Korean J Women Health Nurs.  2011 Jun;17(2):118-125. 10.4069/kjwhn.2011.17.2.118.

Effects of Fatigue and Postpartum Depression on Maternal Perceived Quality of Life (MAPP-QOL) in Early Postpartum Mothers

• Choi SY
• Gu HJ
• Ryu EJ

• KMID: 2026284
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2011.17.2.118

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was done to identify effects of fatigue and postpartum depression on quality of life in early postpartum mothers.
METHODS
The data were collected from 130 mothers at four general hospitals in J and M metropolitan cities. Instruments used to collect the data for the study were the Fatigue Scale developed by Pugh (1993); Postpartum Depression Scale developed by Cox, Holden & Sagovsky (1987), and the Quality of Life Scale developed by Hill, Aldag, Hekel, Riner, G., & Bloomfield (2006).
RESULTS
Results showed that the mean for fatigue was 56.74, the mean for postpartum depression was 8.00+/-4.37 and mean for quality of life was 19.78. The quality of life variable showed statistically significant differences for the variable: age (F=3.20, p=.026). The relationship between fatigue and quality of life showed a significant negative correlation (r=-.44, p<.001). The relationship between postpartum depression and quality of life also showed a negative correlation (r=-.42, p<.001). The relationship between postpartum depression and fatigue showed a positive correlation (r=.59, p<.001). These factors explained 23% of the variance in quality of life.
CONCLUSION
The results indicate that it is necessary to develop nursing intervention programs to improve quality of life in for early postpartum mothers.

Keyword

Postpartum period; Parity; Fatigue; Postpartum depression; Quality of life

MeSH Terms

Depression, Postpartum
Fatigue
Female
Hospitals, General
Humans
Mothers
Parity
Postpartum Period
Quality of Life