The transition to the new role of caregiving is affected by experiences specific to the conditions of the caretakers. When these conditions can be understood and identified, it is possible to provide detailed information for policymaking and planning for family-centered care.

Women carry the primary responsibility for family planning in most parts of the world, and should be afforded the power of decision-making and control over their fertility. This study seeks to gain insight into Iranian women's perception of the meaning of empowerment in family planning. Using a qualitative study, seven focus group discussions and five individual interviews were conducted with 35 married Iranian women of reproductive age. The data were analysed using a conventional content analysis approach, in which themes and categories were explored to reveal women's experiences of empowerment in family planning. The results demonstrated four main categories: control over fertility plan, participative family planning, maintaining health and access to optimal family planning services. They viewed knowledge of family planning and autonomy of decision-making in fertility issues as essential elements for control of their fertility plan. Participants felt more empowered when joint family planning decisions were made with their partners in an atmosphere of agreement. Therefore, family planning policymakers should plan services with new approaches that focus on women's health and empowerment.

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ObjectiveTo explore how midwifery students in Iran experience learning clinical skills.MethodsA qualitative study was used. Midwifery students from three universities in Iran participated. The study used a convenience sample of eighteen students. Data for this study was collected using semi-structured interviews (N=12) and focus groups (N=6). Data were recorded on a digital audio recorder and then transcribed. The qualitative data were analyzed using a content analysis approach. ResultsSix broad themes emerged from the analysis: Limited opportunities to experience skills, difficulties with course plan gaps, need for creating a supportive clinical environment, learning drives, confusion between different methods, and stress in the clinical setting. Short verbatim quotations from the participants were presented to provide evidence for the interpretation of data. ConclusionsThe findings of this study have provided a clear picture of the factors and mechanisms involved in learning clinical skills by midwifery students. This study showed that students had some difficulties and concerns during learning of clinical midwifery skills. The findings of this study suggest that midwifery educators conduct further studies to tackle these issues in clinical skills learning. The findings of this study are subject to some limitations which are discussed.

Background:Fear of the stigma associated with reproductive health services has always been one of the reasons why youth and unmarried individuals avoid making use of such services. This stigma imposes a great deal of mental stress, fear, and depression on patients and causes delays in the diagnosis and treatment of their conditions.Objectives:This paper explores the concept of stigma in the context of the utilization of reproductive health services by unmarried women.Patients and Methods:This study is qualitative in nature. Purposive sampling was employed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 unmarried women, five midwives, and two physicians. The data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis method.Results:Four main categories constituted the general concept concerning the stigma suffered by unmarried women for using reproductive health services, i.e., prevalent stereotypical thinking patterns in society, the fear of being judged and labeled by others, discrimination, and feeling ashamed of seeking reproductive health services.Conclusions:The findings indicated that society associates reproductive health issues with sexual relations, which in turn shapes the stigma and places limitations on unmarried women for using reproductive health services. Thus, while reproductive health services are planned and provided to unmarried women, strategies are demanded for overcoming this stigma.