BackgroundMother and newborn skin-to-skin contact (SSC) after birth brings about numerous protective effects; however, it is an intervention that is underutilized in Iraq where a globally considerable rate of maternal and child death has been reported. The present study was conducted in order to assess the effects of SCC on initiation of breastfeeding, newborn temperature, and duration of the third stage of labor.MethodsA quasi-experimental study was conducted on 108 healthy women and their neonates (56 in the intervention group who received SSC and 52 in the routine care group) at Hawler maternity teaching hospital of Erbil, Iraq from February to May, 2017. Data were collected via structured interviews and the LATCH scale to document breastfeeding sessions.ResultsThe mean age of the mothers in the SSC and routine care groups were 26.29 ± 6.13 (M ± SD) and 26.02 ± 5.94 (M ± SD) respectively. Based on the LATCH scores, 48% of mothers who received SSC and 46% with routine care had successful breastfeeding. Newborns who received SSC initiated breastfeeding within 2.41 ± 1.38 (M ± SD) minutes after birth; however, newborns who received routine care started breastfeeding in 5.48 ± 5.7 (M ± SD) minutes. Duration of the third stage of labor in mothers who practiced SSC after birth was 6 ± 1.7 min, compared to 8.02 ± 3.6 min for mothers who were provided with routine care (p <  0.001). Moreover, the prevalence of hypothermia in the newborns who received SSC and routine care was 2 and 42% respectively. Results remained unchanged after using regression modelling to adjust for potential factors and background characteristics.ConclusionSkin-to-skin contact provides an appropriate and affordable yet high quality alternative to technology. It is easily implemented, even in small hospitals of very low-income countries, and has the potential to save newborns’ and mothers’ lives. It is necessary to prioritize training of health providers to implement essential newborn care including SSC. Community engagement is also needed to ensure that all women and their families understand the benefits of SSC and early initiation of breastfeeding.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03548389.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is one of the most common disorders among women of reproductive age that can be seen in different intensities in 90-85% of women. PMS is approximately defined as the group of symptoms occurring only during the luteal phase of a woman's menstrual cycle, meaning that occurs 14 days before the menstrual period and decrease with the onset of the menstrual *1+. It is associated with physical, psychological and behavioral changes. PMS can affect menstruating women of any age and the effect is Background and objectives: Premenstrual syndrome includes recurrent, troublesome physical and emotional symptoms that develop 7-14 days before the onset of menstruation and subsides when menstruation occurs. This study aimed to assess adolescent student's knowledge and self-care practices toward premenstrual syndrome in intermediate and secondary schools at Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Methods: A descriptive study was carried out in primary and secondary schools in Erbil city from January 2018 to June 2018. Purposive (non-probability) sampling technique was used to target 200 adolescent students through in person interviews by a questionnaire. The clinical criterion of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for Premenstrual syndrome was used. Data were presented using descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies, percentages, and Chi Square test. Results: The majority (72.5%) of adolescent students were between ages 13-16 years. The majority (75.5%) of students knew about symptoms of Premenstrual syndrome different from woman to woman or cycle to cycle, while most (63%) of school girls never practiced yoga to decrease Premenstrual syndrome symptoms. The results revealed that the majority of overall study sample, 60% had fair knowledge toward premenstrual syndrome. The assessment of student's mother is fair because majority (42%) of their mothers were illiterate, while most (71.5%) of subjects sometimes used self-care practices to manage or control symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. There was no significant association between levels of knowledge of students with self-care practices. Conclusions: Knowledge and self-care measures about premenstrual syndrome were insufficient among the adolescent school girls. Students are needing educational program to increase female awareness and practice about Premenstrual syndrome .

Background Nowadays, Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery is quite prevalent, resulting in a wide range of medical and cultural implications. The majority of women who undergo this operation suffer from anxiety, depression, and other emotional symptoms. The present study was carried out in order to explore women’s perspective on and experience of genital cosmetic surgery given their special context and cultural aspects. Methods The qualitative study applying content analysis examined the experiences of nine women who received genital cosmetic surgery in Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq, between 2021 and 2022. Each of the semi-in-depth face-to-face interviews lasted between 40 and 60 min and was conducted at the physician's clinics. Results Semi-structured interviews led to emergence of two main themes, namely “husband satisfaction” and “self-confidence”. Interpreting the participants’ stories resulted in some relevant subthemes and meaning units like “ugly appearance”, “anxiety related to husband undesirable intercourse”, and “dyspareunia”. Finally, the related conclusions of each theme were explored. Conclusion As suggested by the study findings, female genital cosmetic surgery improves the women’s body image and sexual function and the couples’ sexual satisfaction, especially that of husbands. Because of the people’s sociocultural aspects in Kurdistan region, their awareness of female sexual needs and marital relationship needs to be raised.

Background and objectives: Induction of labour means stimulation of contractions before the birth starts spontaneously, with or without ruptured membranes. The most common indications include oligohydramnios, pre-labour rupture of the membranes, high blood pressure during pregnancy, severe fetal growth restriction, post-term pregnancy, and var-ious maternal medical conditions such as chronic hypertension and diabetes. The aim of the study was to find out the different indications of labour and associated obstetrical factors in a local tertiary hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 parturient women who attended a delivery room in the Maternity Teaching Hospital in Erbil City from the period of 2nd June to 2nd October 2020. After reviewing the literature, a questionnaire was pre-pared to obtain socio-demographic data, data related to reproductive characteristic and data related to the indications for labour induction. The data were analyzed using descrip-tive and inferential statistical approaches. Results: The study included 120 patients with the highest percentage of the patients (49.1%) were 16 to 23 years old and more than half of the sample (51.6%) had a post-term pregnancy, gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia (15%). There were highly significant statistical differences between parity, gestational age and indication of labour induction, and significant differences between gravidity and antenatal care visits and indi-cations for labour induction. Conclusions: The majority of the sample had a post-term pregnancy of 40 and 42 weeks as an indication for induction of labour followed by gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia, oligohydramnios and pre-labour rupture of membrane. There was a statistical-ly significant difference between the antenatal care visit and parity with the induction of labour.

Background: Pre-menstrual syndrome are recurrent trouble with both physical and emotional symptoms that develop 7–14 days before the onset of menstruation and subsides when menstruation occurs. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in intermediate and secondary schools at Kurdistan region from 1st January 2018 to 15th January 2019, to identify the effectiveness of health educational program on adolescent student's knowledge and practices regarding premenstrual syndrome. A purposive sample of 200 students aged 13-20 years were selected. A questionnaire format was constructed. Two hundred students were interviewed to participate in the study and divided into two groups. Educational program was done for intervention group. Data analysis was done through the use of statistical package of social science, version 23. Results: The overall students' knowledge concerning premenstrual syndrome after implementation of educational intervention improved and the percentage increased from (24.1%) at pre-test to (56.3%) at post-test, while the percentage was not improved in comparison group. Conclusion: The results revealed the effectiveness of the program in improving the knowledge and practices of students in intervention group. The study recommends to Ministry of education have to put educational programs regarding premenstrual syndrome must be included in the curriculum of school.