OBJECTIVE The main aim of this study was to assess whether a history of abuse, reported during pregnancy, was associated with an operative delivery. Secondly, we assessed if the association varied according to the type of abuse and if the reported abuse had been experienced as a child or an adult. DESIGN The Bidens study, a cohort study in six European countries (Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Es...

OBJECTIVE To review the use of episiotomy during vaginal delivery in Hong Kong public hospitals. DESIGN Prospective observational survey. SETTING Public hospitals, Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS Women who underwent normal vaginal delivery of a singleton foetus with cephalic presentation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of women having an episiotomy, severe-degree (third- or fourth-degree) tear, o...

Fertility reduction is a phenomenon observed in demographic transition. The changes noted female fertility represent need for adjustment on health services regarding and family planning support. Thus, this study aimed to perform descriptive analysis by tracing the sociodemographic profile of primiparous mothers belonging nine Brazilian birth cohorts, three cities from different states. Standard...

OBJECTIVE This study assessed the influence of socioeconomic position at 12 years of age (SEP-12) on the variability in cesarean rates later in life. METHODS As part of the Portuguese Generation XXI birth cohort we evaluated 7358 women with a singleton pregnancy who delivered at five Portuguese public hospitals serving the region of Porto (April/2005-September/2006). Based on the twelve items...

BACKGROUND There has been much discussion about whether female feticide occurs in certain immigrant groups in Canada. We examined data on live births in Ontario and compared sex ratios in different groups according to the mother's country or region of birth and parity. METHODS We completed a population-based study of 766,688 singleton live births between 2002 and 2007. We used birth records p...

BACKGROUND Delaying the first childbirth to an advanced age has increased significantly during the last decades, but little is known about older first time mothers' experience of childbirth. This study investigates the associations between advanced maternal age in primiparous women and the postnatal assessment of childbirth. METHODS The study was based on the National Norwegian Mother and Chi...

OBJECTIVE To compare the proportion of women with self-reported depression and anxiety symptoms at four months postpartum between mothers of singletons who conceived spontaneously and mothers who conceived with the aid of fertility treatment. METHODS The sample used for this study was drawn from The "All Our Babies Study", a community-based prospective cohort of 1654 pregnant women who receiv...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the incidence and extent of vaginal and perineal trauma among primiparous women after mediolateral and lateral episiotomy. METHODS In a prospective randomized study at University Hospital Pilsen, Czech Republic, 790 consecutive primiparous women were enrolled between April 2010 and April 2012. Mediolateral episiotomy (MLE) followed an angle of at least 60° from the midli...

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a complex phenomenon that is prevalent in pregnant and parous women and requires the use of sophisticated measures to adequately reflect functioning of the continence system. The purpose of this study was to develop reliable and valid measures of UI and levator ani function for use in research and clinical settings. A Leakage Index (LI) and a Levator Ani Function In...

INTRODUCTION Episiotomy is used for enlarging the perineum. Aloe vera and Calendula have been used for treating different diseases from ancient times, limited researches have been done regarding the healing of these plants. Since the effect of their ointment on episiotomy healing has not been studied, this study is being done for determining the impact of Aloe vera and Calendula on episiotomy h...