زینب آزادیان

Due to the increasing number of premature births in recent years, high mortality rate of premature infants, and high risk of future disability of these children, it is necessary to obtain information on preterm labors and ways to diagnose premature neonates. This study aimed to compare the selected blood characteristics of women with term and preterm labors referring to the maternity ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Dehdasht, Iran.

This cross-sectional was conducted on 110 women referred to the maternity ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Dehdasht, Iran, during 2019. The participants were divided into two groups of the term (n=80) and preterm (n=30) labors. Simple random sampling was performed, and after obtaining the informed consent, blood iron, blood platelet, body mass index (BMI), white and red blood cell count, ferritin, and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) were examined in this study. The data were analyzed in SPSS software through an independent t-test.

The results showed that the mean blood iron, blood platelet, BMI, white blood cells, ferritin, and TIBC were higher in women with term labor, compared to those with preterm delivery (p < 0.05). Moreover, there were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the mean red blood cell count (P> 0.05).

Considering the necessity and importance of improving the level of healthy fertility, significance of maternal and infant health index as national health indicators, prevalence of some blood factor deficiency and its complications, and importance of normal BMI in the course of pregnancy and low-risk delivery, it is critical to pay attention to these factors to reduce preterm labors.

High-risk pregnancy is a kind of pregnancy that causes anxiety and compromises the health of the mother and fetus. The current study aimed to compare the effect of lecture and cognitive behavioral methods on the anxiety level in women with high-risk pregnancy in Sanandaj, Iran.

The present interventional study was a randomized clinical trial performed on 144 women with high-risk pregnancy of 24-35 weeks referring to comprehensive health centers in Sanandaj, within 2018. To select samples, the city was divided into five districts and then the subjects were randomly selected from 6 centers with the highest number of women with high-risk pregnancy. In each center, the sampling units were selected by the available sampling method. Before the intervention, the Spielberger questionnaire was completed to assess the anxiety score. Then the samples were divided into three groups of cognitive behavioral (n =48), lecture (n=48), and control (n=48). The cognitive behavioral group was divided into four groups of 12 participants and the lecture group into two groups of 24 people, each. The intervention was performed twice a week in a 90-120 minute sessions for each cognitive behavioral group and once a week for each lecture group for a period of 4 weeks. The control group also received routine pregnancy care. Four weeks after the intervention, the Spielberger questionnaire was completed again by the researcher for all groups. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 21) and the collected data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-square, paired t-test, Tukey, covariance analysis, and one-way ANOVA. 

The results of the current study showed that before intervention there was no significant difference in the level of anxiety in the three groups of lecture, cognitive behavioral, and control groups (P<0.05). In addition, no significant difference was observed in the anxiety level of the control group (P>0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the lecture group (P<0.05) and the cognitive behavioral group (P<0.05) and the anxiety in the cognitive behavioral group decreased significantly (P<0.05), compared to the control and lecture groups.

The results of the current study showed that educating with the cognitive behavioral approach and lecture style reduced pregnancy anxiety. Moreover, cognitive behavioral training had a more effective impact on reducing anxiety during pregnancy. Therefore, it was concluded that in lecture and cognitive behavioral methods, mothers gain a higher ability to manage their anxiety and avoid thoughts or behaviors that lead to increased anxiety.