This study was designed to reveal the relationship among the complaints experienced by women in menopausal period, their status of experiencing sexual problems, quality of their sexual life, and marital adjustments. The study included 248 women who have been in menopause for at least 1 year, have sexual partners. The data were collected with Patient Information Form, Menopause Rating Scale, Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised, Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Female Scale, and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scales. Urogenital complaints of those with sexual dysfunction were statistically significantly higher (p = 0.002). Marital adjustment total score of those with Menopause Rating Scale score of <20 were statistically significantly higher than those with MRS score of 20 and higher (p = 0.041; p = 0.015). As menopausal symptom severity increased, marital adjustment decreased. The urogenital complaint score in menopause period had a positive correlation with sexual distress and a negative correlation with the quality of sexual life and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) score. As a result of the present study, it was determined that menopause-related complaints affected the quality of sexual life of women and thus their marital adjustment.

Evidence has been limited on the effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on the involution process and maternal postpartum fatigue. This study aimed to determine such effects in a randomized controlled trial conducted in a hospital in Sivas, Turkey. Seventy-five women were randomized into one of two groups. The Mother-Infant Information Form, Involution Process Evaluation Form and Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue were used to collect data between October 1, 2015 and May 1, 2016. Repeated Measures ANOVAs were used for data analyzes. In the intervention group, routine care and mother-to-infant skin-to-skin contact were provided for 30 minutes in first postnatal hour. In the control group, routine care was provided. At the postnatal second, fourth and 24th hours, fundus heights were 13.4 ± 0.3, 12.9 ± 0.3 and 11.8 ± 0.3 cm, respectively, in the intervention group, and 14.4 ± 0.4, 13.8 ± 0.3 and 12.9 ± 0.3 cm in the control group (p < .05). At the 24th hour, women in the intervention group had higher mean energy levels (29.8 ± 10.1) than the control group (25.1 ± 10.0) (p < .05), and fatigue score, amount of lochia and number of pads were statistically similar between the groups (p > .05). Mothers expressed satisfaction with skin-to-skin practice. Thus, mother-to-infant skin-to-skin contact can be used as a care practice in the postpartum period.

Background. The non-stress test (NST) is a simple non-invasive procedure commonly used in obstetrics clinics to assess fetal health. It is important that mothers feel comfortable during the NST and that the test results are obtained quickly. Objectives. To determine the effects of maternal position on NST results and participants' satisfaction during the procedure. Materials and methods. This was a randomized controlled experimental study conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Polyclinic of Erciyes University Hospital (Kayseri, Turkey) between October 2017 and March 2018. During the NST, either the supine, semi-Fowler or left lateral position was utilized. Questionnaire forms and NST tracings were collected from 275 participating mothers and analyzed. The chi 2 test was used to determine whether the distribution of categorical variables differed between groups. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine whether median scores differed between groups. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. Most participants in the left lateral (78.9%) and semi-Fowler positions (88.4%) reported feeling satisfied compared to only 24.2% of participants in the supine position (p < 0.001). Participants also felt more comfortable in the left lateral (92.2%) and semi-Fowler positions (87.2%). In the supine position, most participants (68.7%) reported experiencing back pain (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences among groups in terms of basal heart rate (p =0.497), reactivity time (p =0.421) or percentage of reactivity (p = 0.676). The number of accelerations was 5.0 in the left lateral position, 4.5 in the semi-Fowler position and 4.0 in the supine position (p = 0.051). Conclusions. Our findings support the use of the semi-Fowler and left lateral positions during the NST. Participants reported high satisfaction in these positions and felt more comfortable, and no procedure-related problems occurred.