Objectives: Infertility is one of the important complications in gynecology and the aim of the present study was to investigate the etiology and risk factors associated with infertility in the southern region of Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in infertility centers of Hormozgan University of Medical Science (HUMS). Totally, 250 infertile couples were included. The variables including socio-demographic characteristics, smoking, body mass index (BMI), and infertility status (e.g., type of fertility, duration, etc.) were assessed by a self-administered and validated questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 22.0. Results: The most common causes of male and female infertility were varicocele (49.4%) and ovulation disorders (57.5%), respectively. There was a significant association between female factor infertility and level of education, age of women, women’s age at marriage, number of abortions, alcohol consumption, presence of an underlying disease, and BMI (P<0.005). There was also a significant relationship between male factor infertility and men’s job, addiction, smoking, and presence of an underlying disease (P<0.005). Conclusions: Considering various risk factors for infertility, an important step forward can be taken towards reducing the incidence of these risk factors by providing different education classes during pre-marriage, pre-partum, pregnancy and postpartum periods so as to inform couples of controllable risk factors.

The delayed healing of episiotomy wound and its associated pain is a major problem in obstetrics. Because green tea has analgesic and wound-healing properties, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of green tea ointment on episiotomy pain and wound-healing. The green tea extract was also standardized by measuring its Phenolic and flavonoid compounds, antioxidant activity, and one of its active components, that is, Epigallocatechin gallate. The present clinical trial was conducted on 99 primiparous women visiting Afzalipour Hospital in Kerman in 2015. The subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups, including a green tea ointment group, a placebo ointment group, and a routine care group. The 2 ointment groups smeared 2 cm of the green tea or placebo ointments onto their sutured area twice daily for a total of 10 days. The severity of pain was assessed in the subjects using the visual pain scale and wound-healing using the Redness, Edema, Ecchymosis, Discharge, Approximation (REEDA) scale before the intervention and on the 5th and 10th days after delivery. To standardize the extract, Epigallocatechin gallate was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Phenolic and flavonoid compounds, as well as antioxidant activity of the extract were also determined by spectrometry methods. Before the intervention, no significant differences were observed between the 3 groups in terms of their personal and obstetric details (p > .05), the severity of pain (p = .118), and the REEDA score (p = .212). On the 5th and 10th days after delivery, the severity of pain was significantly lower in the green tea group than in the other 2 groups (p < .0001). The mean REEDA score on the 5th and 10th days showed a better and faster healing in the green tea group compared to the other 2 groups (p < .0001). Total content of phenolic and flavonoids contents of green tea were 74.2 mg/g Gallic acid equivalent and 16.3 mg/g Rutin equivalent, respectively, and its antioxidant capacity was 46% of b-carotene. Green tea ointment appears to be effective in relieving episiotomy pain and improving wound-healing in this study. Further studies are recommended to be conducted on the effectiveness and safety of the different doses of green tea ointment.

BackgroundOne of the most common complaints for women is dysmenorrhea. Several studies investigated the treatment effects of medicinal plants on primary dysmenorrhea.ObjectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effect of Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) on pain in primary dysmenorrhea in comparison to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as mefenamic acid.MethodsPubMed, EMBASE, EBSCO Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane library, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Science Direct, ProQuest, ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, Magiran, SID, Iran Medex, and Irandoc were searched up to January 2019. Quality assessment of clinical trials was conducted using Jadad scoring system. Totally, 12 studies were entered in the meta-analysis. I2 was calculated to determine heterogeneity. Fixed effects and/or random effects models were applied.ResultsMeta-analysis of these trials showed that F. vulgare intake decreased significantly the intensity of dysmenorrhea compared to the placebo (SMD −0.632; CI: −0.827 to −0.436; p<0.001; heterogeneity p=0.807; I2=0%; fixed effect model; seven articles). However, the effect of Mefenamic acid with F. vulgare was not different from each other (SMD=−0.214; CI: −0.446 to 0.017; p=0.07; heterogeneity p=0.58; I2=0%; fixed effect model; six trials).ConclusionThe F. vulgare alleviates dysmenorrhea. Regarding the same effect of F. vulgare with NSAIDs, it is highly recommend to the women suffered from dysmenorrhea specifically the ones who have high tendency toward herbal medicine.

Introduction: Since the mathernal death affects the family and society´s health, recognizing the causes and finding the preventive measures is essential. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and causes of mortality in pregnant women in Hormozgan province. Methods:In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the study population was all pregnant mothers who died during the years 1390-1391. The information was collected from the hospitals, records available at the provincial health center, the completed maternal death forms, and the interviews on maternal death. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics with SPSS software. Results:The rate of maternal death in Hormozgan province in the study period was 32.76 cases per 100,000 live births and the frequency of maternal death was 100. The most common cause of death was postpartum hemorrhage. The majority of deceased mothers were 18-35 years old (73%), with pregnancy interval more than three years (80%), delivery times less than 5 (87%), rural resident (57%), and wanted pregnancy (86%).The type of delivery was cesarean section in the majority of mothers who died (60%). In addition, 75% of the mothers were died in hospitals and specialists and midwives were helping them to deliver (91%). The highest mortality rate was related to post-delivery period (65%). Conclusion:In order to reduce the mathernal mortality, it is recommended to provide high quality services to the villagers and promote the referral system, quality of services to villagers, midwifery protocols, ambulance and hospital equipments, the level of knowledge and skills of staff, and follow up system and to reduce the unnecessary cesarean sections.

Introduction: As a biopsychosocial phenomenon, substance abuse is a major public health problem with negative economic, social, and cultural consequences. Objective: This study aims to determine the effect of Motivational-Enhancement Therapy (MET) on substance abuse patterns in postpartum women with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 60 eligible postpartum women with SUD (30 in the intervention group and 30 control), who were selected using a random sampling method from the postpartum unit of a hospital in Kerman, Iran in 2019. The participants in the intervention group attended four individual MET sessions and received four telephone follow-ups. All participants completed a researcher-made substance use pattern checklist before and after the intervention. Data analysis was carried out using McNemar’s test, paired t-test, independent t-test, Fisher’s exact test, and chi-square test. A P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of women was 29.25±5.89 years, and most of them were housewives with elementary education. A significant reduction was observed in the number of opium (P=0.008) and methadone (P=0.003) users after the intervention. Moreover, there was a significant difference in the amount of opium and methadone use (P<0.05). However, no significant difference was found between the two groups in the method and frequency of substance use before and after the intervention. Conclusion: MET is effective in the type and amount of opium and methadone used in postpartum women with SUD. Therefore, it can be used along with other treatments for the treatment of SUD in women after delivery.