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Background: Inappropriate feeding is one of the major causes of malnutrition in children. This study was carried out to get an insight into mothers’ views and beliefs about the role of complementary feeding in children under the age of two. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study, data were collected through 11 focus-group discussions (FGDs) with mothers, who had children under the age of two, in urban and rural areas of Damavand in 2007. Each FGD was held in the presence of a moderator, two note takers, and an observer. At the end of field work, all notes were collected and coded according to the objectives of the study. Then the subgroups for each objective were obtained, and emerging themes were extracted and reported. Results: In the study, six general themes were identified:(1) The mothers viewed complementary feeding as simple, soft, light foods which are especially made for children (2) the best time for introducing complementary feeding was 6 months of age (3) there were no complementary local foods in Damavand (4) for children under the age of one, a different type of food was separately prepared (5) home-made complementary food was preferred over the ready made type, and (6) children were fed with table food from the first year of life. Conclusion: Despite their sufficient knowledge about the advantages of complementary feeding, the majority of mothers, due to some socio-cultural limitations, had a weak performance. In this regard, in addition to making revisions in current training programs and protocols, providing effective and goal-oriented educational programs for mothers and others who take care of children is strongly recommended.

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Background: Sex life is one of the most important aspects of quality of life which is affected by a multitude of factors which can disrupt it. This study compares the effects of two different hormonal therapeutic regimens on sexual performance of postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, a total of 111 healthy postmenopausal women with no absolute contraindication for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) were divided into two groups that received GI-Tibolone 2.5mg/day (N=57) and GII-continuous conjugated estrogen (CE) 0.625mg/day plus medroxyprogestrone acetate (MPA) 2.5mg/day (N=54) for six months. At baseline and after 6 months of treatment, blood samples were collected for determining sexual hormones level. Sexual function was assessed by Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Data were analyzed using Spss 16. Results: Of all the participants, 45 women in the tibolone group and 32 women in HRT completed the study. Compared with the baseline values, the tibolone group significantly improved on all the six FSFI domains however, in the HRT group, just two of the six domains, lubrication and pain, got improved. The increase in mean total score and the score of each domain of FSFI except for satisfaction domain in the tibolone group was significantly greater than the HRT group (p<0.05). In the tibolone group, testosterone (p=0.003), FTI (p=0.002), and FEI (p=0.021) increased in comparison to the baseline, whereas SHBG decreased (p<0.001). In GII group, SHBG (p=0.001) significantly increased and tibolone was tolerated better than HRT. Conclusion: In post menopausal women, tibolone is more effective than HRT in improving sexual function scores, especially the desire, arousal, and orgasm domains. Its side effects are also much more acceptable.

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  Background: One of the factors determining the survival and neonatal health is maternal proper nutrition during pregnancy. The aim of the present study is to determine the maternal nutritional status with a view to the intake of some nutrients and its effect on anthropometric indices of newborn .

  Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional analytical study, 500 pregnant women referred to Sina maternity hospital in Ahvaz were studied. Dietary intake of calcium, zinc, iron, vitamin D was measured and its relation to average weight, length and head circumference at birth in infants was evaluated. Data were analyzed by using Independent T-Test in SPSS 17. P-value less than 5% was considered statistically significant.

  Results: There was a significant correlation between calcium intake rate, weight and length at birth. Between zinc intake rate, weight, length and head circumference at birth, there was a significant correlation. The maternal intake of vitamin D affected on birth weight(p<0/05). But, there was no significant association between iron intake rate and neonatal anthropometric indicators(p>0/05).

  Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the maternal nutritional intake of calcium, zinc and vitamin D influences on some infant anthropometric indicators.