Journal of Nurse Midwifery and Maternal Health

 A maternal near miss (MNM) is an event in which a pregnant woman comes close to maternal death, but does not die – a “near-miss”. Traditionally, the analysis of maternal deaths has been the criteria of choice for evaluating women’s health and the quality of obstetric care. Due to the success of modern medicine such deaths have become very rare in developed countries, which has led to an increased interest in analyzing so-called “near miss” events.

 Effective health care requires collaboration between patients and physicians and other health care professionals. Open and honest communication, respect for personal and professional values and sensitivity to differences are integral to optimal patient care. As the setting for the provide of health services, hospitals must provide a foundation for understanding and respecting the rights and responsibilities of patients, their families, physicians, and other caregivers. Hospitals must ensure a health care ethic that respects the role of patients in decision making about treatment choices and other aspects of their care. Hospitals must be sensitive to cultural, racial, linguistic, religious, age, gender, and other differences as well as the needs of persons with disabilities.

 This review article focuses on perspective of awareness on healthy sex practice among adolescent through  proper sex education and adoption of sex education in their practical life. Currentinformation shows that adolescents are inadequately informed about their own sexuality, physical wellbeing and their health, the major source of information being the media and peers. Whatever knowledge they have is incomplete. Low rate of educational attainment, limited sex education activities, and inhibited attitudes towards sex, attenuate this ignorance leading to unwanted pregnancy, illegal abortion, mortality and morbidity among young girls. Knowledge based ongender, education, and place of residence with uneducated rural girlshaving the least information.  Adolescents need the opportunity to express positive relationships,  constructive behavior, to learn  skills and acquire knowledge. They need access to information counselingand services that will  help them to establish healthy relationship and protect themselves fromunwanted pregnancy and STDs.  

 Colostrum feeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth & development of the newborn baby and has unique biological and emotional influence on the health of both mother & child. Although Breast feeding and colostrum feeding awareness is created everywhere by celebrating world breast feeding week, still in many parts of India, the value of colostrums feeding is neglected by mothers and feeding their newborn with pre-lacteal feeds as per their socio-cultural practices. Also it is observed that the newborns are not fed within 30 minutes after birth, which promotes neonatal mortality and morbidity. This source of information influenced the researcher to bring out some facts regarding colostrum feeding practice in India. This review article focuses on Colostrum feeding practices in various corners of India and socio-cultural determinants of discarding the first feed and not feeding the baby early. This suggests that all health professional can play important role for further improvement & promotion of colostrums feeding initiation practice.  

 A child for a mother is her prince or princes, she wants to give best of everything to her baby. This feeling starts from the time of conception or even before. One of the most famous and well-known tales is that of Abhimanyu from the Mahabharata. When Arjuna’s wife was pregnant with their son Abhimanyu, he told her about how to penetrate the Chakravyuh, a particular war formation. When Abhimanyu became a young man and a warrior in the Kurukshetra war, he remembered his father’s story. He was able to employ the strategy that he had heard his father tell his mother while he was in her womb. Another story is of Prahlad from the Puranas. Prahlad was born into a family of demons who were wreaking havoc on the Gods in heaven. His mother listened to devotional prayers and stories about Lord Vishnu while he was in her womb. As a result, he became a devotee of Lord Vishnu. He stood by good and renounced all evil. This led to the downfall of his demon father’s evil empire. These stories tells us that the concept of Garbha Sanskar is not new to people. But question is does it really helpful? Does it help the mother and child? If yes how? Considering these questions some information is reviewed and presented further.  

 A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of computer assisted teaching program on knowledge regarding menstrual blood banking among 3rd year basic B.Sc. nursing students at selected nursing colleges, Hassan. 50 students were selected by non probability purposive sampling technique. The knowledge was assessed by using structured knowledge questionnaire. The study results revealed that  most of the respondents 48(96%) had inadequate knowledge, 2 (4%) of the respondents had moderate knowledge and none of them had adequate knowledge during pre-test.  After computer assisted teaching program 26(52%) of the respondents had moderate knowledge,  24(48%) of them had adequate knowledge and none of them had inadequate knowledge. The calculated paired ‘t’ test value of 22.5* is greater than the table value at 0.05 level of significance, which indicates that there is a significance difference between mean pre-test and post-test knowledge  scores of whole tests of respondents. It is concluded that CATP was effective in increasing knowledge of 3rd year B. Sc. students regarding menstrual blood banking.  

 Pregnancy is a period where the mother tends to take care of herself so as to prepare herself for safe delivery. Many pregnant women experience discomforts of pregnancy that are not serious but detract from the woman’s feeling of comfort and well-being. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of minor ailments of pregnancy and to assess the knowledge regarding selected minor ailments among antenatal mothers. Methods: The present study used a descriptive survey design. Sixty antenatal mothers attending Obstetrics and Gynecology OPD, AIMS, Kochi were selected using quota sampling technique including 30 primigravida and 30 multigravida mothers. Demographic variables and knowledge regarding minor ailments of pregnancy were collected using a semi- structured questionnaire. The prevalence of minor ailments of pregnancy was identified by a checklist. Data analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics like frequency, percentage and t- test. Results: The most common minor ailments were frequency of micturition(80%), nausea and vomiting (80%), fatigue(80%), back pain(70%) and leg cramps(55%). Knowledge regarding minor ailments of pregnancy was good in 54%, average in 41% and poor in 5%. There was no significant difference between knowledge and prevalence of minor ailments between primi and multi gravida. Conclusion: The result of the study suggest that health education should be provided to all the antenatal mothers regarding minor ailments of pregnancy and its management. 

 Introduction: Pre-eclampsia represents a major cause of maternal morbidity and morbidity in many parts of the world. Objective: To assess the prevalence of pre-eclampsia among at risk primi gravid mothers. Methods: A prospective longitudinal observational research design was used.120 at risk primigravid mothers for pre-eclampsia, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, were selected by proportionate stratified random sampling. Results: It was observed that 31(30%) out of 103 of the at risk primigravid mothers developed preeclampsia. 11(33%) out of 33 mothers in Group A (age < 18 years), 10(28.5%) out of 35 mothers in Group B (age>30 years) and Group C (mothers with prepregnancy BMI>27.5 (obese) developed preeclampsia. Mothers of age > 30 years in group B developed severe pre-eclamptic features as early as 24 weeks of gestation. Educational qualification and socio-economic status was found to have statistical significant association with the level of pre-eclampsia at p<0.05 level. Conclusion: The underlying evidence base of the at risk factors in the study could be targeted at booking, so that a suitable surveillance and prophylactic strategies for pre-eclampsia could be developed.  

 Antenatal period is a time when the women are receptive to teaching and learning related to self care. Objectives: The purpose of the study is to assess the learning needs of the antenatal mothers, and are assessed in terms of knowledge, self-care practice and perceived learning needs of the mothers. Methods: Cross-sectional exploratory survey was done among 150 antenatal mothers (50 mothers from each trimester) attending department of a selected tertiary care hospital. The data were collected using knowledge questionnaire, practice checklist and a questionnaire to assess the perceived learning needs. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyse the data. Results: The findings of the study revealed that 4.7% of mothers had good, 54% had average and 41.3% had poor level of knowledge. The mean score of antenatal care was 16.2+3.97 (54%). The mean score was lowest in the area of diet (51.27%). The mothers of third trimester had significantly higher knowledge than other two trimesters. The self care practice was good among 136(90.67%) antenatal mothers and was average among 14 (9.33%) antenatal mothers. The mean self care practice score of antenatal mothers were 12.37+3.09( 82.47%). Scores were less in the area of exercise (62.3%). Majority of mothers perceived learning needs on diet and exercise (90%) followed by other areas. Conclusion: The result of the study showed that knowledge of antenatal mothers are inadequate. Though majority of mothers scored good in the self care practice, it was inadequate in the area of exercise and diet. This suggests that an education program should be conducted among antenatal mothers on antenatal care based on their learning needs to increase the knowledge and practice on antenatal care. This helps to promote a healthy pregnancy and fetal outcome.

 Background: Menopause is a part of every woman’s life. It is the stage when the menstrual period permanently stops. This stage usually occurs between 40 and 60 years associated with hormonal, physical and psychological changes. These changes can occur gradually or abruptly and can start as early as 30 years and last until as late as 60 years. It can also occur when the ovaries are removed or stopped functioning. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga as an alternative therapy for women with menopausal symptoms. Methods: A prospective randomized interventional study was conducted in selected villages at Kattankulathur Block, Chennai,Tamil Nadu, India. Simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Of 260 menopausal women, 130 were randomly allotted to the study group and 130 to the control group. The study group received yoga training program which consists of yogasanas, pranayama (Breathing exercise) and meditation. The study group underwent yoga training for 5 consecutive days and menopausal women practiced yoga daily for 35-40mins /day along with group yoga practice 2 days in a week for 12 weeks under the supervision of Investigator. Assessments were made by five point rating scale ( to assess the physical and psychological symptoms ) based on Standardized Menopause Rating Scale. Result: After 12 weeks of yoga practice, the physical symptoms of menopausal women were reduced to greater extent in study group than in control group at p= 0.001 level of significance. There was significantly  better improvement in the psychological symptoms of menopausal women in study group (p=0.001) than in control group. Conclusion: The present study concluded that yoga is an effective intervention in reducing the physical and psychological symptoms of menopausal women. Yoga’s approach to holistic health ispowerful tool for helping the women experience the passage into menopause as a positive event, both physically and spiritually.