Emel Ege

Social support and symptoms of postpartum depression among new mothers in Eastern Turkey

Aim:  The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between symptoms of postpartum depression and social support in new mothers in a semi‐rural province (Malatya) of Eastern Turkey.

Prevalence of postpartum depression in mothers and fathers and its correlates.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of postpartum depression and its connections in a group of mothers and their husbands. BACKGROUND Although postpartum depression in mothers during the postnatal period has been extensively studied, the courses of depression from pregnancy to postpartum and risk factors among mothers and fathers together are not known. DESIGN A cross-sectional design was used. METHODS This study included 110 couples registered at a family health centre in western Turkey. For the data collection, the Mother Introduction Form, the Father Introduction Form and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale were used. The data were analysed by Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman correlation and logistic regression tests. RESULTS The prevalence of postpartum depression was 9·1 and 1·8% for mothers and fathers, respectively. The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale average score for mothers was 4·29 ± 5·33 points and 1·12 ± 2·75 points for fathers. The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale scores were significantly higher in mothers who said that their relationship with their husbands was moderate or bad, who felt partly sufficient in the baby care, who were in difficulty in the baby care, who felt anxious for their motherhood and who said that they had not received support from anybody for baby care. The logistic analysis found that those feeling anxious about motherhood were at risk 5·6 times more than the others in developing postpartum depression. CONCLUSION Both mothers and fathers should be given consulting services about baby care and how they can manage with postpartum depression during postpartum period. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE This study highlights the utility of screening for the risk of postpartum depression during pregnancy and also during the early postpartum period.

Quality of life and related factors in women, aged 15–49 in the 12-month post-partum period in Turkey

Aim:  The aim of the present study was to examine the quality of life (QoL) and related factors in women in a 12‐month postpartum period.

Women's douching practices and related attitudes in eastern Turkey.

Aim:  Vaginal douching is a common hygiene practice for many women all over the world, but it is associated with several health risks. Little is known about the beliefs and attitudes that promote and maintain douching practices. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the status of vaginal douching practices of women in the Malatya province of eastern Turkey.

Reproductive history, socioeconomic status and disability in the women aged 65 years or older in Turkey

Pregnancy and childbirth are an important physiological and emotional phenomenon in their lives for most women and studies have shown that this process may have a significant impact on their health at later ages. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between functional disabilities in women over the age of 65 and their reproductive history and socioeconomic status. This is a cross-sectional study. The study group consisted of 543 women aged 65 or over. A general questionnaire and the Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ) were used to collect data with face-to-face interview in home visits. Of the women 79.2% have disability. First childbirth was experienced at the average age of 19.6+/-3.3 and the average age at which the women experienced their last delivery was 32.5+/-6.3. Parity was 4.1+/-1.7. Advanced age, being widowed and illiterate, less income, being outside of the middle class and having more than four children are important determinants for later life disability. The study highlights the importance of focusing not just on the short-term effects of childbearing and socioeconomic factors, but also of taking into account the possibility of long-term effects on disability in older women.

Turkish version of the revised nursing professional values scale: Validity and reliability assessment

AIM The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the Revised Nursing Professional Values Scale (NPVS-R). METHODS The sample of this methodological study consisted of 385 participants, including senior undergraduate nursing students (n = 328) and clinical nurses (n = 57). Data was collected using the NPVS-R. For NPVS validity, content validity and construct validity were analyzed. The content validity index (CVI) was used to determine item validity. RESULTS Item CVI ranged from 0.78 to 1.0, and total CVI was 0.93. Construct validity was examined using factor analysis and the five factors were identified as original NPVS-R. Chronbachs alpha was used to assess the internal consistency reliability. The 26-item NPVS had a standardized alpha coefficient of 0.92. Test-retest reliability scale was r = 0.76 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Our analyses showed that the Turkish version of NPVS-R has high validity and reliability.

Adolescent Pregnancy in Turkey

Adolescent sexuality and reproductive health problems continue to be sensitive matter in Turkey. Premarital sexuality is not approved of in Turkish society, and society maintains a strict attitude against extramarital and random sex. It is considered unsuitable for Muslim adolescents to be active sexually until marriage; however, there is a more tolerant attitude toward adolescent males. In a 2008 study of midwifery students, the majority of students believe that virginity is important and premarital sexual intercourse is wrong and that young women have to be aware of the negative outcomes of premarital sexual intercourse. This inequality among adolescents has caused young girls to suffer much more harm than boys. One example, in Turkey, marriages under the age of 17 and all marriages other than civil marriages have been legally prohibited; however, as illegal marriages at early ages are accepted by society, they are still performed. Stopping this practice requires broad enforcement. Additionally, many studies conducted in Turkey demonstrate that young people still have deficiencies in knowledge about sexual health and reproductive health. What we have found is that the level of education, family structure, and economic status are closely related risk factors for adolescent pregnancies. The median age of first marriage for women who have received secondary and higher education is 24.1. The median age for women who have completed the second stage of primary education is 3 years younger (21 years old), and the median age for uneducated or non-primary school graduate women is 5 years younger (16 years old). We also found that the most significant reason for older age of first marriage is the increase in educational opportunities, access to a profession, and the use of effective birth control methods.

15-49 Yaş Kadınların Kürtaj Nedenleri ve Kontraseptif Tercihleri

Amac: Calisma 15-49 yas kadinlarin isteyerek dusuk yapma nedenlerini ve kontraseptif tercihlerini saptamak amaciyla yapildi. Yontem: Calisma tanimlayici arastirma seklinde yapildi. 11 Kasim 2005 – 31 Ocak 2006 tarihleri arasinda Konya Dr. Faruk Sukan Dogum ve Cocuk Hastanesi’nde isteyerek dusuk yapan 103 kadin arastirmanin calisma grubunu olusturdu. Literature dayanarak arastirmacilar tarafindan olusturulan 27 soruluk anket formu verileri toplamak icin kullanildi. Bir arastirmaci verileri yuz yuze goruserek topladi. Tanimlayici istatistikler yaninda kurtaj nedeni ile aile planlamasi tercihleri arasindaki iliskiyi incelemek amaci ile X2 onemlilik testinden yararlanildi. Bulgular: Calismaya alinan kadinlarin yas ortalamasi 32.7 (SD: 5.91, median: 32.0, mode: 30, min.18, max. 45). %85.4’u ilkokul mezunu veya okur yazar degil, gebelik sayisi 3 veya uzerinde olan kadinlar daha fazla isteyerek dusuge/MR bas- vurdugu saptandi (%94.2). En sik isteyerek dusuk yapma nedeni olarak cocuk sayisi gosterilmis (%47.6) ve kadinlarin gebe kalmadan once geri cekme yontemini kullandiklari tespit edildi. Sonuc: Isteyerek dusuk hala bir kontraseptif metod olarak kullanilmaktadir. Ozellikle dogum sonu kliniklerinde kontrasepsiyon danismanligina odaklanmak anne ve cocuk sagligi bakimindan onemlidir