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Background and Objective: Pregnancy is one of the most important stages of women's life, which results in significant physical, mental, and social changes. Therefore, the empowerment of pregnant women to adapt to these changes is necessary. Child birth preparation classes have been targeted toward the fulfillment of this purpose. Regarding this, the present study was conducted to review the studies on the effect of child birth preparation classes on empowering pregnant women in Iran. Materials and Methods: The relevant articles published up to the beginning of April 2017 were searched in 12 valid databases and the Google Scholar search engine using several keywords. The search process resulted in the retrieval of 96 articles, the eligibility of which was investigated by studying their abstracts and full-text versions. Finally, 10 studies were included in the systematic review. Results: The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of tiredness, postpartum depression, duration of admission, as well as prenatal daily activities, back pain, and pelvic pain during pregnancy. In addition, there was a significant statistical difference between the two groups regarding the duration of active labor phase and the second stage of labor, anxiety level, self-efficacy, neonatal birth weight, satisfaction rate, and normal vaginal delivery rate. Totally, 81.46% and 55.88% of the women in the intervention and control groups had normal vaginal delivery, respectively. Conclusion: Based on the results of the reviewed studies, it can be concluded that the education presented in child birth preparation classes is effective in the empowerment of pregnant women. Therefore, it is recommended to encourage mothers to actively participate in these educational classes and also develop these classes across the country.

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Background: The population of older women is rapidly increasing in every country in the world, including Iran. Given the effect of Sexual Function (SF) and sexual health on older women’s health, the present study was conducted to determine Sexual Dysfunction (SD) and the factors predicting it in Iranian older women in Karaj. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 550 eligible older women selected by stratified cluster sampling from those visiting health centers in Karaj between October 2019 and February 2020. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires including demographic questionnaire, the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). To take account of the effect of sampling design on the analyses, survey command in Stata-14 was used. Results: A total of 94.5% of the participating women had SD, 74.4% reported desire disorder, 79.8% arousal disorder, 57.6% lubrication disorder, 65.3% orgasm disorder, and 72.2% sexual dissatisfaction, and 52.4% had dyspareunia. The participating women’s SF had significant relationships with physical activity, hysterectomy, spouse’s SD, and the intimate and emotional closeness with the spouse (P<0.05). SF had significant inverse relationships with age, duration of marriage and menopause, anxiety, and depression (P<0.001). Nonetheless, SF had no significant relationship with occupation, education, smoking, and type and frequency of childbirth. The results of the linear regression test showed that the duration of menopause (B=-0.04, P=0.023), spouse’s SD (B=-0.95, P<0.001), intimacy (B=13.89, P<0.001), emotional closeness (B=6.49, P<0.001), anxiety (B=-0.08, P=0.033), and depression (B=-0.24, P<0.001) predicted the participating women’s SF significantly. Conclusion: The majority of the participating women had SD. Attention mental health, spousal relationship, and spouse’s sexual health may have significant positive effects on the sexual health of Iranian older women.

Background Prediabetes can predispose the individual to type 2 diabetes in the long-term. The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation on glycemic control and serum lipid profiles in women of reproductive age with prediabetes and hypovitaminosis D. Methods The present factorial, triple-blind, clinical trial was conducted on 168 women of reproductive age with prediabetes and hypovitaminosis D. The participants were assigned to four groups based on block randomization method: the placebo group received omega-3 and vitamin D placebos; the omega-3 group took omega-3 supplements and vitamin D placebos; the vitamin D group received omega-3 placebos and vitamin D supplements and the co-supplementation group. The groups received every two weeks 50,000 IU pearls of vitamin D and twice-daily doses of 1000-mg omega-3 tablets or placebos for eight weeks. Dietary intake, physical activity, anthropometric indices and blood biochemical tests were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Analysis was performed using two-way mixed ANOVA. Results A significant reduction was observed in fasting glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment-beta cell function, weight and waist circumference in the co-supplementation group compared to the other three groups (P<0.05). Moreover, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels increased significantly in the co-supplementation group compared to the other three groups (P<0.05). Despite the fact that homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance, total cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels decreased after intervention in the co-supplementation group, there was no significant difference between the groups in these outcomes. Conclusion Vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation improved fasting serum glucose, insulin, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level, homeostasis model assessment-beta cell function, weight and waist circumference in women of reproductive age with prediabetes and hypovitaminosis D. This co-supplementation can therefore be recommended for glycemic control in these women.

Background: Prediabetes can predispose the individual to type 2 diabetes in the long-term. The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation on glycemic control and serum lipid profiles in women of reproductive age with prediabetes and hypovitaminosis D. Methods: The present factorial, triple-blind, clinical trial was conducted on 168 women of reproductive age with prediabetes and hypovitaminosis D. The participants were assigned to four groups based on block randomization method: the placebo group received omega-3 and vitamin D placebos; the omega-3 group took omega-3 supplements and vitamin D placebos; the vitamin D group received omega-3 placebos and vitamin D supplements and the co-supplementation group. The groups received every two weeks 50,000 IU pearls of vitamin D and twice-daily doses of 1000-mg omega-3 tablets or placebos for eight weeks. Dietary intake, physical activity, anthropometric indices and blood biochemical tests were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Analysis was performed using two-way mixed ANOVA. Results: A significant reduction was observed in fasting glucose, insulin , homeostasis model assessment-beta cell function, weight and waist circumference in the co-supplementation group compared to the other three groups (P<0.05). Moreover, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels increased significantly in the co-supplementation group compared to the other three groups (P<0.05). Despite the fact that homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance, total cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels decreased after intervention in the co-supplementation group, there was no significant difference between the groups in these outcomes. Conclusion: Vitamin D and omega-3 co-supplementation improved fasting serum glucose, insulin, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level, homeostasis model assessment-beta cell function, weight and waist circumference in women of reproductive age with prediabetes and hypovitaminosis D. This co-supplementation can therefore be recommended for glycemic control in these women.Trial registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials Code: IRCT20100130003226N17. Registered on 9 Feb. 2019.