Effects of Laughter Yoga on Premenstrual Symptoms

Context

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is associated with a group of emotional, behavioral, and somatic symptoms that occur during the menstrual cycle. Laughter yoga involves a combination of laughter exercises and breathing techniques derived from more traditional yoga practice. No previous studies have examined the effects of laughter yoga on the symptoms of PMS.

Objective

The study intended to assess the effectiveness of laughter yoga in coping with the premenstrual symptoms of women.

Design

The research team performed a pretest and posttest, quasi-experimental study.

Setting

The study took place in the nursing and midwifery departments at Marmara University, a state university located in Istanbul, Turkey.

Participants

Participants were 80 female students in those departments at the university between February 2019 and May 2020 who had PMS.

Intervention

The research team divided participants into two groups based on their departments: (1) an intervention group, the laughter yoga group, with 32 participants who took part in a twice-weekly laughter yoga program that included a weekly 30-min group session consisting of laughter and deep breathing, and (2) a control group with 48 participants.

Outcome Measures

The research team collected the data using the Demographic and Descriptive Information Form (DDIF), Premenstrual Syndrome Symptom Scale (PMSS), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).

Results

Between baseline and postintervention, the laughter yoga group's mean scores for the PMSS subdimensions depressive affection (P = .00), anxiety (P = .04), fatigue (P = .00), irritability (P = .01), depressive thoughts (P = .03), pain (P = .002), changes in sleep (P = .004), and bloating (P = .001) significantly decreased. The laughter yoga group's scores for fatigue (P = .03) and pain (P = .001) were significantly lower than those of the control group postintervention.

Conclusions

Laughter yoga is a noninvasive complementary therapy that clinicians can use to reduce the PMS symptoms.

The Effect of Prenatal Yoga on Pregnancy-Related Symptoms: A Pilot Quasi-Experimental Study

INTRODUCTION

In the last decade, yoga has attracted much attention from researchers. Although there are many studies on yoga, research on the effect of prenatal yoga on pregnancy-related symptoms is limited. This study aimed to determine the effect of prenatal yoga on pregnancy-related symptoms.

METHODS

The study was conducted at antenatal care services between June 2018 and October 2018 in Turkey. Simple random method was used to assign participants to the study arms. The yoga group attended a prenatal yoga program for 60 min once a week for 4 weeks. The control group received routine care. Data were collected before and after the intervention using the Descriptive Characteristics Form and Pregnancy Symptoms Inventory. Data analysis used descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation/standard error, and percentages), χ2, Mann-Whitney, and Wilcoxon tests. Significance was set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

The study was completed with 70 participants (the yoga group: 35; the control group: 35). The yoga group had a significantly lower posttest Pregnancy Symptoms Inventory Symptom Frequency Total Score than the pretest score (38.42 ± 18.76 vs. 32.77 ± 16.55, p < 0.05). The total score of the yoga group's gastrointestinal, respiratory, and mental health symptoms was reduced after the intervention (respectively, 6.74 ± 4.32 vs. 5.31 ± 3.38; 1.48 ± 1.26 vs. 1.05 ± 1.13; 7.08 ± 4.59 vs. 5.22 ± 3.48, p < 0.05). The yoga group had significantly lower mental health symptom scores than the control group (5.22 ± 3.48 vs. 7.34 ± 4.02, p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the control group's pretest and posttest Pregnancy Symptoms Inventory Symptom Frequency Scores.

CONCLUSION

Pregnancy-related symptoms were significantly reduced in the yoga group. It is thought that prenatal yoga may be effective on pregnancy-related symptoms. Yoga can be recommended to cope with pregnancy-related symptoms and support activities of daily living.

Traditional and Complementary Medicines Methods Used by Patients Diagnosed with COVID-19

AIM

This study aimed to determine traditional and complementary medicines (T&amp;CM) methods used by patients before and after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

METHODS

This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out between 27 March 2021 and 2 July 2021, in the community health services unit of Düzce Province, Central District, in the western Black Sea region. 547 people participated in the study. Two forms prepared by the researchers, the "Participant Identification Form" and the "Assessment Form for the Use of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Methods," were used to collect the data.

RESULTS

Before the diagnosis of COVID-19, patients reported that they consumed the highest rate of medicinal plants (56.1%) and fruits (40.4%) and prayed (40.4%) to prevent disease. After the diagnosis of COVID-19, they stated that they consumed the highest percentage of medicinal plants (68.4%) and fruit (53.0%) and prayed (48.4%) to reduce disease symptoms. It was seen that herbal products/herbal mixtures (medicinal plants [p < 0.001], fruits [p < 0.001], and fruit vinegars [p < 0.001]), and T&amp;CM methods such as supplements like C, E, D, and other vitamins (p < 0.001), prayer (p < 0.001), massage (p < 0.001), and apitherapy (p < 0.001) were found to be statistically significant after COVID-19 diagnosis compared to before.

CONCLUSION

In this study, it was determined that the patients often used T&amp;CM methods such as herbal products (especially medicinal plants and fruits) and prayer before and after COVID-19 diagnosis, and the use of these T&amp;CM methods increased significantly after diagnosis.

Cacao Butter as Prophylaxis for Nipple Problems: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study

Objective: Cacao butter is a type of oil extracted from the fruit of the Theobroma Cacao plant. This study was conducted to compare the use of breast milk and cacao butter for the prevention of nipple problems in the early postpartum period. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled study involved 72 participants, who were randomized into the cacao and mother's milk groups. Data were collected using Descriptive questionnaire, Nipple assessment form, and IMDAT (Amount of Urine Output, Condition of Breasts, Amount of Stool, Weight Increase and Satisfaction Status). Results: On postpartum day 10, the rates of nipple pain (11.40% cacao group versus 40.50% mother's milk group), rashes (14.30% cacao group versus 35.10% mother's milk group), and cracks (14.30% cacao group versus 43.20% mother's milk group) significantly reduced in the cacao group when compared with the mother's milk group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The application of cacao butter to the nipples is possibly a more effective method than the application of mother's milk for preventing nipple pain, rashes, or cracked nipples. Cacao butter can be used prophylactically to prevent nipple problems in the early postpartum period.

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.