Sleep duration and quality of sleep can affect the type of delivery, length of labor stages, as well as neonates' Apgar score and birth weight. Such predictors of labor and fetal outcome should be assessed during prenatal evaluations.

BackgroundMyrtle (Myrtus communis L.) has been used in the Iranian Traditional Medicine as a treatment for abnormal uterine bleeding-menometrorrhagia. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of myrtle fruit syrup on abnormal uterine bleeding-menometrorrhagia.MethodsA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted on 30 women suffering from abnormal uterine bleeding-menometrorrhagia. Treatment comprised of giving 15 ml oral myrtle syrup daily (5 ml three times a day) for 7 days starting from the onset of bleeding. The myrtle syrup along with placebo was repeated for 3 consecutive menstrual periods. Menstrual duration and number of used pads were recorded by the Pictorial Blood loss Assessment Chart at the end of each menstrual period. The quality of life was also evaluated using the menorrhagia questionnaire.ResultsThe mean number of bleeding days significantly declined from 10.6 ± 2.7 days to 8.2 ± 1.9 days after 3 months treatment with the syrup (p = 0.01) and consequently the participants in the intervention group used fewer pads after 3 months (16.4 ± 10.7) compared with the number of pads used at the beginning of the treatment (22.7 ± 12.0, p = 0.01). Bleeding days and number of pads used by the participants in the placebo group did not change significantly. Also significant changes of quality of life scores were observed in the intervention group after 3 months compared to the baseline.ConclusionMyrtle syrup is introduced as a potential remedy for abnormal uterine bleeding-menometrorrhagia.

BackgroundAmenorrhea is defined as the cessation of menses. Hormone therapy is the most common treatment. Due to the contraindications and side effects of it and the increasing demand for alternative medicine substitutes, Mentha longifolia L. was used in this study. Mentha longifolia L. is a known medication in Iranian traditional medicine to induce menstrual bleeding in women with secondary amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea.MethodsA double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter study was conducted in 120 women with secondary amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea. Treatment consisted of sequential oral syrup, 45 ml (15 ml three times a day) for 2 weeks. If the patients did not have menstruation after 2 weeks of taking the medication, we would wait for two more weeks. If the patients had menstruation at each stage of using the drug, we started it one week after the end of menstruation. But if the patients had not menstruate after four weeks (two-week using of drug and waiting for two more weeks), the previous steps were repeated. The drug and placebo were repeated in three cycles of menstruation. Bleeding was documented by the patient on diary cards. The primary outcome variable was the occurrence (yes/no) of bleeding during the first treatment cycle. The secondary efficacy outcome was the regularity of bleeding pattern during the three cycles of the study.ResultsThe number of women with bleeding during the first cycle were higher in the drug group as in the placebo group (68.3% vs. 13.6%; p < 0.001). The regularity of bleeding throughout the study was markedly better in the drug group compared with those given placebo (33.3% vs. 3.3%; p < 0.001). No notable complication or side effect was reported in relation to Mentha longifolia L. syrup.ConclusionIn conclusion, Mentha longifolia L. syrup is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective choice in inducing bleeding and maintaining regular bleeding in women with secondary amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea.

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Purpose: Premature ovarian failure (POF) includes cessation of normal ovarian function before age 40, causing amenorrhea, menopausal symptoms and general health problems. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be administered in order to prevent menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis and vascular complications. Due to the contraindications and side effects of HRT and the increasing demand for alternative therapeutic modalities, we used Mentha longifolia, which is known in the Iranian traditional medicine (ITM), as being able to cause menstrual bleeding in women with early amenorrhea and decreased FSH serum. Methods: In this pilot study, we report twenty seven amenorrheic women with POF who were referred to the Iranian traditional medicine clinic in Tehran and treated by Mentha longifolia. All those patients had high FSH levels and amenorrhea. They were in their fertility age, between 30 to 40 years old. They were asked to take a cup of herbal tea which was steeped with Mentha longifolia tea three times a day for 2 weeks in 3 menstural cycles. If the patients developed menstruation, the FSH serum level was * Corresponding author. R. Mokaberinejad et al.357 measured immediately; otherwise they had an FSH measurement one month after the beginning of therapy. Results: Mean age of patients was 36.44 ± 1.5 years. Mean FSH level before treatment was 79.13 ± 19.17 mIU/ml, and after treatment was 27.83 ± 16.14 mIU/ml. In four patients who did not have any response, mean range of FSH was 82.37 ± 19.75 mIU/ml before treatment and afterwards it was 81.97 ± 21.52 mIU/ml. After treatment with herbal teas, there was a significant decrease in FSH (79.39 ± 19.17 to 27.83 ± 16.14 mIU/ml, p value < 0.001). All patient except four (14.81%) had mensturation after taking the herbal medicine. Those four patients showed no decrease in FSH level. More of the patients who used medicinal tea achieved regular monthly bleeding when followed for three cycles.