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The aim was to characterize sleep patterns in pregnant women in Poland and to analyze the relation between sociodemographic factors, pregnancy-related physical symptoms and sleep problems. A self-composed questionnaire, containing questions in Polish language, was distributed online via web pages and Facebook groups designed for pregnant women. The questionnaire included questions regarding sociodemographic data and information on the current pregnancy and sleep patterns over the past four weeks. Exactly 7207 respondents were included to the study. 77.09% reported sleep problems: nocturnal awakening (52.77%), sleep onset insomnia (20.23%), awakening too early (18.56%) and believed their sleep was too shallow (9.82%). Sleep onset insomnia (26.38%) and frequent awakening (62.88%) were most often reported in 3rd trimester, while daytime drowsiness (86.35%) and naps impeding daytime function (27.18%) in the 1st trimester of pregnancy. The analyzed demographic, socioeconomic and psychological issues had a small but significant influence on sleep problems occurrence (aOR 0.81–1.24). Time to conceive from 6 to 12 months of trying increased the risk of developing sleep problems during pregnancy (aOR 1.31). Pregnancy ailments increased the risk of sleep disturbances (aOR 1.53–2.59). Sleep disorders are prevalent among pregnant women in Poland. The evaluation of risk factors is essential in proper screening for sleep disorders in pregnant women.

Background Reproductive health is a part of a comprehensive definition of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Sex education is an important aspect of public health. Ignorance, due to the lack of sex education leads to risky sexual behaviors. Methods: Our cross-sectional study was aimed at investigating a representative group of Polish women’s knowledge about the physiology of the menstrual cycle, contraceptive methods, infertility and cervical cancer prevention. The data were collected by face-to-face interviews and an anonymous electronic questionnaire. Results The study group involved 20,002 respondents. Most of the women were of reproductive age (mean 27.7), parous (60.8%), of higher education (71%) and living in large cities (> 500 k citizens, 36.8%). 62.2% of the women gave correct answers to at least 5 of 7 questions concerning the physiology of the menstrual cycle. Three factors had a significant influence on the number of correct answers: higher education ( p = 0.0001), more frequent gynecological appointments ( p = 0.0001) and living in a larger city ( p = 0.002). Women of higher education level had more often used some form of contraceptive method previously (87% vs. 78.4%, p = 0.001), recommended natural family planning methods to their peers (18.4% vs. 15%, p = 0.001) and regularly attended gynecological appointments (85.7% vs. 78.8%, p = 0.001) when compared with those women with lower educational levels. The three most effective contraceptive methods identified by respondents were: oral contraceptives (71.1% answers), intrauterine devices (50.2%) and parenteral hormonal contraceptives (30.4%). The effectiveness of natural family planning was more often emphasized by women who had never used any contraceptives before (20.1% vs 6.7%). Most of the participants (80.8%) believed that in-vitro fertilization is an effective infertility treatment and should be reimbursed in Poland. Also, 95.2% of the respondents reported that they had undergone a Papanicolaou test within the past 3 years, but only 3% of these women were aware of all the risk factors for cervical cancer mentioned in our survey. Conclusions It is very important to improve comprehensive reproductive health education in Poland, especially among women of lower educational levels and living in small centers. In future, educational programs and gynecologists should focus on implementing and improving these aforementioned issues. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7046-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The aim was to evaluate contraceptive behaviors, and factors affecting them, in the population of Polish-speaking women. A cross-sectional study was performed on 6763 women, current contraceptive users, aged 18 to 35. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire written in Polish, containing 33 questions, was distributed online from January to February 2017. The Internet and doctors were the most popular sources of information about contraception (82% and 73%, respectively). Upon choosing contraception, women paid the most attention to its efficacy (85%) and its impact on health (59%). The most common methods were combined oral contraceptives (38%) and condoms (24%). In total, 51% had chosen hormonal contraception, of which 68% experienced side effects. The most frequent were decreased libido (39%) and weight gain (22%). Factors associated with the usage of hormonal or non-hormonal contraception were: education, relationship status, parenthood, number of sexual partners, frequency of intercourses, sources of information about contraception, and factors considered most important when choosing a contraceptive method. The choice between short-acting and long-acting reversible contraception was influenced by age, relationship status, parenthood, smoking, sources of information about contraception, and factors considered most important when choosing a contraceptive method. Wide access to contraception, high-quality education, and counselling should become priorities in family planning healthcare.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess routine dental examination attendance of pregnant women and a possible impact of gynaecological referrals on the attendance rate. Material and methods:An electronic survey was conducted that was inclusive of women up to 5 years following delivery. The questions related to socio-demographic data, the course of pregnancy and childbirth, and visits to dental office during pregnancy. For statistical analysis, the authors utilized the chi-square test, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and odds ratios. A significance level of 0.05 has been assumed. Results:A total of 3455 questionnaires were analyzed encompassing women aged 13.1-45.4 years. The respondents were on average 1.78 ± 1.44 years after childbirth. The population comprises of women in 59.1% from large cities, in 74.8% with higher education and in 41% with good socio-economic status. A total of 62.3% of women from the study population have visited a dentist for a routine dental examination. Gynaecologists have given a simple referral to a dentist to 17.6% of all women. 45.9% of them were further requested to provide back the feedback of their dental consultation. Dental appointments were upheld by 87.3% of referred women and by 56.9% of those without a referral (OR = 5.20 (4.05-6.67); p < 0.001). Among those who were referred, dental appointments were upheld in 91.7% of cases when further asked to provide oral health feedback and in 83.5% of cases in absence of such further request (OR = 2.19 (1.3-3.66); p = 0.003). Conclusions:It was determined that referrals from a gynaecologist, and associated oral health feedback requests increase the frequency of abiding to dental appointments during pregnancy. As such, it is necessary to increase the involvement of gynaecologists in the promotion and maintenance of perinatal oral health.