Gülşen Vural

Nurses' and Midwives' Views on Approaches to Hymen Examination

Premarital sexual relations are unacceptable for women within Turkish societys understanding and perception of honour. If there is any suspicion about virginity, young girls are forced to undergo hymen examination against their will, which frequently results in attemped suicide. The most frequent cause of suicide in young Turkish girls is hymen examination. Nurses and midwives are always involve in this procedure. The purpose of this study was to determine the views of and approaches to hymen examination by nurses and midwives. Of those who participated in this study, 80.2% had been present during a hymen examination, 40.4% indicated that virginity had a special significance in the society owing to social pressures, and 37.5% indicated that they agreed with the view that the idea of virginity puts restraints on a womans sexual life, whereas sexual activity is a physiological need. They also indicated their opposition to hymen examination imposed without the individuals consent. They agreed that stopping this practice depended more on the social structural changes required than on legal measures.

Effectiveness of nursing counseling on coping and depression in women undergoing in vitro fertilization.

The purpose of present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of counseling provided by nurses on depression and coping strategies of infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization (N = 67). Of the 84 women who were interviewed, 30 were accepted as a comparison group, and 37 were included in the study group. The study group women were given counseling in addition to routine nursing care services, including group education and individual interviews about treatment and coping strategies. The nurses also provided support by accompanying the women during the invasive procedures. The Beck Depression Inventory and Jalowiecs Coping Strategies Form were used for measurements. All the women were using emotional coping and had moderate depression prior to the study. There was no statistically significant difference between the comparison and study groups before or after the counseling with respect to depression and coping strategies. Parameters to evaluate the efficacy of counseling are discussed.

Reasons for using traditional methods and role of nurses in family planning

The withdrawal method and other traditional methods of contraception are still used in Turkey. Ninety-eight percent of women in Turkey know about modern family planning methods and where to find contraceptives. In fact, only one in every three women uses an effective method. The aim of this descriptive and experimental study was to investigate reasons for using traditional methods and the role of nurses in family planning. The women included in the sample were visited in their homes by nurses and educated for family planning in four sessions. Overall, 53.3% of women were using an effective method. However, 54.3% of women living in the Sirintepe district and 41.6% of women living in the Yenikent district were still using the traditional methods they used before. After the education sessions, the most widely used method was found to be intrauterine device (22.8%) in Sirintepe and condom (25%) in Yenikent. There was a significant difference in family planning methods between these two districts (p < 0.001).

Epizyotomi Bakımında Serum Fizyolojik ve Rivanolün İyileşme Sürecine Etkisi

Objectives: Episiotomy is frequently performed in primigravidas in many hospitals. No standard application exists in episiotomy care. This study aimed to compare the effect of serum physiological (SP) and rivanol on the process of recovery and perineal pain during episiotomy care. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted with 60 primiparous women. During the process of data collection, rivanol was used for episiotomy care of the first 30 mothers who met the inclusion criteria (Group 1). Serum physiological was used in Group 2. The first data were collected in the first four hours of the postpartum in the hospital. Mothers were invited to the hospital for the evaluations on 7th, 14th, and 21st days. Episiotomy wound was evaluated with REEDA score and pain with Visual Analog Scale. Results: In episiotomy healing process, there was a difference between groups in favor of SP according to total scores of REEDA on the 7th, 14th and 21st days. There was a difference in SP group with respect to pain on the 21st day. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, SP was found to be more effective than rivanol in episiotomy healing. Therefore, the use of SP, which is non-chemical and has no side effects to the healing process, is suggested in episiotomy care. Amac: Epizyotomi, bircok hastanede primigravidalarda siklikla uygulanmaktadir. Epizyotomi bakiminda standart bir uygulama yoktur. Bu calisma ile serum fizyolojik (SF) ve rivanolun epizyotominin iyilesme sureci ve perine agrisi uzerindeki etkisinin karsilastirilmasi amaclandi. Hastalar ve Yontemler: Bu calisma vajinal dogum yapan 60 primipar uzerinde yapildi. Veri toplama surecinde katilim kosullarina uygun, ilk 30 annenin epizyotomi bakiminda rivanol kullanildi (Grup 1). Grup 2a#39;de ise SF kullanildi. Ilk veriler postpartum ilk dort saat icinde hastanede toplandi. 7., 14., 21. gunlerdeki degerlendirmeler icin anneler hastaneye davet edildi. Epizyotomi yarasi REEDA skoru ile, agri ise Gorsel Analog Skala ile degerlendirildi. Bulgular: Epizyotomi iyilesme surecinde Iki grup arasinda toplam REEDA skoru yonunden 7., 14. ve 21. gunlerde SF lehine fark saptandi. Agri bakimindan 21. gunde SF grubunda fark saptandi. Sonuc: Bu calismanin sonuclarina gore epizyotomi yarasinin iyilesmesinde SF rivanolden daha etkili bulunmustur. Bu sebeple epizyotomi bakiminda yara iyilesme surecine yan etkisi bulunmayan ve bir kimyasal olmayan SF kullanimi onerilir.