Individual Women Research Articles

EMIGRATIONAL TRAUMA OF WAR IN VLADYSLAV IVCHENKO’S LITERARY VISION

The Russian war against Ukraine has been going on for 10 years and continues to influence the national culture in a very distinctive way. Over the past decade, this traumatic event has created a peculiar cultural discourse where literature has taken a special place. Its new stage, which began in February 2022, not only gave rise to an even more intense artistic reaction to the lived experience of Ukrainians, but also opened up prospects for new literary themes and methods of their interpretation. Trauma in its individual and national dimensions naturally became the central issue in such texts. Vladyslav Ivchenko’s book “After the 24th” clarifies and complements the discourse of the cultural reception of the war, describing its front and rear experiences in real time. The trauma of forced emigration, triggered by the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, is a new problematic aspect that requires special attention. The author of the paper analyzes a new dimension of the emigrational trauma, related to the war experiences of Ukrainian refugees. Through the fates of three individual women, Vladyslav Ivchenko demonstrates the prospects of Ukrainian national trauma, which includes the loss of homes, loved ones, and, most importantly, the belief that the world and life could return to what they were before February 24, 2022. The trauma of forced emigration continuously offers new perspectives for understanding the behavior of a national culture during the war, particularly in the context of creating wartime literature, which is an effective component of the trauma recovery process. Literature plays an important role in this context, and Ivchenko’s book exemplifies this role most effectively.

‘Resilient survivors’: narratives of violence against women of refugee background

ABSTRACT Scholarship on migrant deservingness explores how host society institutions require specific types of performances, particularly of vulnerability/ powerlessness and resilience/ self-sufficiency, sometimes in temporal succession. Such performances are also required of victim-survivors of violence against women, a category that overlaps considerably with refugees. This study brings together feminist literature related to violence against women with migrant deservingness literature, to observe how cultural factors interact with host society institutions. The article draws on an empirical study about narratives of violence in the lives of women of refugee background in Ireland, centring five in-depth interviews with self-identified victim-survivors, alongside six focus group discussions with women of refugee background. Using narrative analysis, I explore individual and collective identities in response to violence. Narrative identities of resilience are strongly present, while vulnerability is not. I conclude that, in line with scholarship on migrant deservingness, neoliberal institutional discourses of ‘resilient survivors’ support individual women to express agentic, albeit individualising and responsibilitising narratives, and I add that this simultaneously upholds patriarchal cultures of silence and inaction about violence. I offer conceptual thinking on ‘space for action’ as an alternative approach for scholars and practitioners to construct and consider the victim-survivor of violence against refugee women.

Mental health on two continua: mental wellbeing and common mental disorders in a community-based cross-sectional study with women in urban informal settlements in India

BackgroundWe considered the suggestion that mental health is the product of two intersecting continua: psychological distress and mental wellbeing.ObjectivesTo understand prevalences of low mental wellbeing, depression and anxiety, and examine associations between them and with sociodemographic variables.MethodsIn a cross-sectional survey in informal settlements, 4906 women aged 18–49 years answered questions on mental wellbeing (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale: SWEMWBS) and symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire: PHQ-9) and anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder: GAD-7). We used regression models to examine associations of lower mental wellbeing with symptoms suggesting moderate-to-severe depression and anxiety, and with sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsAbout 15% of women reported symptoms of low wellbeing, 9% symptoms of moderate-to-severe depression, and 6% symptoms of moderate-to-severe anxiety. Women with low wellbeing did not necessarily report symptoms suggesting anxiety or depression, and women with anxiety or depression did not necessarily report low wellbeing. In adjusted models, poorer and less educated women were more likely to report low wellbeing. Symptoms of anxiety or depression were more likely to be reported by widowed, separated, or divorced women, women who were in paid employment, and women who used drugs or alcohol themselves or whose partners did. Women with low wellbeing had at least double the odds of reporting symptoms of moderate-to-severe depression or anxiety than women who reported greater wellbeing.ConclusionThe findings support the idea of two continua of mental health. How individual women cope with mental illness and nevertheless enjoy a state of wellbeing deserves more study.

7241 Catamenial Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Abstract Disclosure: L. Javed: None. A. Rehan: None. L. Hashim: None. J. Lim: None. Introduction: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a common cause of hospitalization and readmission in patients with diabetes mellitus. Etiologies are generally due to medication non-adherence, trauma, infection, or other precipitating illness. In approximately 10% of DKA cases, no discernible precipitating cause can be determined. The word catamenial is derived from a Greek word meaning monthly. It is used to describe the monthly occurrence of menstruation. Catamenial hyperglycemia is a phenomenon in which blood glucose levels change with the different phases in the menstrual cycle. This can precipitate recurrent, unexplained episodes of DKA. Here, we present a similar case. Case description:A 19-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes, gastroparesis, hypertension, dysmenorrhea and cyclical vomiting disorder presented with unrelenting nausea and vomiting for one day. Other symptoms included abdominal & chest pain that the patient attributed to premenstrual symptoms. She is afebrile, doesn’t have any other symptoms of infection and no recent sick contacts. She is compliant with her home insulin regimen of Insulin detemir 20 units BID and pre meal 8 units insulin aspart. Further interrogation reveals she has regular menstrual cycles and has been hospitalized three times in the last three months due to DKA coinciding with premenstrual symptoms, specifically severe abdominal pain and vomiting, typically starting five days before the onset of her menstrual cycle. She is hemodynamically stable and physical exam is significant for mid epigastric tenderness. Significant labs: WBC 16.52 (N<11 K/mm3), glucose 457 mg/dl, anion gap 23, K 4.1 (mmol/L), bicarbonate 18 (≥19 mmol/L), lactate 3.2 (N ≤ 1.9 mmol/L), beta hydroxybutyarate 4.0 (N ≤ 0.27 mmol/L), trop T 6 (N<10 ng/L), BHCG negative . Hba1c a month ago was 9.6%. Infectious work up was negative. EKG showed no signs of ischemia. She was treated per DKA protocol which results in resolution of symptoms and normalization of labs. Since no other precipitating factors for DKA are identified, and her symptoms corresponded with her menstrual periods, she is given a diagnosis of Catamenial DKA and scheduled for regular follow up in endocrinology clinic. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of considering the association betweenmenstrual cycle phases and blood sugar levels as a possible trigger, underscoring the role of a thorough menstrual history in patients presenting with DKA. The impact of menstrual cycle fluctuations on glycemic control varies among patients however glucose profiles seem to be consistent across cycles for each individual woman. This highlights the need for personalized management strategies including patient education and adjustment of insulin during these periods. Addressing this adequately will improve overall glycemic control, reduce hospitalizations, and help improve the quality of life. Presentation: 6/1/2024

Reconstituting the ‘good woman’: Gendered visual politics on social media during 2021 state election in West Bengal, India

This paper explores the visual politics of gender in electoral politics in West Bengal (WB). We examine how women political candidates visually construct their non-verbal political performance on social media, and how such visuals relate to social mores and societal expectations surrounding femininity. Drawing on theories of the social construction of gender and visual political communication, we conducted a content analysis of 1,033 visual artefacts from eight individual women candidates and 205 from the Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) pages of the four main political parties taking part in the January-April 2021 electoral campaign for state-level elections in WB. We analysed how these candidates construct gendered relationships with the electorate through different cues on the platforms, such as sartorial choices (traditional or Western attire), use of culture-specific religious symbols (sindoor or vermillion, bindi – forehead marking worn by married Hindu women), and gendered/non-gendered political actions like cooking or serving food, giving speeches or meeting constituents in political processions. Our findings about the visually performed politics show a combination of cultural, political, and gender signifiers, which are mediated and remain connected to societal expectations, and historical narratives. The candidates’ negotiation of these aspects, in turn, underscores a reproduction of colonial legacies and, in the present day, an ongoing production of societal differences. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on visual politics of gender, particularly in Asian contexts. It sheds light on the nuanced ways women politicians use social media to construct their visual identities, and how the deployment of body politics into the relatively ‘new’ online sphere reifies ‘old’ social, political, cultural symbolisms, and norms regarding gender. In this way, this article highlights the importance of considering pre-digital forms of gendered identity construction and visual representation when analysing the contested terrain of digital visibilities.

Multinomial Logit Modeling of Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy of Women MSMEs in Tangerang

This research will examine the determinants of financial literacy and inclusion using sociodemographic variables of women MSMEs in Tangerang. The sociodemographic variables used are education, age, length of business, turnover, source of financing, type of savings, type of credit, credit ceiling, financial literacy score (OJK) and financial inclusion score (OJK). In Indonesia, there has been a lot of research on socio-demographic factors as determinants of financial literacy with mixed and unsatisfactory results, making it less reliable as a research reference. Some of the errors in previous research were that the respondents were not precise enough, for example only students or MSMEs at random. These two things result in the results of entering sociodemographic data being less reliable and ineffective when tested with categorical equation models from the simplest, namely logit, probit and tobit as well as binary logistic to the most complex models such as multinomial logit. Logit, probit and tobit and binary logistics models generally only use two categories of dependent variables, namely 0 if there is no decision or certain condition and 1 if there is a certain decision or condition. Preliminary research data before the Covid 19 pandemic, namely 150 women MSMEs who had unique characteristics in terms of socio-demographic factors as well as levels of literacy and financial inclusion, can be tried to prove empirically that these three variables will play an important role in each other through the multinomial logit categorical equation model according to Bayar et research procedures. al. (2020). The important result to be achieved is that the researcher wants to prove the business potential of women MSME actors in Tangerang, which so far has not been exposed enough to BI UMKM as one of the common market places for all MSME actors in Indonesia. There is a stigma that the low literacy and financial inclusion (OJK) scores of MSME players are a negative effect of less exposure to the business potential of MSME players in the local area. The results of this research succeeded in describing the socio-demographic profile of female MSMEs in Tangerang with several distinctive characteristics, namely the predominance of those with a productive age of 40 - 55 years, the majority having a tertiary education; have a turnover of more than 10-25 million per month and most of them use access to bank and non-bank financial institutions, usually pawnshops, for storage purposes and credit applications. Furthermore, this research succeeded in proposing a categorical equation model with multinomial logistic regression using STATA 13.0 software referring to the research model from Bayar et.al. (2020) and managed to find that socio-demographic variables of financial institutions are always a determining factor in financial inclusion and literacy. The implication is that individual women MSME actors in Tangerang can make financial decisions more quickly considering that they are so close to access to existing financial institutions.

Care seeking during pregnancy: testing the assumptions behind service delivery redesign for maternal and newborn health in rural Kenya

Abstract A health systems reform known as Service Delivery Redesign (SDR) for maternal and newborn health seeks to make high-quality delivery care universal in Kakamega County, in western Kenya, by strengthening hospital-level care and making hospital deliveries the default option for pregnant women. Using a large prospective survey of new mothers in Kakamega County, we examine several key assumptions that underpin the SDR policy’s theory of change. We analyse data on place of delivery, travel time and distance, out-of-pocket spending, and self-reported quality of care for 19 127 women prospectively enrolled during antenatal care (ANC) and surveyed two times after their delivery. We analyze changes in womens’ delivery location preferences in recent years in Kakamega, and over the course of their most recent pregnancy. We also evaluate travel time, out-of-pocket expenditures and patient satisfaction for women who deliver in public hospitals vs primary health centres. We find substantial changes in delivery location at the population level over time and for individual women over the course of pregnancy. Facility delivery has increased from 50.4% in 2010 to 89.5% in 2019; 70% of respondents deliver at a different facility than their reported intention at ANC. Out-of-pocket delivery expenditures are on average 1351 Kenyan shillings (Ksh) in hospitals compared to 964 Ksh in PHC (primary health care)s (P < 0.01). Transport expenditures are 337 Ksh for PHC level deliveries vs 422 Ksh for hospitals (P < 0.01). Self-reported average travel time is 51 min (PHC delivery) vs 47 min (hospital delivery) (P = 0.78). The average distance to a delivery location is 15.1 km for PHC deliveries vs 15.2 km for hospitals (P = 0.99). There were no differences in overall patient-reported quality scores, while some subcomponents of quality favoured hospitals. These findings support several key assumptions of the SDR theory of change in Kakamega County, while also highlighting important challenges that should be addressed to increase the likelihood of successful implementation.

Prevalence and determinants of skilled birth attendance among young women aged 15–24 years in Northern Nigeria: evidence from multiple indicator cluster survey 2011 to 2021

BackgroundChildbirth among adolescents and young mothers has been linked to various complications, including perinatal mortality, preterm births, low birth weight, and infections, which collectively contribute to the high burden of neonatal and maternal mortality. Despite some progress, the prevalence of skilled birth attendance, proven to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes, remains consistently low in Northern Nigeria. This study assessed the prevalence and determinants of Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) among young women ages 15–24 years in Northern Nigeria.MethodsThis pooled cross-sectional study included 6,461 young women aged 15–24 years from 2011, 2016 and 2021 multiple indicator cluster surveys in Nigeria. We used a binary logistic regression model to assess the factors associated with skilled birth attendance at 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with computed adjusted odds ratios (aORs).ResultsThe prevalence of skilled birth attendance among young women in Northern Nigeria increased from 25.6% in 2011 to 33.1% in 2021. Women who were atleast 18 years of age at first marriage had 2.48 higher odds of SBA (aOR 2.48, 95% CI = 1.54–4.00) compared those less than 18 years of age at first marriage after controlling for confounders. Young women from rich household wealth quintile were more likely to utilize SBA (aOR 1.84, 95% CI = 1.11–3.14) compared to young women from poor household wealth quintile. In terms of education, those women who had secondary (aOR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.77–3.56) and higher education (aOR = 10.01, 95% CI = 2.21–49.31) had higher odds of SBA compared to those with no education. Individual women with media exposure had 59% higher likelihood (aOR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.16–2.19), women who attended 4 or more antenatal care visits during their last pregnancy demonstrated 2.28 times higher odds (aOR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.67–3.09), while those who reported no intention for their last pregnancy were 37% less likely (aOR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.42–0.96) to utilize SBA.ConclusionA slight increase in the prevalence of skilled birth attendance was observed over the 10-year period. For a significant boost in skilled birth attendance among young women in Northern Nigeria, particular attention needs to be paid to girls’ child education, delay in marriage, economic empowerment of young women, and strategic ways of leveraging trained community health workers (CHIPs) to bring reproductive healthcare close to young women living in rural areas.

Menopause and the workplace: consensus recommendations from The Menopause Society.

Menopause is a natural life transition experienced by half the world's population. Women aged 50 years and older are the fastest growing demographic group in many countries, making essential contributions to the workforce. Although menopause is a universal and natural life transition, the symptom experience is highly variable among women. Some women may experience few or no symptoms, whereas others may be bothered by moderate to severe symptoms for a decade or longer, which can adversely affect quality of life, relationships, job satisfaction, and career advancement. Indeed, menopause symptoms, including vasomotor and genitourinary symptoms, as well as sleep and mood disturbances are associated with multiple adverse work outcomes. Studies to date have demonstrated that these adverse work outcomes related to menopause symptoms include a compromised ability to work, reduced work productivity, absenteeism, and even loss of employment or an early exit from the workforce. Further, the relationship between menopause symptoms and work may be bidirectional, with certain aspects of the work environment being linked with a greater menopause symptom burden, such as insufficient restroom facilities, unpredictable or long work hours, the inability to take breaks, and confined or crowded workspaces. Thus, workplace solutions may need to be tailored based on women's individual needs, the work environment, and the type of work.The Menopause Society, in conjunction with an expert panel of medical and legal experts and women's health advocates, has developed a set of consensus recommendations that challenges employers to create a menopause-supportive workplace for their employees. These recommendations include, among other things, suggestions for employers to review policies and healthcare plans and benefits and to consider flexibility and accommodations that may be needed for some women with menopause symptoms. Guidance for women with menopause symptoms that affect them at work in terms of understanding their resources and empowering them to be self-advocates are also provided, as well as recommendations for what occupational health professionals should know and do for women with bothersome menopause symptoms in the workplace.

Pelvic floor muscle training for female urinary incontinence: development of a programme theory from a longitudinal qualitative case study

BackgroundUrinary incontinence (UI) negatively affects the well-being of women globally. Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) is a complex intervention that aims to decrease UI symptoms. Information about how the multiple complex components involved in PFMT achieve and maintain the desired effect are rarely studied as a whole. The evidence base lacks data about how women experience PFMT over time and in the longer-term. This study explored women’s experiences of biofeedback-assisted PFMT and PFMT alone, to identify and understand what influenced self-reported adherence to PFMT, and UI outcomes over time.MethodsThis rigorous longitudinal qualitative case study, nested within a randomised controlled trial, recruited forty cases (women with stress or mixed UI; 20 in biofeedback-assisted and 20 in PFMT alone group). A case included up to four semi-structured interviews with each woman (prior to starting PFMT, end of treatment [6 months], 12 months, 24 months). Analysis followed case study analytic traditions, resulting in a Programme Theory about PFMT from the perspectives of women with UI.FindingsThe theory demonstrates factors that motivated women to seek UI treatment, and how these influenced long-term adherence. Therapists who delivered PFMT played a crucial role in supporting women to know how to undertake PFMT (to have capability). Some, but not all, women developed self-efficacy for PFMT. Where women did not have PFMT self-efficacy, adherence tended to be poor. When women had PFMT self-efficacy, the conditions to support adherence were present, but contextual factors could still intercede to inhibit adherence. The intercession of contextual factors was individual to a woman and her life, meaning any particular contextual factor had inconsistent influences on PFMT adherence over time for individual women and exerted varying influences across different women.ConclusionLong term adherence to PFMT is a complex interaction between many different factors. Enquiring about an individual woman’s motivation to seek treatment and understanding the contextual factors that affect an individual woman will enable a practitioner to support longer-term adherence.

‘Living-alone’ wanghong: Women’s singleness as a wanghong genre and the configuration of Chinese postfeminist wanghong culture

In this article, I explore how women’s singleness is represented by ‘living-alone’ wanghong on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (小红书) and discuss the configuration of Chinese postfeminist wanghong culture. The term ‘“living-alone” wanghong’ refers to a group of Chinese vloggers – mostly women – who showcase their daily lives in domestic spaces while living by themselves. ‘Living-alone’ wanghong narrate their singleness as an autonomous choice that leads to a happy, high-quality, and bourgeois life. This narrative is distinct from the stigmatised ‘ shengnü’ (剩女, leftover women) discourse in contemporary urban China. By conducting thematic analysis of 50 sampled ‘living-alone’ vlogs featuring female wanghong, I examine three recurring themes: economic independence; self-care/self-discipline; and enjoyable loneliness. The analysis contextualises these three tropes in the postfeminist wanghong culture on Chinese social media. I argue that while ‘living-alone’ wanghong productively challenge stigmas around single women in the context of urban China, they ultimately transform women’s singleness into a neoliberal and postfeminist object in feminised consumer culture. Within their narratives, the structural struggles that single women face become issues that can and should be resolved by individual women. This transformation overshadows the underlying logic of consumption/commercialisation within Chinese postfeminist wanghong culture. This article further discusses the importance of the intersectional gender dimension in wanghong studies, as evidenced by the case study of ‘living-alone’ wanghong.

Nutrition education effects on food and nutrition security for women living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) is one of the key global concerns yet in the face of HIV/AIDS, it is compromised. The significance of nutrition education targeted at women in promoting food and nutrition security cannot be overstated, considering their role in ensuring food and nutrition security for their household members. However, empirical evidence on the causal impact of nutrition education on food and nutrition status is limited to the individual level and very scanty for vulnerable groups such as HIV/AIDS-positive women. This study used a large dataset from a randomized control experiment with 3,200 women to investigate the effects of nutrition education on household behaviour and food nutrition outcomes. Results indicate that the intervention results in increasing the individual woman’s labour supply on-farm and diversifying crops grown by the household. Positive influences of nutrition education on dietary diversity are observed but were only significant at the household level. Individual women’s nutrition outcomes were strongly influenced by engagement in an income-generating activity or household’s market participation. As such, blending nutrition education interventions with initiatives that facilitate access to the needed nutritious foods such as on-farm diversification and activities that generate revenues from off the farm was recommended.

Temporalities of oxytocin for labour augmentation: a mixed-methods study of time factors shaping labour practices in a busy maternity unit in Tanzania

BackgroundHigh rates of labour augmentation with oxytocin have been found in some low- and lower-middle-income countries, causing potential perinatal harm. It is critical to understand the reasons for this overuse. Aim was to explore factors that shape practices around using oxytocin for labour augmentation in a high-volume labour ward in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.MethodsMixed-methods data collection was conducted from March 2021 to February 2022, including structured observations of 234 births, 220 h of unstructured labour ward observations and 13 individual in-depth interviews with birth attendants. Thematic network analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse data. We used a time-lens to understand practices of oxytocin for labour augmentation in time-pressured labour wards.ResultsBirth attendants constantly had to prioritise certain care practices over others in response to time pressure. This led to overuse of oxytocin for augmentation to ensure faster labour progression and decongestion of the, often overburdened, ward. Simultaneously, birth attendants had little time to monitor foetal and maternal condition. Surprisingly, while oxytocin was used in 146 out of 234 (62.4%) structured labour observations, only 9/234 (4.2%) women had active labour lasting more than 12 h. Correspondingly, 21/48 (43.8%) women who were augmented with oxytocin in the first stage of labour had uncomplicated labour progression at the start of augmentation. While the partograph was often not used for decision-making, timing of starting oxytocin often correlated with natural cycles of ward-rounds and shift-turnovers instead of individual women’s labour progression. This resulted in co-existence of ‘too early’ and ‘too late’ use of oxytocin. Liberal use of oxytocin for labour augmentation was facilitated by an underlying fear of prolonged labour and low alertness of oxytocin-related risks.ConclusionsTime scarcity in the labour ward often made birth attendants deviate from clinical guidelines for labour augmentation with oxytocin. Efforts to navigate time pressure resulted in too many women with uncomplicated labour progression receiving oxytocin with little monitoring of labour. Fear of prolonged labour and low alertness to oxytocin-mediated risks were crucial drivers. These findings call for research into safety and benefits of oxytocin in low-resource settings and interventions to address congestion in labour wards to prevent using oxytocin as a time-management tool.

Caribbean street vending experiences: Guyanese migrant women in Trinidad and Tobago

ABSTRACT This article offers a critical overview of how South-South migration operates in the Caribbean. It represents an intersectional feminist analysis of the experiences of Guyanese migrant women who work as street vendors in Trinidad and Tobago. Via the use of narrative inquiry, the study examines the daily challenges migrant women face as they interact with state officials, police officers, customers, and other vendors. We also provide a summary of the individual and collective tactics migrant women employ to navigate a context in which they are often stigmatised, marked as Other, and experience multiple barriers to be able to make a living. In doing so, the piece details how sexism, xenophobia and racism are mutually constituted and function in a Caribbean context, as well as how interlocking systems of oppression create barriers for migrant women to secure sustainable livelihood. We also illustrate the political agency of Guyanese migrant women by highlighting the ways they co-create safe spaces and build community despite obstacles. This article contributes to critical migration studies from the Global South/Majority World, fosters greater regional consciousness across the Caribbean, and underscores the importance of centring migrant women’s experiences in research and scholarship.

RISK FACTORS OF LOW PLACENTATION

The purpose of the study – to assess the risk factors for the occurrence of low placentationin the early stages of gestation.Materials and methods. A clinical and statistical analysis of 150 individual charts ofpregnant women and women in labor in women with a low lying placenta (main group)and 80 pregnant women with a normal localization of the placenta in the fundus andbody of the uterus (control group), who were under dispensary supervision in a women’sconsultation, was carried ou.tThe results. After conducting the analysis, it was established that the main groupwas dominated by women over 30 years old (40.7 % of cases), compared to 25.0 %of pregnant women in the control group (p<0.05). The age of onset of menarche after14 years is marked significantly more often in pregnant women with low placentation –in 22.7 %, compared to normal localization of the placenta – in 8.8 % of cases. Thedevelopment of the menstrual cycle by one year in the main group was 2.5 times lessfrequent than in the control group. 58.7 % of pregnant women with low placentationhad 2 or more artificial abortions, 46 % had a history of spontaneous miscarriages, inpregnant women with normal placentation, these indicators were 32.5 % and 18.8 % ofpregnant women, respectively (p<0.05). In 20.7 % of cases of women in the main group,childbirth was completed by cesarean section, and in the control group – in 7.5 % ofcases. In pregnant women with low placentation, 26.0 % had inflammatory diseases ofthe uterine appendages, 50.7 % had cervical erosion, 10.7 % had uterine fibroids, 16.7 %had endometriosis, compared to the control group in 17 .5 %, 36.3 %, 3.8 % and in 6.3 %of cases, respectively (p<0.05). Conservative myomectomy was performed in 30 % ofcases of the main group and 12.5 % of women in the control group. Conclusions. Risk factors for low placentation are a woman’s age over 30 years, latemenarche and late onset of menstrual function, history of gynecological diseases, highbirth parity, history of spontaneous miscarriages and artificial abortions, uterine scar,and manual revision of the uterine cavity walls. Identifying the risk factors for lowplacentation will reduce the level of perinatal and obstetric complications.

Systolic blood pressure at age 40 and 30-year stroke risk in men and women

BackgroundAmerican and European guidelines define hypertension differently and are sex agnostic. Our aim was to assess the impact of different hypertension thresholds at the age of 40 on 30-year stroke...

Fantasies of food work and digital entrepreneurialism: postfeminist time panic on food blogs

ABSTRACT In the postfeminist context, discourses of time panic and time scarcity are used to generate a culture of anxiety that justifies gender traditionalism. Food blogs offer unique insights into the ways that these postfeminist discourses of temporality and labour are negotiated in the daily, lived experiences of individual women. I draw on a sample of 19 Saveur Award-nominated food blogs to explore how they respond to concepts of time panic and time scarcity through discussions and depictions of women’s work, retreatism, and postfeminist subjectivity. I perform a thematic analysis in conjunction with an architectural analysis of food blogs’ database narratives to discuss how postfeminist time scarcity—and its attendant anxieties—are rejected through fantasised depictions of domesticity as a creative pursuit and digital entrepreneurialism as an empowering endeavour. While the reading of such fantasised representations is ultimately ambivalent, particularly given the diversity of ways an audience may respond to these positionalities, I find that food blogs tend to reinforce the focus on the individual’s resilience, resourcefulness, and responsibility to make correct choices and resolve postfeminist contradictions, particularly through the affective management of food work.

Empowering women: navigating work environment challenges with mental toughness

Purpose This literature review examines women’s significant workplace challenges and explores mental toughness, a distinct non-cognitive ability associated with peak athletic performance. This study aims to understand this concept and its potential for women professionals facing similar challenges in an organisational context. Design/methodology/approach Based on a systematic literature review, this exploratory paper is an integrative literature review synthesising pre-existing knowledge using secondary scientific databases. This literature analysis will pave the way for comprehension of the existing body of research, identification of research gaps, and opportunities for further studies. Different typologies of mental toughness (MT) have been identified, and a new typology will emerge from this research study. Findings The study analyses over 100 articles based on MT typology and complex gender dynamics at work, especially the “broken rung” concept of trapping women in lower or mid-level roles in an organisation. This content analyses the recent emergence of the MT typology in academic research, with articles published after 2019 and a few earlier key works that shaped the concept of MT. In addition to contributing a comprehensive typology of MT and its impact on women professionals, this paper also provides recommendations for future research and individual-level development of MT to help women overcome workplace barriers globally. Research limitations/implications Understanding MT’s impact on women’s ability to overcome workplace barriers has HR implications, including hiring, retention, career advancement, training and closing gender gaps. This research may help individual women professionals adopt MT as a psychological resource to navigate work environment challenges. Further research is needed for practical insights, given this discussion is based on a literature review. Practical implications The practical implications of this study have a profound impact on human resource management practices within organisations, highlighting the multifaceted approach required to tackle gender disparity. A more inclusive and supportive work environment can be created by ensuring MT training is accessible to all employees. A comprehensive career development plan for women professionals, including but not limited to mentoring, executive sponsorship, skill-building training or stretched assignments, leadership coaching, networking opportunities, and increased visibility in the organisation are critical for career advancement and retention. Originality/value This study is a novel attempt to examine whether MT, which has proven effective in helping athletes achieve their goals, can be applied in a workplace environment. It is also a new endeavour to investigate whether women could use MT as a psychological tool to help them overcome obstacles in a diverse professional setting.

Qualitative Exploration of the #MeTooMedicine Online Discourse: "Holding Beacons of Light to Shine in the Corners They Are Hoping to Keep Dark".

The MeToo movement forced a social reckoning, spurring women in medicine to engage in the #MeTooMedicine online discourse. Given the risks of reporting sexual violence, discrimination, or harassment, it is important to understand how women in medicine use platforms like Twitter to publicly discuss their experiences. With such knowledge, the profession can use the public documentation of women in medicine for transformative change. Using reflexive thematic analysis, 7,983 tweets (posted between November 2017-January 2020) associated with #WomenInMedicine, #MeTooMedicine, and #TimesUpHC were systematically analyzed in 2020-2022, iteratively moving from describing their content, to identifying thematic patterns, to conceptualizing the purpose the tweets appeared to serve. The Twitter engagement of women in medicine was likened to "holding beacons of light to shine in the corners [harassers] are hoping to keep dark," both reinforcing the message that "gender bias is alive and well" and calling for a "complete transformation in how we approach" the problem. The tweets of women in medicine primarily seemed aimed at disrupting complacency; encouraging bystanders to become allies; challenging stereotypes about women in medicine; championing individual women leaders, peers, and trainees; and advocating for reporting mechanisms and policies to ensure safety and accountability across medical workplaces. Women in medicine appeared to use Twitter for a host of reasons: for amplification, peer support, advocacy, and seeking accountability. By sharing their experiences publicly, women in medicine seemed to make a persuasive argument that time is up, providing would-be allies with supporting evidence of sexual violence, discrimination, and harassment. Their tweets suggest a roadmap for what is needed to achieve gender equity, ensure that lack of awareness is no longer an excuse, and ask bystanders to grapple with why women's accounts continue to be overlooked, ignored, or dismissed and how they will support women moving forward.

Sosialisasi Sadari Pada Remaja Putri di Desa Pulo Peding Kecamatan Babussalam Kabupaten Aceh Tenggara

Adolescence is a transition period from children to adults. Adolescence lasts from the age of 15-20 years. Developmental changes that occur during adolescence include physical, psychological and psychosocial development (Gainau, 2021). Adolescent girls experience secondary sexual signs in the form of widening of the hips, breast growth, hair growth around the genitals and armpits, as well as growth of the uterus and vagina (Sarwono, 2016). Breast self-examination or what is known as BSE, is a form of early detection prevention effort whose implementation procedure can be carried out by each individual woman more easily in order to find symptoms or signs related to breast cancer, for example; lump in the breast (Sari P, Sayuti S, Ridwan M, Rekiaddin LO, 2020). This community service activity takes the form of outreach about breast self-examination (BSE) to young women in Pulo Peding village, Babussalam District, Southeast Aceh Regency. This activity was attended by 30 participants with the aim of increasing teenagers' knowledge about BSE. The results of this activity were an increase in teenagers' knowledge before and after being given socialization, namely from an average knowledge score of 50 to 80. It is hoped that this activity can be useful for young women and doing BSE regularly to detect breast cancer early.