Limited knowledge and negative attitudes about menopause among postmenopausal women (PMW) create a multitude of health-related issues leading to impaired quality of life (QOL) among them. This study evaluated the impact of a health-promoting lifestyle education intervention (HPLEI) on knowledge, attitude, and QOL in a group of PMW in Sri Lanka. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 72 PMW, matched for sociodemographic status of the community from two geographically separated areas in Galle, and they were allocated to intervention (n=37) and control (n=35) groups. HPLEI is comprised of health education sessions focused on postmenopausal health management with lifestyle modifications provided only for the intervention group for 8 weeks and follow-up for 6 months. The control group was not given any planned education programme and was allowed to proceed with the usual lifestyle during this period. Knowledge, attitude, menopause-specific QOL (MENQOL), and overall QOL were evaluated in both groups with self-administered questionnaires at the baseline, after 8 weeks of education sessions and at the end of 6 months of follow-up. The mean (SD) ages of the intervention and control groups were 54.6 (4.5) and 56.5 (3.4) (p=0.06) years, respectively. All evaluated variable scores were not different between the intervention and control groups (p>0.05) at the baseline. In the intervention group, knowledge (mean±SD; 21.70±1.05) and attitude (mean±SD; 44.02±5.33) scores increased at the end (p<0.001). In the control group, a marginal increase in all dimensions of knowledge scores (mean±SD; 9.71±2.21) and unchanged attitude scores (mean±SD; 23.91±7.56) were seen. All MENQOL scores decreased during the follow-up in the intervention group (mean±SD; 138.51±18.47) (p<0.001) except the sexual domain (p=0.32). MENQOL scores were increased in the control group (mean±SD; 92.05±28.87) (p<0.001) with time. Overall QOL scores increased (mean±SD; 74.85±9.71) (p<0.001) in the intervention group during the study period and in the control group overall QOL (mean±SD; 51.03±13.61) showed a reduction (p<0.001) at the end. Health education focused on health-promoting lifestyle modifications was effective in improving knowledge, attitude, MENQOL, and overall QOL of PMW.

Introduction In Sri Lanka the current prevalence of anaemia during pregnancy is estimated to be less than 20%.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is associated with vascular thrombosis and pregnancy complications. It causes recurrent miscarriage and it is associated with other adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm delivery, intrauterine growth restriction, preeclampsia, and HELLP syndrome. Obstetric morbidity is one of the major manifestations of APS with a wide variety of clinical manifestations. This case describes a case of a severe preeclampsia in a 16-year-old primigravida at 29 weeks resulting in a caesarean delivery and subsequent finding of an ulnar artery thrombosis in postpartum period. APS was diagnosed on further investigations of her symptoms and signs.

Introduction: Understanding the antenatal mothers’ knowledge and attitude towards family planning (FP) helps to enhance their family well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and factors associated with family planning practices (FPP) among antenatal mothers attending a state hospital in Sri Lanka. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with the participation of 500 antenatal mothers attending clinic services at the Teaching Hospital, Mahamodara, Sri Lanka. A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were employed in data analysis. Results: The majority of antenatal mothers were Sinhalese (92.6%) and Buddhists (91.2%). The majority was in the age group of 20-30 years (57.8%) and lived in rural areas (85.0%). Among the study participants, 41.2% were primiparous. The mean scores obtained for knowledge and attitude on FPP were 19.54 (±5.43) and 26.20 (±4.18), respectively. Among the participants, 41.0% had moderate and 27.4% had high level of knowledge on FPP. Ethnicity, religion, and parity (p<0.001) were associated with the level of knowledge. Sinhalese, Buddhist women with high parity, had a higher level of knowledge (p<0.001). Only 58.4% had a positive attitude on FPP. Ethnicity (p=0.04), religion (p=0.03) and educational status (p=0.02) were associated with attitude on FPP. Antenatal mothers who were, Sinhalese, Buddhist and educated up to G.C.E. (A/L) had positive attitudes on FPP (p<0.05). Conclusions: A high proportion of antenatal mothers had moderate to high level of knowledge and positive attitude on FPP, which were significantly associated with ethnicity, religion, education and parity. Keywords: Antenatal mothers, Associated factors, Attitude, Family planning practices, Knowledge

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