Background and aim: Rates of cesarean section in Iran are unnecessarily high largely due to fear of childbirth (FOC), yet this may be reduced through education. Iranian women are keen to obtain information about pregnancy and birth online though sources may not be reliable. Consequently, the present study aimed to compare the effect of childbirth preparation courses delivered both online via the social media platform ‘Telegram’ and in-person on pregnancy experience, FOC, birth preference, and mode of birth. Methods: This quasi-experimental study included 165 primiparous pregnant women referred to the prenatal clinic in Tehran, Iran. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants, who were subsequently divided into three groups; (A) social media-based educational intervention (n = 53); (B) in-person educational intervention (n = 52), and (C) a control group who received no prenatal education (n = 50). During the 18th and 20th weeks of pregnancy, demographic questions along with the pregnancy experience scale (PES), and version A of the Wijma delivery expectancy/experience questionnaire (WDEQ‑A) were completed. In the 36th and 38th weeks of pregnancy, the PES and WDEQ‑A questionnaires, as well as birth preference form were further completed. Mode of birth was recorded in the first few days of postpartum. The Fisher’s exact test, along with ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to determine associations between variables. A paired t-test was used to examine within-group comparisons. The Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric test was used to investigate the intervening effect of economic status. Results: Post intervention, the mean score of pregnancy experience and FOC did not differ significantly between the three groups. Also, 86.8% of participants in group A, 90.4% of participants in group B, and 62% of participants in the control group preferred to give birth vaginally, which was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Moreover, 66% of participants in group A, 61.5% of participants in group B, and 50% of participants in the control group ultimately gave birth vaginally. None of the participants in group A underwent an elective cesarean section, while this rate was 7.7% and 24% for groups B and control, respectively (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Despite the non-significant differences identified between the three groups in terms of pregnancy experience and FOC, prenatal education delivered via social media may be usefully offered to Iranian women keen to receive education flexibly online. Trial registration: Name of the Registry: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials. Trial registration number: IRCT20180427039436N2. Date of registration: 15/06/2018. URL of trial registry record: https://www.irct.ir/trial/30890.

Background and Objective. Olive oil is used as a traditional treatment for wounds, sores, and infections, and the effectiveness of topical use and absence of side effects have been reported in various clinical trials. The present study is an overview of the anti‐inflammatory properties of olive oil in its topical application for various skin diseases and wounds. Methods. A literature search was conducted (1990–2021) in Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Google Scholar, Science Direct, SID, IranDoc, and Magiran databases. From the 102 reviewed articles, 17 articles were selected to be included in the current article. Results. Various forms of olive have long been used to accelerate the healing of various wounds and skin damage such as diabetic foot ulcers, atopic dermatitis, diaper dermatitis, episiotomy wound, and nipple ulcer but there are still no credible documents or articles that provide reliable evidence of topical use. Conclusion. According to the information obtained from the articles reviewed, olive oil appears to be an effective, safe, and available treatment. This study suggests that olive oil is an alternative remedy to minimize the frequent use of chemical‐based treatments. More research may be beneficial to reach certainty in terms of curative properties of olive oil in similar or different injuries in different populations.

Background: Infertility leads to a wide range of psychological injuries that may reduce psychological well-being. This study aimed to determine the psychological well-being of infertile women and its relation with demographic factors and fertility history. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 infertile women referred to three infertility centres, Tehran, Iran. The sampling was continuous. We collected data from a self-generated demographic and fertility questionnaire and Ryff's Psychological Well-being Scale (PWB). Data analysis was done by independent t-test, one way ANOVA. The significance level was set at P < 0.05. Results: The results showed that there was no significant relationship between demographic variables including age, occupation of each couple, spousal’s education, economic status and place of residence with PWB, but the mean score of PWB was significantly different in women's educational levels (P = 0.03). There was also a significant difference between the mean score of PWB among different groups in the duration of marriage (P = 0.01). Fertility characteristics variables include the duration of infertility, duration of treatment of infertility, and current treatment were not the relation with PWB. However, the mean score of PWB in the number of IVF (P = 0.003) and the failed IVF pregnancies (P = 0.01) had a significant statistical difference. Conclusion: The results showed that PWB related to several variables. Paying attention to these variables can help in the preparation and development of counseling or educational programs.

Background: There are fundamental and rapid changes in body shape during pregnancy, some of which persist for an extended time after delivery and may cause dissatisfaction with body shape. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine predictors of body dissatisfaction at six months postpartum based on demographic and fertility factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 women who referred to seven health centers affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The sampling was multistage and we collected data from a demographic and fertility questionnaire and Cooper’s Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-34). The independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean age of participating women was 29.77 (standard deviation: 5.9) years. Body dissatisfaction had a statistically significant association with variables such as body mass index (BMI) at six months postpartum, gestational age, the receipt of information about body shape, spouse’s views on the shape of a woman’s body, and mode of delivery. These variables predicted 34% of body dissatisfaction based on multiple linear regression. Conclusion: Postpartum body dissatisfaction is related to a several variables. Paying attention to these variables will help to plan and improve postpartum counseling and educational programs.

Background and aims: Despite the benefits of physical activity (PA) on maternal and fetal health, the level of PA is low among pregnant women globally. The aim of this study was to determine the barriers to PA and its predictors in Iranian pregnant women specifically. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 300 pregnant women referred to the Ilam health centers of Iran. The sampling strategy used stratified random proportional allocation sampling from both comprehensive health centers and health bases. Data were collected from September to December 2018 in relation to individual characteristics. Data collection tools used included the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Barriers to Physical Activity during Pregnancy Scale. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and statistical tests of analysis including variance, independent t-test and multiple linear regression were used. Results: The mean and SD of the total score of PA barriers was 88.55 and 19.28, respectively. The highest and lowest mean scores of the subscale of PA barriers were related to interpersonal and environmental barriers, respectively. Among the intrapersonal barriers related to pregnancy; fear of pregnancy complications, drowsiness, and nausea and vomiting, heaviness or swelling barriers scored higher than other barriers. Lack of regular schedule, insufficient time, and lack of motivation received the highest score in terms of intrapersonal barriers non-related to pregnancy. In the interpersonal subscale; lack of knowledge about how to be physically active during pregnancy, forbiddance of PA by friends and family, as well as lack of advice from physicians and midwives scored higher than other barriers. Lack of adequate facilities and air pollution were identified as barriers to PA in the environmental subscale. PA barriers were significantly associated with pre-pregnancy or early pregnancy body mass index (B = − 14.643), level of education (B = 17.215), and habitual exercise pre-pregnancy (B = − 7.15). Conclusion: Interpersonal barriers were reported to be the most common barriers to PA during pregnancy. Perinatal care providers should encourage, educate and reassure pregnant women, their spouses and their families about the benefits, type and frequency of safe PA in pregnancy. PA interventions focused on women with lower levels of education and income in particular are required.