in order to expand the evidence based approaches on management of breast engorgement.

Background: Cervical cancer is a growing health risk facing women worldwide with the human papillomavirus (HPV) as the primary underlying cause. Pap smear is a simple screening test that can detect early changes in cervical cells, which might develop into cancer cells. Raising awareness of cervical cancer prevention has a significant impact on decreasing the burden of the disease. The aim of the study is to assess female nursing students' knowledge on early detection and screening of cervical cancer, and to determine the effectiveness of an educational program. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design (one group for pre- and post-tests) was utilized with a convenience sample of 130 female nursing students in one of the nursing colleges in Saudi Arabia. The study’s educational intervention included information about anatomy of genital tract and the importance of regular check-ups. The pre- and post-tests were applied to identify changes after intervention measures. Results: The mean age of the participants were 21.32 years (SD: 1.34). The findings revealed a significant improvement of post-test students’ knowledge in all items related to risk factors, signs and symptoms, occurrence, identification of HPV as causative agent, vaccination against HPV, and finally Pap smear for early detection and screening of cervical cancer. Conclusion: The study results support implementing educational intervention to improve nursing students' knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer prevention. Furthermore, it is imperative that cervical cancer awareness education modules should be developed and integrated within the nursing curriculum. Further studies with large sample size are recommended to increase generalization of the results.  Key words: cervical cancer, education program, primary prevention, nursing students, Saudi Arabia

Background: Early initiation of breast-feeding produce hormones that improve the mood of the mothers and reducing the risk of depression among them. It is one of the steps introduced by WHO\UNICEF's Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). Aim of the study: to evaluate the effect of early initiation of breast-feeding on the prevention of postpartum depression among puerperal women through an interventional program. Design: A Quasi-experimental design was utilized. Setting: This study conducted at university hospitals in one governorate of Delta region in Egypt. Sample: Simple random sample was used in this study. Three Instruments were used for data collection, an interviewing questionnaire, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and Checklist of early initiation of breast-feeding for the Puerperal women. Results: There was high (SSD) related to the scores of Edin-burg scale after applying the intervention program about early initiation of breast-feeding. In addition, there was an improvement in the scores of the women during breast feeding steps. Conclusion: intervention program about early initiation of breastfeeding succeeded in raising Edinburgh (EPDS) scores of puerperal women and in doing breastfeeding early during early post-partum period. Recommendations: Encourage all women to breast feed early as possible after labor, screening all women for postnatal depression and anxiety during post-partum. Future studiesare recommended on a large sample of puerperal women to be able to generalize the study results.