För att bedöma mäns spermiekvalitet och därmed pars chanser till en graviditet har standardparametrar tidigare använts som fertilitetsindikator, men har visat sig vara en mindre tillförlitlig metod. Därför har en ny metod som bygger på flödescytometri och kallas Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA) utvecklats som fokuserar på spermiernas arvsmassa, och som då har visat sig vara en mycket mer tillförlitlig metod. Syftet med denna studie var att jämföra DNA Fragmentations Index (DFI) -värde mellan svenska och danska män och se om en signifikant skillnad finns. För att uppfylla detta späddes och färgades spermaproven in och analyserades med SCSA, som därefter gav hur stor andel av spermiernas DNA som är defekt, vilket presenterades som ett procentuellt DFI-värde. Resultatet visade en signifikant skillnad av medianvärdet mellan svenska och danska män med avseende på DFI, där svenska män hade högre medianvärde än de danska männen. Detta i kombination med tidigare forskning som gjordes mellan svenska och danska män och som visade att svenska män hade bättre kvalitet än danska män med avseende på standardparametrarna, stödjer tidigare forskning som visar på att det ej finns ett samband mellan standardparametrar och DFI. Dock hade ytterligare forskning av skillnaderna mellan svenska och danska män behövts, för att validera fynden i denna studie. / To assess men's sperm quality and thus couples' chances of pregnancy, standard parameters have previously been used as a fertility indicator, but have proven to be a less reliable method. Therefore, a new method based on flow cytometry called Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA) has been developed which focuses on the sperm's genetic mass, and which has been shown to be a much more reliable method. The purpose of this study was to compare the DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) value between Swedish and Danish men and see if a significant difference exists. To fulfill this, the sperm samples were diluted and stained and analyzed with SCSA, which then gave the ratio of the sperm's DNA that is defective, which was presented as a percentage DFI value. The result showed a significant difference in the median value between Swedish and Danish men with regard to DFI, where Swedish men had a higher median value than the Danish men. This, in combination with previous research that has been done between Swedish and Danish men which showed that Swedish men had better quality than Danish men in regards to the standard parameters, supports previous research that shows that there is no connection between standard parameters and DFI. However, further research into the differences between Swedish and Danish men is needed to validate the findings in this study.

Title: The Human Embryo in the Perspective of Reproductive Medicine. Since when one begins to be a human person? In this work, we take into account the issues, which in most cases lead many people to resort to the reproductive medicine, which generally is referred to as the infertility problems. But in some techniques, the reproductive medicine loses up to 80% of human embryos. In the minds of many people, the human embryo is seen only as a cluster of cells. However, is it really just a cluster of cells, or is it already a person at an early stage of development? As far as one is already man, is he now also the human being, of whom are in our Western culture related rights, especially the right to life? Could we then say with a clear conscience that with these techniques we are acting ethically? We dividend our work into six chapters. In the first and second chapter, we will be briefly acquainted with the issues of infertility, of the reproductive medicine techniques, with the development of the human embryo and with handling of the embryos in the course of these techniques. In the third charter, we will present the two major ethical models in our cultural area that have a different point of view on the status of the human embryo. In the fourth chapter, we will look at how to the question of the...

This thesis research zeroes in on the role of doulas regarding prevention of obstetric violence by summarizing existing literature and providing first-hand insights from qualitative semi-structured interviews with three Austrian doulas, answering the question: What role do doulas play in the prevention of obstetric violence in Austria? The research and data analysis are based on the Birth Territory Theory with an intersectional perspective and the thesis aims at providing information on obstetric violence and the role that doulas play in its prevention. Currently this topic is hardly researched in Austria, even though globally one third of parturients experience violence while giving birth. The findings show that obstetric violence is present during childbirth in many forms in Austria on a regular basis and that intersectional dimensions such as education or age play a role in it. The role of doulas in theprevention of obstetric violence is diverse and includes inter alia raising awareness,being a witness, being a mediator between midwives and parturients, proposing options, and offering emotional support. Nevertheless, in Austria doulas are not allowed to intervene during birth and cannot eliminate obstetric violence by themselves. / Die vorliegende Masterarbeit setzt sich mit der Rolle von Doulas in der Prävention von Gewalt bei Geburten in Österreich auseinander. Durch drei qualitative Interviews mit österreichischen Doulas und einem Literature Review wurde folgende Forschungsfrage beantwortet: Welche Rolle spielen Doulas in der Prävention von Gewalt unter der Geburt in Österreich? Basierend auf der Birth Territory Theory und mit einem intersektionalen Blickwinkel zielt diese Masterarbeit darauf ab, Informationen über Gewalt unter der Geburt in Österreich bereitzustellen und die Rolle von Doulas in diesem Kontext zu beleuchten. Obwohl global rund ein Drittel aller Gebärenden Gewalt unter der Geburt erlebt, gibt es keine Daten und Statistiken zu der Lage in Österreich. Die Ergebnisse dieser Forschung zeigen, dass Gewalt in Kreißsälen in Österreich regelmäßig in verschiedenen Formen verzeichnet wird und dass dabei intersektionale Dimensionen wie Alter oder Bildungsstand der Gebärenden eine Rolle spielen. Die Forschungsergebnisse decken sich mit vergleichbaren Studien aus anderen Ländern und bieten erste Einblicke zu diesem Thema in Österreich.Doulas dürfen als nicht-medizinische Geburtsbegleiterinnen in Österreich weder in das Geburtsgeschehen eingreifen noch beraten, verfügen jedoch über zahlreiche Optionen, einen Beitrag zur Gewaltprävention zu leisten. Ihre Rolle beinhaltet die derZeugin, sie kann Mediatorin zwischen Hebamme und Gebärender sein und sie kann zusätzlich Optionen aufzeigen, emotionale Unterstützung anbieten und zurBewusstseinsbildung beitragen. Gewalt unter der Geburt kann trotz dieser Präventionsmaßnahmen durch Doulas jedoch nicht vollständig verhindert werden.

Background: Mental health (MH) has until recently been a neglected subject which is gradually being recognized from the governments worldwide. Although women are increasingly seeking for emotional support during the pregnancy period and the first year after birth, the main attention and studies remain focused on the medical aspects of those periods. leaving the various health policies and intervention plans addressing perinatal MH, insufficient and/or incomplete. Aim: This Scoping Review aims to present a worldwide Policy Mapping of the latest maternal mental health (MMH) policies from government agencies and major non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and a more in-depth view of recurrent influential factors across a few of the policies that acknowledge the MH of various vulnerable groups of women. Methodology: A Policy Mapping and a Scoping Review were chosen as the appropriate designs to present the percentage of countries that show awareness of MMH issues globally. A deductive Content Analysis identified recurrent categories in seven selected interrelated policies and provided a qualitative description of the findings. Results: The results of the quantitative research identified 103 countries that raise awareness on MMH in their latest policies, and 89 of them were from governmental sources. The study revealed 139 countries that had either no reachable data or did not address the issue in their policies. The Content Analysis of the seven selected policies identified a main category entitled ‘Influential socio-economic factors’ and two generic categories ‘Socio-cultural behaviors’ and ‘Socio-education inequalities’ with subcategories which highlight the family and individualism as both a strength and a burden for MMH. A holistic view of individuals in their specific context and the importance of speaking a common language is essential for appropriate mental healthcare. In low socio-economic groups more stigma and less identification of mental health issues is described. Conclusions: This study provides a global overview of the current awareness on MMH and supports world policy makers in strengthening the plans proposed on MMH issues. It sheds light on the need for contextualization and reflects the common needs and challenges for vulnerable groups of women. / Bakgrund: Psykisk hälsa har varit ett försummat område som kräver beslutsfattarnas uppmärksamhet. Under graviditet och första året postpartum söker kvinnor vård för sin emotionella och mentala status i allt högre grad. Sjudvårdspolitiskt prioriteras den somatiska vården framför den psykiska och hälsopolitiska interventioner för att förbättra den mental hälsan för intrapartum och efter förlossning, har visat sig vara otillräckliga. Syfte: Att presentera åtgärder som görs av beslutsfattare och frivilligorganisationer globalt för att förbättra mental hälsa under graviditet och postpartum. En kvantitativ policy-kartläggning kompletteras med en kvalitativ ansats som vidare beskriver faktorer för att stödja utsatta grupper. Metodologi: Med en kartläggning av policy-dokument presenteras andel länder där beslutsfattarna visar på medvetenhet om mental hälsa under graviditet och post partum. Via en Scoping Review identifieras de mest lämpliga metoderna för att stärka kvinnor mentala hälsa under graviditet och postpartum. Med kvalitativ analys identifierades en huvudkategori, generiska kategorier och sub-kategorier med kvalitativ innehållsanalys relaterat till syftet. Resultat: Resultatet från den kvantitativa undersökningen identifierade 103 länder som nämner mental hälsa under graviditet och post-partum i policy dokument, med 89 av dem var från andra källor. Undersökningen identifierade 139 länder som inte hade tillgängliga uppgifter om mental hälsa under graviditet och post-partum i policydokumenten. Den kvalitativa analysen som på ett djupare plan presenterade problemet mental hälsa under graviditet och post-partum visade i huvudkategorin hur inflytelserika socioekonomiska faktorer är för den mentala hälsan. De två generiska kategorierna beskriver ”Sociokulturella beteenden” och ”Sociala ojämlikheter i utbildningssatsningar”, med subkategorier som beskriver familjen, men även individualismen, som en tillgång och samtidigt en börda, för kvinnans mentala hälsa under graviditet och post partum. Ett holistiskt förhållningsätt till individen i individens specifika kontext och ett gemensamt språk var förslag till åtgärd för att erbjuda kvalitativ vård. I lägre socioekonomiska grupper var stigma och underdiagnostiserad mental hälsa identifierad. Dessa grupper är viktiga grupper att satsa resurser på. Slutsats: Denna studie ger en global översikt av den nuvarande situationen och kunskapsläget kring mental hälsa under graviditet och post-partum. Studien kan utgöra ett stöd för beslutsfattare att planera och ge stöd till interventioner och projekt. Studien belyser vikten av kontextrelaterade strategier och visar på gemensamma behov i utsatta grupper och pekar på utmaningar i olika länder.

BACKGROUND: Many women of reproductive age are employed in industries involving exposure to organic solvents. Animal toxicological studies and human case reports demonstrate that exposure to organic solvents can cause neuropsychological deficits in exposed offspring; however, there is limited data from prospective controlled human studies. OBJECTIVE: To compare neuropsychological functioning between children whose mothers were occupationally exposed to organic solvents during pregnancy with a non-exposed matched comparison group. METHODS: Participants were 48 women who had previously contacted the Motherisk Program in Toronto, Canada during pregnancy regarding occupational exposure to organic solvents and a matched comparison group of women with no known exposure to teratogens during pregnancy. Children (18 months to 8 years 11 months at time of study) were compared in areas of cognitive, language, motor, and behavioral functioning. RESULTS: Children whose mothers were exposed to organic solvents during pregnancy displayed a lower level of functioning when compared with their matched peers in areas of cognitive, language, motor, and behavioral domains. Although the scores on measures of behavioral functioning were not in the clinical range, the mothers of exposed children reported more challenging behavioral problems. In order to determine whether exposure predicted neuropsychological outcomes above and beyond maternal intellectual functioning, hierarchical regressions were run with maternal IQ and maternal education at Step 1and exposure status added at Step 2. In utero exposure to organic solvents predicted lower sores on global measures of Verbal IQ, receptive and expressive language scales above and beyond maternal intellectual functioning. Factors associated with higher levels of exposure (detecting odor, longer duration and total number of toxicity symptoms) was associated with poorer outcome on behavioral and motor functioning tests. CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that the exposed mothers experienced minimal symptoms of toxicity, detrimental effects were still evident in their offspring. Current safety standards for exposure were designed for adults and need to be reevaluated. Further studies addressing exposure to specific organic solvents, dose, and gestational timing of exposure are warranted.

BACKGROUND: Many women of reproductive age are employed in industries involving exposure to organic solvents. Animal toxicological studies and human case reports demonstrate that exposure to organic solvents can cause neuropsychological deficits in exposed offspring; however, there is limited data from prospective controlled human studies. OBJECTIVE: To compare neuropsychological functioning between children whose mothers were occupationally exposed to organic solvents during pregnancy with a non-exposed matched comparison group. METHODS: Participants were 48 women who had previously contacted the Motherisk Program in Toronto, Canada during pregnancy regarding occupational exposure to organic solvents and a matched comparison group of women with no known exposure to teratogens during pregnancy. Children (18 months to 8 years 11 months at time of study) were compared in areas of cognitive, language, motor, and behavioral functioning. RESULTS: Children whose mothers were exposed to organic solvents during pregnancy displayed a lower level of functioning when compared with their matched peers in areas of cognitive, language, motor, and behavioral domains. Although the scores on measures of behavioral functioning were not in the clinical range, the mothers of exposed children reported more challenging behavioral problems. In order to determine whether exposure predicted neuropsychological outcomes above and beyond maternal intellectual functioning, hierarchical regressions were run with maternal IQ and maternal education at Step 1and exposure status added at Step 2. In utero exposure to organic solvents predicted lower sores on global measures of Verbal IQ, receptive and expressive language scales above and beyond maternal intellectual functioning. Factors associated with higher levels of exposure (detecting odor, longer duration and total number of toxicity symptoms) was associated with poorer outcome on behavioral and motor functioning tests. CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that the exposed mothers experienced minimal symptoms of toxicity, detrimental effects were still evident in their offspring. Current safety standards for exposure were designed for adults and need to be reevaluated. Further studies addressing exposure to specific organic solvents, dose, and gestational timing of exposure are warranted.