BACKGROUND Vaginal examination (VE), is a frequent procedure during childbirth. It is the most accepted ways to assess progress during childbirth, but its repetition at short intervals has no value. Over years, VE continued to be plagued by a nature that implies negative feelings and experiences of women. The aim of this exploratory qualitative study was to explore women's feelings, opinions, k...

BACKGROUND Given the limited research into men's experiences of being present at childbirth this study explored the experiences of fathers who found childbirth traumatic. The aim of the research was to investigate how men coped with these experiences; the impact on their lives; and their views on what may have helped to reduce distress. METHODS Participants were recruited via websites relatin...

BACKGROUND Fear of childbirth has negative consequences for a woman's physical and emotional wellbeing. The most commonly used measurement tool for childbirth fear is the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (WDEQ-A). Although originally conceptualized as unidimensional, subsequent investigations have suggested it is multidimensional. This study aimed to undertake a detailed psychometric ass...

AIMS (i) To describe the displacement and recovery of the vesical neck position during pregnancy and after childbirth and (ii) to discriminate between compliance of the vesical neck supporting structures with and without pelvic floor contraction. METHODS We focussed on the biomechanical properties of the vesical neck supporting structures during pregnancy and after childbirth by calculating t...

This article offers, in the first place, an overview on women's healthcare in relation to childbirth in ancient Mesopotamia, as an introduction that helps to evaluate the meaning of the 7th century Assur text BAM 248 within therapeutic cuneiform texts on childbirth. We proceed to analyse the variety of therapeutic approaches to childbirth present in BAM 248, which brings together various healin...

In Britain, part time employment is typically used to combine work and motherhood: 60% of employed mothers in Britain work part time, and this usually involves a transition from full time employment around the first childbirth. Part time jobs are often situated in lower level occupational groups and so a transition from full to part time employment may reduce the wage. Using the British Househo...

background: since the mortality rate of mothers and infants is due to preventable factors, this study aimed to determine the effects of interventions on decreasing the mortality rate of pregnant women in isfahan province, iran. methods: this was an interventional study. the study population included all dead mothers in isfahan province from 21 march 2002 to 20 march 2005 and after intervention ...