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Objectives: Sexual health counseling and education are important parts of pre-marital counseling programs, which can play effective roles in the prevention of sexual dysfunction and an increase in marital satisfaction. In this regard, this study aimed to assess the effect of the pre-marital sexual counseling of couples on self-efficacy and sexual function among females who referred to pre-marital training courses in Zahedan, Iran. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 110 couples before marriage, who were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. The intervention group was subjected to two 60-minute sexual counseling sessions whereas the control group received only the routine training in this regard. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 21) using independent and dependent t tests. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, the mean score of sexual self-efficacy within the intervention group decreased from 20.61±6.05 before attending the counseling sessions to 17.34±4.89 three months after the intervention. However, the mean score of sexual self-efficacy within the control group represented a decrease from 17.87±5.49 to 17.45±5.86. Moreover, mean changes in the sexual self-efficacy scores of females in the intervention and control groups were -3.27±1.16 and -0.42±0.37, respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups regarding the mean score of the sexual self-efficacy of females after the intervention (P = 0.01). In addition, there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of the mean score of sexual function among females (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: In summary, educational interventions and pre-marital counseling with regard to sexual health helped improve the marital relationships of couples.

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Background: Traumatic birth experiences may lead to serious psychological impairment. Recent studies show that a considerable number of women can develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on PTSD in pregnant women with a history of traumatic childbirth. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 80 pregnant women with a history of traumatic childbirth, referring to health centers in Zahedan in 2020. The mothers were selected by a convenience sampling method and divided into two groups (40 mothers in each group) according to the random allocation method. The data were collected using the PTSD questionnaire administered before the intervention and five weeks after the final training session. The intervention group received four sessions of CBT during four weeks, and the control group received only routine pregnancy care. Data analysis was performed by SPSS 22 software using the independent t-test, chi-square test, and paired sample t-test at a significant level of < 0.05. Results: The results of the study showed that the mean post-traumatic stress score of pregnant women before CBT in the intervention and control groups was 27.90 ± 10.91 and 24.97 ± 14.85, respectively, and it changed to 15.25 ± 4.08 and 26.25 ± 11.56, respectively, after the intervention. Independent t-test showed that the mean scores of post-traumatic stress of pregnant women in the two groups were not significant before education (P = 0.31), but it was significant after it (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: CBT can have significant effects on reducing the severity of PTSD in pregnant women with a history of traumatic childbirth. Thus, it is recommended to include this type of educational intervention in the care program of pregnant women with a history of traumatic childbirth.

BACKGROUND: Improving self-care in adolescent pregnancy leads to improved maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancy. However, self-care in adolescent pregnancy is less than other women. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of face-to-face training and telemedicine on self-care in adolescent pregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a quasi-experimental study that was conducted in Zahedan in 2021 and 120 adolescent pregnant women with a gestational age of 15–20 weeks participated in it. The sampling was done in multistage, and the samples were divided into three groups: Face-to-face training, telemedicine, and control. Face-to-face training was presented in five sessions and the telemedicine group received the similar educational content through the mobile applications. The samples completed a researcher-made self-care questionnaire before the intervention and at 28 weeks of gestation. SPSS software version 21 was used for the analysis, and data were analyzed by ANOVA, Tukey post hoc , Kruskal–Wallis, and Mann–Whitney tests. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in face-to-face and telemedicine training in improving the scores of nutritional performance, smoking and narcotics use, personal hygiene, and routine pregnancy care ( P > 0.05), but face-to-face training caused more improvement in the scores of sports and physical activity as compared to telemedicine group ( P = 0.04). Face-to-face training and telemedicine training in all domains led to a significant improvement in scores as compared to the control group ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the face-to-face training and telemedicine methods were proper methods for self-care education in pregnant adolescent women. It is recommended to use these methods in promoting self-care in pregnant adolescent women.