Background/Purpose. Postpartum period is accompanied by many physical, emotional, and social changes in women's health. The aim of this study was to examine the mothers' quality of life in postpartum period. In addition, it also sought to recognize the variables that predict their quality of life. Methods. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was undertaken among 380 women in 10 urban health centers in Ilam province in west of Iran. They were selected using proportional random sampling method. The SF-36 questionnaire was used to identify women's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15. Results. Women who were employed, aged less than 30 years, had college degree, have no history of disease in pregnancy, and had given birth more than 3 months ago had higher quality of life scores. Independent predictors for lower physical HRQoL were being with history of disease in pregnancy; being with high school diploma or lower education; and giving birth less than 3 months ago. Also, independent predictor for lower mental HRQoL was being housewife. Conclusion. According to study findings, greater attention must be paid to providing postpartum healthcare for housewife and less educated women as well as those with history of disease in pregnancy.

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Background and aimSome physical, emotional and social changes arise in mothers during the postpartum periods which can affect the quality of life (QOL) of the mother and family. Given the importance of the quality of life in the postpartum period and its influencing factors such as method of delivery, the present study aimed at investigating the relationship between the quality of life and methods of delivery in the world, using a systematic review and meta-analysis method.MethodsThe present study is a systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship between aspects of quality of life and method of delivery in the world conducted in Persian and English language articles published by the end of 2015. For this purpose, the databases of Medlib, SID, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Google scholar, Irandoc, Magiran and Iranmedex were searched using key words and their compounds. The results of studies were combined using the random effects model in the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity of studies was assessed using I2 index and Cochran test and data were analyzed using STATA Version 11.1 and SPSS Version 16.ResultsBased on the results of the meta-analysis of studies, the aspect of physical functioning had the highest quality of life mean score in women with vaginal delivery: 74.37 (95% CI: 67.7–81) and mental health had the highest QOL mean score in women with cesarean delivery: 65.8 (95% CI: 62.7–69). Also, based on the time elapsed since delivery, mental health had the highest mean score in less than 1 month, 2 months and 4 months’ postpartum. Physical pain had the highest mean score 6 months after giving birth, and mental functioning in 8 months after giving birth.ConclusionsThe results of the present meta-analysis showed that the mean scores for most dimensions of quality of life in women with vaginal delivery were higher than in women with cesarean delivery.

This study confirmed findings of previous studies regarding andropause and its relationship with men's quality of life. Future studies in this topic are needed to discover all the factors that may influence men andropause.

Background:Most women spend more than one-third of their lives after menopause. Due to physiologic changes in that period, menopause can cause a series of symptoms such as vasomotor symptoms, psychologic problems, and sexual dysfunction, which can affect the women’s quality of life (QoL) and other family members, especially their spouse.Objectives:The present study aimed to determine the association between the QoL of postmenopausal women and their husbands.Patients and Methods:This descriptive-inferential cross-sectional study was conducted according to the census of 2006 in Iran. A total of 400 postmenopausal women aging 50 to 59 years and their spouses in 80 cluster heads of Ilam City residents were selected and studied in collaboration with the Statistical Center of Iran. The required data were gathered using the short-form health survey (SF-36) questionnaire and demographic questionnaire developed by the researcher-trained interviewers. Data were analyzed by SPSS 18 through Kruskal Wallis test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, and correlation.Results:The participants’ mean age was 54.2 ± 2.8 years for women and 61.1 ± 6.1 years for their spouses. More than half of the women (57%) and about one-third of men (32.8%) were illiterate. The employed educated women aging 50 to 54 years had a higher mean score of SF-36 domains. The difference in education was significant in all domains except for mental health. There was a significant difference in age in all domains except in general health. The mean score of all domains of QoL was significantly less in the illiterate men than in the literate ones (P < 0.05). The results of the present study showed a significant correlation (P < 0.05) between the couples’ QoL, vasomotor symptoms, and aging. Spearman test showed a significant positive correlation in all domains of QoL between postmenopausal women and their spouses (correlation coefficient, 0.48-0.63).Conclusions:Based on the results of the present study and other performed studies in this regard, menopause, aging, vasomotor symptoms, and education had significant association with the QoL of postmenopausal women. The reduced QoL in postmenopausal women could eventually lead to the reduced QoL of their spouses. Therefore, it is necessary to plan for the education of these women and their husbands to broaden their understanding of the changes of menopause and ways to improve their QoL.

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The promotion of women's health is one of the most important indicators of the health status of a nation (1). Sexual activities in the postpartum period and the provision of related advice are the important elements of the women's health care (1,2). Out of 90% of the women who begin sexual activities 6 months after childbirth, 84% experience sexual problems (3). Appropriate sexual function can lead to the improvement of individuals' life conditions. On the contrary, sexual dysfunction can affect both parents' quality of life and their marital relationship, as sexual desire plays a key role in the individuals' health, quality of life, and overall welfare (3, 4). In many countries, sexual dysfunction is considered a taboo subject that negatively affects the quality of life and may cause mental disorders (5). Therefore, the postpartum period can be considered for the examination of health-related issues and sexual function (2). However, a small fraction of women (15%) report sexual problems after childbirth or consultation with the healthcare team. According to previous studies, this can be due to a lack of information about the healthcare team or unwillingness to discuss this problem in postpartum care (6-8). Consulting about sexual problems especially in Asian societies such as Iran have not been discussed generally and widely due to cultural and religious issues. Consequently, this may hinder providing appropriate services for the target group (1,9). The quality of life is a multi-dimensional phenomenon and is influenced by physical, psychological, emotional, social, sexual, and spiritual health factors (10). A few studies have been carried out on the relationship between the quality of life in the postpartum period and factors influencing it (11-14). Although sexual dysfunction is one of the factors that adversely affects women's quality of life in the postpartum period, the association between the sexual function and the quality of life has not been adequately studied (1,2,12). Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between sexual function and the quality of life in the postpartum period. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 urban healthcare settings in a city in the west of Iran. The study Abstract Objectives: Sexual function plays an important role in strengthening the marital relationship. Sexual issues affect individuals' quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the association between the sexual function and the quality of life among postpartum women in Iran. Materials and Methods: For this cross-sectional descriptive study, 380 postpartum women who had referred to 10 urban health care centers in the west of Iran were chosen. They were recruited using the randomized cluster sampling method. A checklist for socioindividual and maternal status of women, female sexual function index (FSFI) and SF-36 questionnaire were used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis via SPSS software. Results: Most of the parti...

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