Objectives:This study aimed to explore childbirth fear and childbirth preparation among primigravid women in the late pregnancy from 36 to 40 weeks gestation.Methods:We purposively recruited 18 primigravid women into ...Objectives:This study aimed to explore childbirth fear and childbirth preparation among primigravid women in the late pregnancy from 36 to 40 weeks gestation.Methods:We purposively recruited 18 primigravid women into in-depth interviews,21 birth companions,and 13 health workers into focus group discussions.Participants were recruited from two community hospitals'maternity waiting homes in Lilongwe,Malawi.Semi-structured interview guides were used to collect data that were analyzed using content analysis.NVivo11 computer software was used to organize the data.Results:The four categories developed were:"ambivalent pregnancy feelings","dependence on traditional childbirth counseling","inadequate prenatal childbirth instruction"and"inconsistent roles of a birth companion".The findings suggest that primigravid women who were mainly exposed to traditional childbirth mentoring rather than professional care providers,experienced childbirth fear,and lacked proper psychosocial childbirth preparation.Conclusions:Childbirth fear among primigravid women emanate from personal;family;ineffective traditional counseling;and inadequate antenatal childbirth instruction.Birth companions may increase childbirth stress.However,our findings highlight birth companions as readily available psychosocial support resources among primigravid women.We recommend that professional childbirth instruction during antenatal care should be strengthened to surpass traditional childbirth counseling.Appropriateness and effectiveness of birth companions need to be carefully assessed.展开更多
Sexual selection via female mate choice is thought to have played a key role in the speciation ofhaplochromine cichlids, but a dominant role for visual signals in such processes has lately been called into question. I...Sexual selection via female mate choice is thought to have played a key role in the speciation ofhaplochromine cichlids, but a dominant role for visual signals in such processes has lately been called into question. In addition, the possible role of male mating preferences in haplochromine speciation has been little studied. We studied patterns of both female and male mate choice, based exclusively on visual signals, in order to evaluate potential reproductive isolation between two populations of the Lake Malawi haplochromine Labeotropheus fuelleborni. In the first experiment, females were allowed to choose between two males, one from the same population and the other allopatric with respect to the female. Females in this experiment responded more frequently to males from their own population. Similarly, the males in these trials displayed more frequently when presented with females of their own population. In the second experiment, a female was allowed to choose between two males, either both from her own population or both allopatric. In these trials, both males and females from the Katale population interacted significantly more frequently in settings in which all three individuals were from the same population （＂same-population trios＂）, and those from the Chipoka population showed a similar trend. Thus, patterns in both male and female courtship behavior suggest that visual signals contribute to at least incipient reproductive isolation between populations of L. fuelleborni [Current Zoology 56 （ 1 ）： 65-72 2010].展开更多
文摘Objectives:This study aimed to explore childbirth fear and childbirth preparation among primigravid women in the late pregnancy from 36 to 40 weeks gestation.Methods:We purposively recruited 18 primigravid women into in-depth interviews,21 birth companions,and 13 health workers into focus group discussions.Participants were recruited from two community hospitals'maternity waiting homes in Lilongwe,Malawi.Semi-structured interview guides were used to collect data that were analyzed using content analysis.NVivo11 computer software was used to organize the data.Results:The four categories developed were:"ambivalent pregnancy feelings","dependence on traditional childbirth counseling","inadequate prenatal childbirth instruction"and"inconsistent roles of a birth companion".The findings suggest that primigravid women who were mainly exposed to traditional childbirth mentoring rather than professional care providers,experienced childbirth fear,and lacked proper psychosocial childbirth preparation.Conclusions:Childbirth fear among primigravid women emanate from personal;family;ineffective traditional counseling;and inadequate antenatal childbirth instruction.Birth companions may increase childbirth stress.However,our findings highlight birth companions as readily available psychosocial support resources among primigravid women.We recommend that professional childbirth instruction during antenatal care should be strengthened to surpass traditional childbirth counseling.Appropriateness and effectiveness of birth companions need to be carefully assessed.
基金supported by the Milwaukee County Zoological Societythe American Cichlid Association Guy D. Jordan Endowment+1 种基金Clifford Mortimer Awardsupported in part by NSF RUI and REU grants
文摘Sexual selection via female mate choice is thought to have played a key role in the speciation ofhaplochromine cichlids, but a dominant role for visual signals in such processes has lately been called into question. In addition, the possible role of male mating preferences in haplochromine speciation has been little studied. We studied patterns of both female and male mate choice, based exclusively on visual signals, in order to evaluate potential reproductive isolation between two populations of the Lake Malawi haplochromine Labeotropheus fuelleborni. In the first experiment, females were allowed to choose between two males, one from the same population and the other allopatric with respect to the female. Females in this experiment responded more frequently to males from their own population. Similarly, the males in these trials displayed more frequently when presented with females of their own population. In the second experiment, a female was allowed to choose between two males, either both from her own population or both allopatric. In these trials, both males and females from the Katale population interacted significantly more frequently in settings in which all three individuals were from the same population （＂same-population trios＂）, and those from the Chipoka population showed a similar trend. Thus, patterns in both male and female courtship behavior suggest that visual signals contribute to at least incipient reproductive isolation between populations of L. fuelleborni [Current Zoology 56 （ 1 ）： 65-72 2010].
