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

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.