Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the transition of primiparas becoming mothers scale

BACKGROUND

The transition to motherhood is an important life event in a woman's life and represents an important developmental process that brings physical, psychological and social changes to gain a new role. However, research on the transition to motherhood in Turkish society is scarce. There is a need for a comprehensive, practical and reliable tool to evaluate the transition to motherhood in primiparous mothers. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Transition of Primiparous Becoming Mothers Scale (TMP-S) to evaluate the transition process of primiparous mothers to motherhood.

METHODS

This methodological research was carried out in obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinics, pediatric outpatient clinics, and family health centers of a hospital in Türkiye. The sample consisted of primiparous mothers of 0 to 6- month-old babies who visited clinics and family health centers for routine postnatal examinations (n ​​= 305). After evaluating the language equivalence and content validity of the scale, test-retest reliability, internal consistency and construct validity were examined. Factor analysis, Pearson's correlation, retest reliability, and Cronbach's alpha were employed to evaluate structural validity and reliability.

RESULTS

The final TPM-S had two dimensions with 25 items. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution, which accounted for 59.276% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fit of the two-factor model also reached a satisfactory model ft after modification. The comparative fit index was 0.894, the Tucker‒Lewis index was 0.882, and the root mean square error of approximation was 0.079. The content validity index of the scale ranged from 0.56 ~ 0.77. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.93 for the total scale, and the test-retest reliability was 0.96.

CONCLUSIONS

It is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the transition to motherhood among primiparous mothers of 0 to 6 month-old babies in Türkiye. Turkish researchers and healthcare professionals can routinely apply this measurement tool to primiparous mothers in the first six months after birth to evaluate their transition to motherhood.

Effect of Warm and Cold Acupressure Applied to the LI4 Acupressure Point on Childbirth Comfort During Labor: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Context

Labor pain is considered one of the most well-known types of severe pain. For this reason, non-pharmacological methods employed for managing labor pain are necessary to help pregnant women cope with labor pain and increase their childbirth comfort.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of cold and warm acupressure applied to the LI4 acupressure point on childbirth comfort in primiparous women during labor.

Design

This study was designed as a randomized controlled experimental trial.

Setting

The study was conducted between August 2020 and March 2021 at 2 hospitals in northern Turkey offering similar maternity services.

Participants

The sample consisted of 129 healthy pregnant women: 44 in the warm acupressure group, 44 in the cold acupressure group and 41 in the control group.

Intervention

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. The researcher applied cold or warm acupressure pouches, respectively, on the women in the 2 experimental groups on the LI4 acupressure point for 10 minutes during the active and transition phases of labor. The application was suspended for 1 hour, and then repeated 3 more times. No acupressure was administered in the control group.

Outcome Measures

The Personal Information Form (PIF), Labor Monitoring Form (LMF), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Childbirth Comfort Questionnaire (CCQ) were used to gather study data.

Results

There was a statistically significant difference between both the intergroup and intra-group pain scores in the experimental and control groups (P < .05) and childbirth comfort scores in the experimental and control groups in terms of groups and timing (P < .05).

Conclusion

In this study, both warm and cold acupressure were found to alleviate labor pain. The warm acupressure, in particular, had a more positive effect on childbirth comfort. Thus, warm and cold acupressure can be recommended to relieve labor pain and increase childbirth comfort.

NRF2 is a potential biomarker for the evaluation of weaning-related oxidative stress in goat kids

Weaning stress is crucial threatening factor in animal breeding. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of weaning to oxidative stress and stress status of goat kids at the molecular levels. In the study, blood samples were collected at the weaning process (7 days before weaning- Pre-W, Day of weaning- Day-W and 7 days after weaning- Post-W) from 24 healthy Damascus goats. Cortisol, MDA (Malondialdehyde), COX-2 (Cyclooxygenase-2), and NRF2 (Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) proteins levels were investigated in plasma, while COX-2 and NRF2 genes expression levels were determined from leukocytes. Compared to Pre-W, COX-2 gene was upregulated almost 2-fold in Day-W. On the other hand, NRF2 gene expression levels were tended to upregulation in Day-W, and it was upregulated approximately 2-fold in Post-W. While MDA levels were gradually increased in the weaning process, the levels of COX-2 and NRF2 proteins showed similar changes with gene expression trends. Positive correlations were also found between cortisol and COX-2 and NRF-2 protein levels in plasma. It was thought that significant outputs gained in terms of MDA levels in plasma of kids at the weaning process. For the first time, determination of COX-2 and NRF2 levels both mRNA and protein levels in the weaning process of goat kids were satisfactorily evaluated in this study. Particularly, NRF2 was found to have the potential to be a fundamental biomarker to assess the oxidative status of weaning kids.

The Relationship of Emotional Intelligence and Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy in Mothers in the Early Postpartum Period

Introduction: Women have widespread breastfeeding problems in postpartum period. Emotional intelligence (EI) is thought to be important in problem-solving related to breastfeeding. Research Aims: The study was conducted to investigate the correlation between the EI and breastfeeding self-efficacy (BFSE) of women in the early postpartum period and the associated factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in cesarean-postpartum service of a hospital in Erzurum between May 2015 and May 2016. The sample of the study consisted of 271 women. The dependent variables constituted the EI and BFSE mean scores. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t tests, one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Pearson correlation analysis were used. Results: The age, education level, perceived income status, and the status of planned pregnancy of the mothers affected their EI mean score, whereas their residence place, income status, the number of pregnancy and living children, and status of receiving prenatal care affected their BFSE levels. No significant correlation was found between the EI and BFSE mean scores in the early postpartum period (r = 0.77, p = 0.207). Conclusions: No significant correlation was determined between the EI and BFSE in the early postpartum period.

Bishop scoring: Perceived benefits of using in labour induction by Turkish midwives

It is not always possible to achieve a successful induction. Bishop scoring system is an efficient method used in determining whether the induction will be effective or not. The aim of this study was to train midwives on the benefits and use of the Bishop scoring system and to minimize the unnecessary use of induction. This study was conducted as pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. This study was conducted in a maternity hospital in Erzurum between 01 February and 31 July 2012. In the study, the midwives received training on the use of the Bishop scoring system, and changes in their knowledge levels and application during practice of induction were then evaluated. While only 20% of midwives were using the Bishop score before the training, 56.7% started to use this tool after the training. Comparing the examinations performed on pregnant women by the midwives in the pre-induction period before and after the training, the mean of the Bishop score changed from 7.26 to 9.68 after the training. It was determined that the training could increase the knowledge levels of midwives regarding the Bishop scoring system and their attention paid to the Bishop scoring system in the practice of induction.

Morphology, histology and phylogeny of Henneguya sinova sp. nov. (Myxobolidae: Myxozoa) infecting gills of Parablennius tentacularis in the Black Sea, Turkey

Myxosporeans of the genus Henneguya have a global distribution and infect organs and tissues of both marine and freshwater fishes. Here we describe the morphological, histological and molecular characteristics of Henneguya sinova sp. nov. parasitizing the gill arches of tentacled blenny Parablennius tentacularis (Perciformes: Blenniidae) collected from the coast of Sinop on the Black Sea in Turkey. Several oval whitish plasmodia of different sizes in the gill arches of fish were found. The mature spores were rounded oval in frontal view, with a mean (range) total length 57.5 (51.5-68.0) µm; the spore body was 11.7 (11.3-12.0) µm in length by 7.6 (7.3-8.3) µm in width and 6.7 (6.6-6.8) µm in thickness. The caudal appendages, measuring 46.0 (40.0-55.0) µm in length, were very thin at the tapered end. The prevalence of infection by H. sinova sp. nov. was 35.5%. Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) clearly suggested H. sinova as a new species which is clustered within the marine Henneguya lineage. Pairwise nucleotide similarities and DNA distance values of SSU rDNA between H. sinova sp. nov. and other related Henneguya species also supported this suggestion.

Population structure of rice varieties used in Turkish rice breeding programs determined using simple-sequence repeat and inter-primer binding site-retrotransposon data

Effective breeding programs based on genetic diversity are needed to broaden the genetic basis of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Turkey. In this study, 81 commercial varieties from seven countries were studied in order to estimate the genomic relationships among them using nine inter-primer binding site (iPBS)-retrotransposon and 17 simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 59 alleles for the SSR markers and 96 bands for the iPBS-retrotransposon markers were detected, with an average of 3.47 and 10.6 per locus, respectively. Each of the varieties could be unequivocally identified by the SSR and iPBS-retrotransposon profiles. The iPBS-retrotransposon- and SSR-based clustering were identical and closely mirrored each other, with a significantly high correlation (r = 0.73). A neighbor-joining cluster based on the combined SSR and iPBS-retrotransposon data divided the rice varieties into three clusters. The population structure was determined using the STRUCTURE software, and three populations (K = 3) were identified among the varieties studied, showing that the diversity harbored by Turkish rice varieties is low. The results indicate that iPBS-retrotransposon markers are a very powerful technique to determine the genetic diversity of rice varieties.

The Sexual Beliefs of Turkish Men: Comparing the Beliefs of Men With and Without Erectile Dysfunction

Sexual beliefs underlying male sexual dysfunction are known to emphasize excessively high sexual performance, among other inaccuracies. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of certain sexual beliefs among Turkish men with and without erectile dysfunction. In this comparative-descriptive study, demographic data and participant views regarding 50 common sexual beliefs were collected with a questionnaire. The study was conducted at the urology clinic of a university hospital in Turkey between May 2011 and August 2013. Participants were 815 men: 304 with erectile dysfunction and 511 without. Men with erectile dysfunction endorsed 8 beliefs about sexual activity more frequently than did men without erectile dysfunction. Findings indicate the association of certain cognitions with erectile dysfunction. Most of these cognitions concerned high expectations of male sexual function.

Serum mannose-binding lectin (MBL) gene polymorphism and low MBL levels are associated with neonatal sepsis and pneumonia

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the serum mannose-binding lectin (MBL) levels and the frequency of MBL gene polymorphisms in infants with neonatal sepsis.

STUDY DESIGN

Between January 2008 and January 2010, a total of 93 infants were included in this study and 53 of them had neonatal sepsis diagnosis as study group and 40 infants who had no sepsis according to clinical and laboratory findings as control group.

RESULT

Serum MBL levels were found to be low in 17 of 93 infants. Eleven of them were in the sepsis group and six of them were in the control group. Serum MBL levels were significantly lower in infants with sepsis compared with the control group. Frequencies of genotype AB and BB were also significantly higher in the study group compared with the control group. Most importantly, presence of B allele of MBL exon 1 gene was found to be associated with an increased risk for neonatal sepsis. Additionally, in the study group, the mean serum MBL levels were found to be significantly lower in the premature infants compared with the term infants. Pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) were significantly higher in infants with MBL deficiency compared with infants with normal MBL levels.

CONCLUSION

Low MBL levels and presence of B allele of MBL exon 1 gene were found to be important risk factors for development of both neonatal sepsis and pneumonia, especially in premature infants. Low MBL levels and MBL gene polymorphisms might also be associated with inflammation-related neonatal morbidities such as BPD and IVH.