This study was carried out by the Turkish Republic Ministry of Health to determine the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and its correlates with socio-demographic and obstetric risk factors in women in Turkey. The cross-sectional, national-level study was carried out from October to December 2013. The study population was composed of women between the ages of 15 and 65 years living in Turkey. The sample size was calculated as 9290 houses within Turkey's 81 provinces so as to improve the Turkish rural-urban expectations by means of systematic stack sampling according to the Turkish Statistical Institute's address-based vital statistics system. The target sample size was 6364, but only eligible 4913 women, who had been married, were included in the study. The consanguineous marriage frequency in the sample was found to be 18.5%, and of these 57.8% were first cousin marriages. Women living in an extended family and whose education level and first marriage ages were low, and whose perceived economic status was poor, had higher frequencies of consanguineous marriage (p<0.001). Consanguineous marriage frequencies were higher (p<0.001) for women who had spontaneous abortions and stillbirths or who had given birth to infants with a congenital abnormality. In this context, it is important to develop national policies and strategies to prevent consanguineous marriages in Turkey.

This study was performed to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) and affecting factors in women with gynecological cancer, in a cross-sectional, descriptive and qualitative design. The study was held during the period between May 1st and June 30th 2013, in women diagnosed with gynecological cancer and the sample size consisted of 230 patients. The collection of data employed Patient Information Forms, Index of Female Sexual Function (IFSF) and In-Depth Interview Forms. In-Depth interviews were conducted with 20 women with SD. The data were evaluated by MannWhitney U, Kruskall-Walls, Multiple Regression and Content Analysis techniques. The average IFSF score of women diagnosed with gynecological cancer was revealed to be 20.36 ± 10.32, and SD was observed in 80 % of these women. According to the collected data, more cases of SD were observed in women who are 50 years of age or older, with low levels of education (primary school), unemployed, married through arrangement, married for more than 30 years, diagnosed with endometrial cancer, and underwent surgical operations (p \ 0.05). At the end of the interviews conducted with these women, it was concluded that body image, sexual role, sexual functions and reproductivity, representing the four major dimensions of sexual health associated with diagnosis and treatment process were adversely affected at a great extent. SD is a common problem in patients with gynecological cancer. In this respect, it is of utmost importance for health professionals to adopt a holistic approach towards the sexual problems of women and initiate multidisciplinary attempts for their solution.

This study was conducted to assess the effect on labor process and parenting behavior of hydrotherapy applied during the active phase of labor. This quasi-experimental study was conducted by using an equivalent comparison group ( n = 40). The participants in the experimental group whose cervical dilation was 5 cm were taken to the hydrotherapy tub. This application continued until cervical dilation reached 10 cm. The Participants Questionnaire, The Birth Follow-up Questionnaire, The Postpartum ]collection tools. The duration of the active phase and second stage of labor was extremely short in the experimental group in comparison with the equivalent comparison group ( p = .001). The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores of the experimental group were lower than those of the equivalent comparison group when cervical dilation was 6 cm and 10 cm ( p = .001). The experimental group also displayed more positive parenting behavior and positive labor feeling ( p = .001).

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as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) (2). The late twenties and midfifties are the periods when PMS is seen commonly (3). In the premenstrual period, changes in appetite such as excessive eating and craving, weight gain, edema, breast tenderness, and swelling and pain in the joints, abdominal pain, stomach problems, back pain, headaches, vertigo and dizziness, sweating in hands and feet, fatigue, skin problems such as acne, insomnia and short-term drowsiness, decreased libido, depressive mood, anger outbursts, irritability, crying spells, anxiety, restlessness, and confusion have been observed (2,3). Because of the problems associated with PMS, women experience change in body perception, decrease in self-confidence, social isolation and interpersonal relationships are disrupted (4,5). It is also stated that PMS leads to drug addiction, increased tendency to have an accident and to commit crime, economic losses, and decline in academic achievement (4,6). The prevalence of PMS was examined, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists reported that 4 out of 10 women have premenstrual symptoms and 5-8% of them is severely