Özlem Can Gürkan

Effect of acupressure on nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

UNLABELLED This paper sought to determine the efficacy of acupressure application in pregnant women suffering from nausea, with or without associated vomiting, who were unable to receive conventional medication for these symptoms. Sampling consisted of pregnant women complaining of nausea with or without vomiting. The study was controlled by the Maternity and Child Hospital in Istanbul between March 2004 and March 2005. The treatment group comprised 26 women; 25 in the control arm and 24 women were assigned to the placebo arm. The study occurred over a 9-day period. During this time, the treatment group applied acupressure bands to P(6) acupressure point on days 4-6 of the study with the placebo group receiving acupressure bands to a sham acupressure point, on the upper side of their wrists. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Acupressure would appear to be effective in symptom control, and alleviation and placebo effects in reducing the symptoms of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

The Influence of Intimate Partner Violence on Pregnancy Symptoms

The current literature contains few studies conducted on the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on pregnancy symptoms. Does being subjected to IPV during pregnancy increase the incidence of pregnancy-related symptoms? The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of IPV on pregnancy-related symptoms. The study was conducted as comparative, descriptive, and cross-sectional research with a total of 370 participants. Data were collected using the Domestic Violence Against Women Screening Form, the Pregnancy Symptoms Inventory (PSI), and a descriptive questionnaire. The types of IPV the women in the study had experienced during pregnancy were, in order of frequency, verbal abuse (31.1 %; n = 115), economic abuse (25.9 %; n = 96), physical violence (8.4 %; n = 31), and sexual abuse (5.9%; n = 22). The PSI scores for the pregnant women subjected to physical violence related to gastrointestinal system symptoms (p < .05), cardiovascular system symptoms (p < .05), mental health symptoms (p = 0), neurological system symptoms (p < .05), urinary system symptoms (p < .01), and tiredness or fatigue (p = 0); their total PSI scores (p = 0) were significantly higher statistically than those of women who did not experience physical violence during pregnancy. The scores of the pregnant women subjected to sexual abuse related to mental health symptoms (p < .05), and their total PSI scores (p < .05) were significantly higher than those of women who did not experience sexual abuse. The scores of the pregnant women subjected to economic abuse related to tiredness or fatigue (p < .01) and their mental health symptom scores (p < .05) were significantly higher than those of women who did not experience economic abuse. Our results showed that women subjected to IPV during pregnancy experienced a higher incidence of pregnancy symptoms.

Premenstrual Sendromlu Kadınlarda Uyku Hijyen Girişimlerinin Etkisi

Amac: Calisma premenstrual sendromda uyku hijyen egitimlerinin etkisini degerlendirmeyi amaclamistir. Gerec ve Yontem: Calismada, pre-test post-test, non-randomize, control grup tasarim kullanildi. Calisma, premenstrual sendromlu 88 kadinile gerceklestirildi (Girisim grubu= 47; Kontrol Grubu n=41). Girisim grubunda yer alan katilimcilar uyku hijyen girisimlerini kullandi. Calismanin birinci adiminda, girisim grubunda yer alan katilimcilara uyku hijyen egitimi yapildi. Ikinci adimda, girisim grubundaki katilimcilar iki menstrual siklus boyunca uyku hijyen girisimlerini uyguladilar. Veriler, girisim oncesi ve girisim sonrasi (1.menstruasyon ve 2.menstruasyon) Premenstrual Sendrom Olcegi (PMSO), Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi Olcegi (PUKO) kullanilarak elde edildi. Bulgular: Calismadan elde edilen bulgular sonucunda, girisim grubunun ve control grubunun hem PMSO puanlari hem de PUKO puanlarinin takip surecinde benzer oldugu, gruplar arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli duzeyde fark olmadigi belirlendi (p>0.05). Bununla birlikte, 1.menstruasyon ve 2.menstruasyon PMSO puan farklari gruplar arasinda karsilastirildiginda, gruplar arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli fark bulundugu belirlendi. Deney grubunun PMSO puanlari, takip surecinde, kontrol grubuna gore istatistiksel olarak anlamli duzeyde azalmisti (p<0.001). Tartisma: Premenstrual semptom yasayan kadinlarin, uyku hijyen girisimlerini kullanmasi, premenstrual semptomlarinin azaltilmasinda yardimci olabilir.