Background: Parents whose infants had died are in need for especial care and support, these needs are difficult and stressful. This study was aimed to evaluate knowledge and attitude of maternity nurses regarding perinatal bereavement care.Method: A convenience sample including 50 maternity nurses were participated in the current study. Design: A descriptive study design was utilized to conduct the current study. Tools: Two tools were used for data collection, an interview schedule and attitude likerate scale. Results:The current study findings revealed that, nurses had inadequate level of knowledge, positive and highly positive attitude regarding perinatal bereavement care were presented in (26%, & 64%) of nurses respectively. Nurses reside in rural areas, had personal grieving experiences and those had past experience in handling grieving parents had a highly positive attitude toward perinatal bereavement care. Conclusion:This study finding showed that, bereavement counseling education and preceptorship supervision are recommended to reduce this stressful experience, increase the confidence and expertise of nurses, and lead to increased quality of care for bereaved parents.

Background and Objectives: Delivery is considered as one of the most painful experiences of women's life. There fore continuous labor support offers multiple benefits for mothers and infants. The present study aimed to compare the effects of maternal supportive care and acupressure (at LI4 a cupoint) during labor on labor pain intensity, and infant's Apgar score. Methods: Parturient women (n=150) with low-risk pregnancy (with singleton pregnancies in the active phase of spontaneous labor, without any medical or obstetric problems, were enrolled in this single-blinded, randomized, clinical trial)were randomly divided into supportive care(Doulas)group, LI4 acupressure group, and control group each containing 50 subjects in which no pharmacological or non-pharmacological methods of pain relief were used. Pain intensity was measured by visual analog scale before and after the intervention in the first stage of labor. Pressure or touch was applied for 30 minutes during uterine contractions. The data were collected using a questionnaire including demographic and pregnancy characteristics. Then, the data were analyzed using Chi-square test and one-way ANOVA. Results: The difference in the pain scores between Doulas, the acupressure and control group was statistically significant (p<0.001). Moreover, the frequency of Apgar score>8 in the first and 5 th minutes was higher in the supportive care and acupressure groups compared to the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion and recommendation: Continuous support and acupressure are an effective, non-invasive, and easily applicable technique to reduce labor pain and could reduce the length of labor stages and. Therefore, these methods, as effective nonpharmacological strategies, can be introduced to the medical staff to improve the delivery outcomes.

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Violence against pregnant women is a significant social and a major health problem in the world. It was estimated that 25.0% of women worldwide have been victims of intimate partner violence. This study was aimed to assess the effect of domestic violence endured by pregnant women on maternal and neonatal outcomes. A prospective study was carried out at ante-natal clinics in 5 health centers in Port-Said city. The study subjects were 400 users of antenatal care services. An interview questionnaire and assessment sheet were designed and utilized to collect the necessary data. The results of the current study revealed that (39.5%) of women were exposed to domestic violence in the current pregnancy, and domestic violence can take many forms including physical (38.6%), emotional (95.6%), sexual (13.9%), and economic violence (65.1%). It was found that in abused exposure group, the gestational age was 38.14 weeks, premature rupture of membrane( PROM) was 28.6%, and premature birth 14.1% ,while, in not abused group, was 38.85 weeks, 5.7% and 2% respectively with statistically significant differences (p-value < 0.001). Also using the odds ratio shows that the risk of PROM in abused exposure group was 6.6 times more than those who are not in abused exposure group, and risk of premature birth in abused exposure group was 7.95 times more than those who are not in abused exposure group. Regarding newborns parameters, the mean length of infants, in abused was less than that in not abused exposure group with statistically significant difference (p-value < 0.001). It was concluded that violence during pregnancy may be more common than many conditions for which women are routinely screened or evaluated during pregnancy including preeclampsia, placenta previa, and gestational diabetes. Also it has an adverse effect on mothers and neonates, therefore, the study recommended the importance of development and dissemination of training courses and education programs for the decision makers, workers in health care settings and antenatal clinics to raise awareness of the seriousness of domestic violence facing pregnant women and how to address and manage it.