• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.92-99
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• 2003

Postpartum physiological, psychosocial, and economic changes bring with them some disorders of maternal mind and body, so postpartum management has been emphasized to date. After labor, some problems may appear like uterine bleeding, infection, depression and ache in or around joints. Some reports from traditional medical practitioners remark that over 50% of postpartum women have complaints within or around joints. For this study, arrangement of nomenclature, criteria and historical summarization are needed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.124-133
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• 1999

Objective : Postpartum depression(PPD) was known to be caused by many factors including various psychosocial risk factors. This study was performed to identify the psychosocial risk factors for ppd, preliminarily in Korea. Methods : A group of 119 postpartum women, each of whom was at 6 to 8 weeks after delivery was identified at the time when they visited to the child health clinic or postnatal check-up clinic. The risk factors were surveyed by the self-reported questionnaire. The items of questionnaire were consisted of known risk factors in other studies and other possible stress-related factors. PPD was assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS) and the degree of postpartum depression was determined by its score. Results : 16 women(13.45%) in the high risk group were diagnosed as PPD among the 119 women. Risk factors including past experience of depressive symptoms and low level of marital satisfaction were founded more frequently in women in the high risk group than in the low risk group. The score of EPDS was significantly high in the group who experienced depressive symptoms in the past, anxiety or depression during pregnancy, stressful life event during the period of recent pregnancy and postpartum, and who had low level of marital satisfaction. There was a positive correlation between age and the score of EPDS. However, the postpartum depressive symptoms were not influenced by the level of education, job, retirement due to pregnancy and delivery, wanted or unwanted pregnancy, delivery method, feeding method, the hospitalization of infant, expected and real gender of infant. Conclusion : These results suggest that PPD is quite frequent at postpartum period. Various risk factors contribute to the development of PPD. If clinicians pay attention to the risk factors of PPD and give appropriate psychiatric intervention to the mothers during pregnancy and postpartum, it will be easy for the clinicians to recognize and treat PPD in the early stage.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.149-156
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• 2007

Purpose: This study aimed to elucidate the prevalence of breast feeding and maternal psychosocial predictors affecting the breast feeding practice at six months postpartum. Method: One hundred and sixty one mothers at six months postpartum were conveniently recruited in two public health center in Jeju-city. Subjects completed a well-structured questionnaire regarding the feeding types of the child, maternal self-esteem, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), husband support, and marital adjustment scale. The data was analyzed using the $X^2-test$, t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and logistic regression. Result: The prevalence of breast feeding at six months postpartum was 29.9%. Predictors of breast feeding practice identified by the logistic regression analysis include first feeding type after delivery, marital adjustment, readiness for maternal role and work state. Conclusion: The prevalence of breast feeding practice was lower than WHO desired at six months postpartum. Therefore, the findings support the need for breast feeding education including interventions focused on improving readiness for maternal role and marital adjustment.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was to examine the degree of prenatal emotional status, preparation for delivery, postpartum social support, and postpartum blues and to investigate the relationship of the above variables in postpartum women. Method: The subjects were 131 postpartum women. Selection criteria were women who were 2 to 8 weeks post delivery. After Informed consent was obtained, they were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire. The instrument was a Postnatal Depression & Anxiety check list. Result: The mean age of the subjects was 29.3 years, and 63.4% of subjects delivered their children by vaginal birth. 18.3 percent had felt depressed during their pregnancy. The mean score of the postpartum blues was 19.2. 61.8 percent of the subjects had postpartum blues and 8.4 percent experienced postpartum depression. Monthly income was negatively correlated to postpartum blues (r=-.189, p<.05), but the emotional status during pregnancy had a significant and positive relationship. However, preparation for delivery had no significant correlation with postpartum blues. While husband support and social support had a tendency to have a negative correlation. Conclusion: Further research is needed to identify the factors that affect the emotional status during pregnancy with various scales. Also, intervention programs to increase emotional support for pregnancy and husband support are needed.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.210-220
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• 2017

Purpose: The aims of the study were to develop mobile application for postpartum care of first-time mothers and to validate it's effect. Methods: Using a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design, 52 first-time mothers were recruited (26 each in experimental and control) and the experimental group used the mobile application for 6 weeks after delivery. Postpartum self-care knowledge and confidence, infant care knowledge and confidence, and postpartum depressive mood (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) were measured before discharge from the hospital and 6 weeks later. Results: Women who have used the postpartum care mobile application reported higher levels of postpartum self-care knowledge (p=.030) and confidence (p=.023) infant care knowledge (p=.001) and confidence (p=.004), while scores of postpartum depression (p=.021) were lower than those in the control group. Conclusion: The postpartum-care mobile application developed in this research may be effective in reinforcing knowledge and confidence for postpartum self-care and infant care and in reducing postpartum depressive mood.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.69-73
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was designed to identify mother and infant related factors that influence child-care stress among the mother of newborn infants. Methods: Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires and descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. The data survey was conducted with 957 conveniently selected mothers of infants when they visited a public health center in Seoul to have their children immunized. Results: The average item score for the Childcare Stress Inventory was 38.03, for the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, 9.31 and for the Degree of Bother Inventory, 23.42. The CSI was positively correlated to EPDS (r=.44, p<.001) and DBI (r=.40, p<.001). Also these two variables explained 30.0% of CSI in infants' mothers. Conclusion: These findings are expected to expand the understanding about postpartum mothers' child-care stress and can contribute to the development of comprehensive interventions based on community health nursing.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.108-120
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• 2009

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the subjective sleep quality of depressed and non-depressed mothers in the late postpartum period and to determine the relationship with their health promoting behaviors, family functioning, parenting stress. Method: A non-probability sample of 128 mothers completed a self-administered questionnaires at 4-6weeks postpartum. The Edinburgh postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to measure mother's experiences of depression symptoms and sleep. Related factors of sleep quality were measured by the Korean Family Functioning Scale, Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile, and Parenting Stress Index. The data was analysed using t-test, one-way ANOVA, and the Pearson's correlation coefficients. Result: The results indicated that the depressed mothers (EPDS$\geq$ 10) had poorer sleep quality than the non-depressed mothers(EPDS < 10), reported shortened sleep duration, and experienced more daytime dysfunctions. Depressed mothers who had no job, did not drink coffee, and were primipara tended to report poorer sleep quality. There were significant correlation between poorer sleep quality and lower health promoting behaviors, higher family intimacy and lower family communication, and higher parenting stress among depressed mothers. Conclusion: Our findings support the view that depressed mothers' experiences of poor sleep are much higher than non-depressed mothers and multi-faced. Nurse professionals should screen for sleep problems in the depressed mothers with a different biopsychosocial and behavioral aspect from the non-depressed mothers in the late postpartum period.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.33-45
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the tendency toward depression and fatigue in early postpartum women and to determine the relationship between the symptoms of these conditions, according to the women's Sasang constitutions. Methods: In this study, 73 healthy postpartum women were analyzed according to Sasang constitution: 33 Taeeumin, 22 Soyangin, and 18 Soeumin. Symptoms of depression and fatigue were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale-K(EPDS-K) and the Fatigue Continuum Form(FCF), respectively, on the fourth(time 1), seventh(time 2), and fifteenth(time 3) days postpartum. Sasang constitutional types were determined by a medical specialist, using results from the Two Step Questionnaire for Sasang Constitution Diagnosis(TS-QSCD). Results: 1. The overall depressive symptoms and fatigue scores decreased significantly over time in early postpartum women. 2. The mean scores for the EPDS and FCF were higher in the Soeumin group than in other groups. The scores for EPDS and FCF dropped sharply in comparison to a former level in the Soyangin group. And the mean EPDS score was lower in the Soyangin group than in other groups. The EPDS and FCF scores in the Taeeumin group changed slightly over time. However, these results were not statistically significant according to Sasang constitution. 3. The relationship between postpartum depression and fatigue showed a significant positive correlation. Conclusions: These results suggest that, in early postpartum women, depressive symptoms and fatigue differ according to Sasang constitution.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.104-112
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• 2021

Purpose: This study investigated the mediating effect of family support in the relationships of anxiety and depression with maternal-fetal attachment among pregnant women admitted to the maternal-fetal intensive care unit (MFICU) in Korea. Methods: The participants were high-risk pregnant women with a gestational age of at least 20 weeks who were admitted to MFICUs in Busan and Yangsan. The Korean versions of four measurement tools were used for the self-report questionnaire: Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Cobb's family support measurement, and Cranley's maternal-fetal attachment scale. Data were collected from June 22 to September 20, 2020. Out of 124 participants, data from 123 respondents were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were done. Results: The average age of participants was 34.1 years. Their anxiety level was moderate (43.57±11.65 points out of 80) and 53.6% were identified as having moderate depression (average 10.13±5.48 points out of 30). Family support was somewhat high (average 43.30±5.03 points out of 55). The average score of maternal-fetal attachment was also somewhat high (73.37±12.14 points out of 96). Family support had a partial mediating effect in the relationships of anxiety and depression with maternal-fetal attachment among high-risk pregnant women admitted to the MFICU. Conclusion: Maintaining family support is challenging due to the nature of the MFICU. Considering the mediating effect of family support, establishing an intervention plan to strengthen family support can be helpful as a way to improve maternal-fetal attachment for high-risk pregnant women admitted to the MFICU.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.79-84
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• 2007

Because synaptic refinement of medial nucleus of trapezoid body (MNTB) - lateral superior olive (LSO) synapses is most active during the first postnatal week and the long term depression (LTD) has been suggested as one of its mechanisms, LTD of MNTB-LSO synapses was investigated in neonatal rat brain stem slices with the whole cell voltage clamp technique. In $Mg^{2+}$ free condition, tetanus (10 stimuli at 10 Hz for 2 min) in the current clamp mode induced a robust LTD of isolated D, L-APV-sensitive postsynaptic currents (PSCs) for more than 30 min ($n=6,\;2.4{\pm}0.4%$ of the control), while isolated CNQX-sensitive PSCs were not suppressed ($n=6,\;95.3{\pm}1.6%$). Tetanus also elicited similar LTD in the isolated GABAergic/glycinergic PSCs ($n=6,\;3.6{\pm}0.5%$) and mixed PSCs (GABAergic/glycinergic/glutamatergic) ($n=4,\;2.2{\pm}0.7%$). However, such a strong LTD was not observed in the mixed PSCs when 10 mM EGTA was added in the internal solution (n=10), indicating that postsynaptic $Ca^{2+}$ rise is needed for the strong LTD. This robust LTD might contribute to the active synaptic refinement occurring during the first postnatal week.