Evaluation of reproductive health indicators in women affected by East Azarbaijan earthquake on August 2012

Abstract

Background:Ignoring reproductive health services during natural disasters leads to some negative consequences such as reduced access to contraceptive methods, sexual disorders, and pregnancy complications. Despite previous researches, there is still more need for research on this area of health. This study attempts to identify the indicators of reproductive health in the women affected by the East Azarbaijan earthquake on August 2012.Materials and Methods:In this descriptive study, reproductive health information pertaining to the years before, during, and after the earthquake were collected and compared in the health centers of the three affected cities including Ahar, Heriss, and Varzaghan as well as the health and forensics centers of the East Azarbaijan province in Iran by census method.Results:Findings indicated a decrease in live birth rate, general marriage fertility rate, stillbirth rate, contraceptive methods coverage, and prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases during and after the earthquake. Moreover, important indicators such as neonatal mortality rate and percentage of infants screened for breast milk, decreased during the disaster year in comparison with the years before and after. Other indicators such as preconception care, pregnancy first visit, rate of caesarian delivery, and under 1-year formula milk-fed infants’ percentages increased during the year of disaster in comparison with the years before and after.Conclusions:During the earthquake, some indicators of reproductive health have been reported to decrease whereas some others have gone through negative changes. Despite the partly favorable status of services, decision-makers and health service providers should pay more attention to the needs of women during disasters.

Experiences of an earthquake during pregnancy, antenatal mental health and infants’ birthweight in Bhaktapur District, Nepal, 2015: a population-based cohort study

“…There is no study examining the direct and indirect effect of earthquake experiences on birth weight simultaneously to compare our findings. However, the findings of our study are in line with the findings of audits of hospital records that babies born after earthquakes had lower birthweight compared to those who born before the earthquakes [ 16 , 18 – 21 ] and indicate that experiencing an earthquake while pregnant can adversely affect birth outcomes. Further, our study findings are in line with previous investigations of the relationship between antenatal CMDs and baby birthweight in general circumstances, which have found a significant negative association [ 6 , 14 ].…”

Kahramanmaraş Merkezli Depremler Sonrası İçin Akademik Öneriler

“…Daha önceki depremlerde kadınlara ve kız çocuklarında şiddet ve cinsel istismarın arttığı belirtilmiştir (Tearne et al 2021). Afet sonrasında çocuğu olan kadınların artan sorumluluk ve bakım yükleri, toplumun kadına atfettiği annellik rolü gibi nedenler yaşanan stresi artırıp ruh sağlığını olumsuz etkilemektedir (Bahmanjanbeh et al 2016;Calayır ve Aker, 2021ve Çelik Or, 2019.…”

Effects of Hurricane Michael on Access to Care for Pregnant Women and Associated Pregnancy Outcomes

“…A study of women affected by the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster found that discontinuation of scheduled PNC or switching to another medical institution for PNC was associated with a reduced likelihood of breastfeeding [ 15 ]. Caesarean section rates were found to be higher after Hurricane Katrina [ 5 ] and after an earthquake in Azerbaijan [ 16 ]. PNC also has benefits beyond the strictly medical.…”