Featured Issue: Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.11 No.12

What are the survival predictors of preterm neonates? Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine was recently updated on Bioline in March with vol.11 no.12, and includes an article that aims to uncover this question.

This issue includes "Survival predictors of preterm neonates: Hospital based study in Iran (2010-2011)" by Haghighi et al. This article assesses the factors for risk of neonatal mortality, as well as the factors affecting survival rate of pre-term infants in the Iranian population. 1612 pre-term infants born at 26-36 weeks at the Shahid Akbar-Abadi University Hospital from April 2010 to April 2011 were examined. Fetal-neonatal, maternal and pregnancy data was taken, and survival rates were analyzed. The results indicated that the total overall mortality rate for the infants was 9.1%. Infants at the lowest end of the birth weight spectrum had survival rates of 11.11%. The results indicated that birth weight under 1000mg dramatically influenced neonatal survival rate.

This issue also includes "Uterine cavity assessment in infertile women: Sensitivity and specificity of three-dimensional Hysterosonography versus Hysteroscopy" by Ahmadi et al. This article examines the effects of the use of three-dimensional hysterosonography (3-DHS) to diagnose uterine abnormalities in women with infertility. The study was conducted at the Royan Institute in Tehran, Iran between 2010 and 2011, examining women with infertility issues who were referred to 3-DHS before in-vitro fertilization. The study also included women who underwent both a hysteroscopy and 3-DHS. The results indicated that sensitivity and specificity for 3-DHS was 68.4% and 96.3%, respectively. It was concluded that 3-DHS, in comparison to the hysteroscopy, was reliable in diagnosing uterine abnormalities.

For these articles and other articles from this issue, click here.

Featured Issue: Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.11 No.11

This is our third post on the Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine. We published two posts on the blog last week.

Today we are featuring no.11. This issue includes "Pregnancy rate after endometrial injury in couples with unexplained infertility: A randomized clinical trial" by Parsanezhad et al. This article examines how endometrial injury affects the pregnancy rate in couples who experience infertility. The study was conducted at the Shiraz University Infertility Clinic of Ghadir Hospital. 217 women between 23 to 35 years old with infertility were divided into two groups. One group underwent endometrial local injury, while the other did not. The results indicated that women who underwent endometrial local injury had a significantly higher pregnancy rate than women in the control group.

This issue also includes "Prevalence of immunity to toxoplasmosis among Iranian childbearing age women: Systematic review and meta-analysis" by Borna et al. This study aims to determine the immunity rates of women with toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease. The study was carried out by looking at previous studies conducted up to 2012 and articles were selected based on positive anti toxoplasma IgG antibody or anti toxoplasma antibody in childbearing women. 13480 participants were examined. The results indicated that overall estimated prevalence of anti toxoplasma using the IFTA serological method was 34.5%. Overall estimated prevalence of anti toxoplasma antibody was 39.9%. The study concluded that prenatal screenings could help determine which mothers could be susceptible to toxoplasmosis. These screenings can also help determine the primary prevention of toxoplasmosis in areas where risk factors such as eating habits and hygiene exist. 

For these articles and other articles from this issue, click here.

Featured Issue: Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.11 No.9

Today we are featuring the 9th issue of Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine vol.11. We will also be featuring no.10, 11 & 12 later this week. 

No.9 includes "Does oral contraceptive pill increase the risk of abnormal Pap smear?" by Binesh et al. This article details a study done at Shahid Sadoughi Madar hospitals to identify if there is a correlation in women between taking an oral contraceptive pill (OCP) and having an abnormal Pap smear. 1286 women who took OCP were examined and compared with a group of 1218 women using other contraceptive methods. Age, parity and socioeconomic factors were matched in each group. All the women in the study had single partners, were non-smokers and were taking OCP for at least five years. The results indicated that there is no significant correlation between taking OCP and having an abnormal Pap smear.

This issue also includes "Perinatal outcomes of pregnancies with borderline versus normal amniotic fluid index" by Asgharnia et al. This article looks at the differences in pregnancy outcomes of normal versus borderline amniotic fluid index (AFI). 235 women with singleton pregnancies at the Alzahra Medical Center were examined between 2009 and 2011. 141 women were in the normal AFI group while 94 women were in the borderline AFI group. The groups were evaluated based on maternal and fetal complications. SPSS was used to analyze data. Risks such as pre-term delivery and labour induction were higher in the borderline AFI group than the normal AFI group.

For these articles and others from this issue, click here.

Featured Issue: Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.11 No.6 & 7

Today we are featuring vol.11 no.6 & 7 of Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine. We will have many more blog posts for this volume, so keep a look out for future updates.

An article in no.6, "Mental health status of infertile couples based on treatment outcome" by Baghianimoghadam et al. This study evaluates the mental health of couples with infertility. Previous studies have indicated that infertility can cause higher levels of stress. The study was conducted by collecting qualitative research and giving two questionnaires to 150 couples with infertility. The results indicated that women have higher stress levels than men, and may benefit from specified programs.
For this article and others from this issue, click here.

No.7 includes "Effect of body massage on increase of low birth weight neonates growth parameters: A randomized clinical trial" by Karbasi et al. This study looks at the possible effect that body massage would have on infants with low birth weights. The clinical trial was conducted in a hospital in Yazd, Iran in 2011 from March to December. The infants accessed were separated into two groups. One group received massages from their mothers three times a day for 14 consecutive days. Weight, height and head circumference of the infants was evaluated. Weight of the infants in the group that received massages from their mothers three times a day for 14 consecutive days showed significant increase at the age of two months.
You can find this article and other articles from this issue here.

Featured Journal: Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.11 No.8

Today we are featuring the Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine on the blog. 

One of the articles in vol.11 no.8, "Relationship between maternal periodontal disease and low birth weight babies" by Haerian-Ardakani et al., looks at the effect of periodontal disease during pregnancy and if periodontal disease affects the birth weight of the infant. For this study, 88 women were evaluated in hospitals in Yazd, Iran. Half of the women had babies with low birth weight, and the other half had babies weighing greater than 2500 g. Dental examinations were carried out on the 88 women up to three days after giving birth. The results indicated that women who gave birth to babies with low birth weights had more unhealthy areas of gingiva and more deep pockets.

This issue also includes "Pelvic abscess after oocyte retrieval in women with endometriosis: A case series" by Romero et al. This article looks at three case studies of tubo-ovarian abcesses in women between 2004 and 2011, after the oocyte retrieval process during in-vitro fertilization cycles. These tubo-ovarian abcesses occured despite antibiotic prophylaxis. The results indicated that antibiotic prophylaxis may or may not be necessary in women with endometriosis.

For the complete articles and other articles from this issue, click here.

Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine Vol.11 No.1, 2 & 3

Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine vol.11 was posted on Bioline last month. Here are some interesting highlights from each of the issues:

Vol.11 no.1 includes "An exploratory study to develop a practical ethical framework for reproductive health research" by Farajkhoda et al, which is a study done to evaluate the need for an appropriate ethical framework for reproductive health research. This study was carried out by obtaining qualitative answers first through open-ended questions via email and analyzing the findings. The categories of the framework included:

• management of the research process
• protection of participants' rights
• third party consent
• gender sensitive research and
• conflict of interest

This ethical framework can help health care practitioners respect the rights of their clients.
For this article and others from this issue, go to: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rm&year=2013&vol=11&num=01&keys=V11N1

Ramadan's conclusion in early August coincides with our posting of the second issue of vol.11. This issue includes "Does Ramadan fasting have any effect on menstrual cycles?" by Yavangi et al., which evaluates the menstrual cycles of 80 college students before, after, and during fasting for Ramadan. The results indicated that 30% of women experienced a change in menstrual pattern during Ramadan.
For this article and others from this issue, go to: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rm&year=2013&vol=11&num=02&keys=V11N2

No.3 includes "The influence of social network on couples' intention to have the first child" by Khadivzadeh et al., which studies the affect of social networks on the intentions of a couple to have their first child in Mashhad, Iran. This 2011 study conducted qualitative interviews with 24 participants.
For more details of this study and the complete results, as well as other articles from this issue, go to: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rm&year=2013&vol=11&num=03&keys=V11N3

Featured Issue: Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine

In March, we posted 2 issues of the Iranian Journal of Reproductive Medicine on Bioline. 

The first issue, vol. 10 no. 1, contains an interesting article titled "Correlation between missed abortion and insertional translocation involving chromosomes 1 and 7" by Neveen Ashaar and Ahmed Husseiny. This article discusses the relationship between a missed abortion, also know as a silent miscarriage, and chromosomal changes specfically in chromosomes 1 and 7. Women who had missed abortions in their first trimester and 30 healthy women with no complications during pregnancy (control) were tested. Check out the full article for the results of this study, as well as other articles from the issue at: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rm&year=2012&vol=10&num=01&keys=V10N1

The second issue, vol. 10 no. 2, features more articles on women's health! This issue was published on the Bioline website a week after International Women's Day (Friday March 8th). Some of the topics include polycystic ovarian syndrome (Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in polycystic ovarian syndrome women in a hospital of Tehran), rabies antibody levels (Rabies antibody levels in pregnant women and their newborns after rabies post-exposure prophylaxis), and severe acute maternal morbidity during the postpartum period (Severe acute maternal morbidity (SAMM) in postpartum period requiring tertiary Hospital care)

For access to these articles and other articles from this issue, please visit: http://www.bioline.org.br/titles?id=rm&year=2012&vol=10&num=02&keys=V10N2