• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.322-331
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• 1998

The postpartum is a period of transition to motherhood where a childless woman transforms into a woman with children. Parents, especially mothers must perform an essential role of implementing instrumental and emotional care behaviors on part of the helpless, dependent, and immature infant. First-time mothers, however, suddenly face the responsibility of round the clock duty without neither parenting training during pregnancy, nor a time to gradually adapt to growing responsibilities after birth, with confusion and frustration as a result. Thus, after providing first-time mothers with childcare education as maternal role preparation, this study will try to examine its effects on childcare behaviors and confidence in maternal role during the early postpartum period. This quasi-experimental study using a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design, was carried out from March 1995 to May 1996 to verify the effects of a childcare education program with first-time mothers who had vaginal delivery in Ewha University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, and collected data from 60 subjects who consented to the study. The education was given in the early postpartum period(48-72 hours after delivery) and to measure its effects, a posttest was done 4 weeks later with the results analyzed by SPSS shown in the following : 1. The childcare behavior score of the experimental group that had received the newborn care education was higher than the control group(t=3.5, P=.001). 2. The control group and the experimental group which had received the education showed no difference in degree of confidence in maternal role. 3. The higher the childcare behavior score, the higher the degree of confidence in maternal role was among the subjects(r=.56, P=.001). The preceding results are significant in that childcare practices can be promoted by providing child-care education to first-time mothers in the early postpartum period. Thus, this education can be used as a nursing intervention strategy in the early postpartum period.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the construct validity, reliability, measurement invariance, and latent mean differences in the Breastfeeding Adaptation Scale-Short Form (BFAS-SF) for use with mothers at 2 weeks postpartum. Methods: This methodological study was designed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and measurement invariance of the BFAS-SF at 2 weeks postpartum, with data collected from 431 breastfeeding mothers. Confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to assess the factor structure and the measurement invariance across employment status, delivery mode, parity, and previous breastfeeding experience, and the latent mean differences were then examined. Results: The goodness of fit of the six-factor model at 2 weeks postpartum was acceptable. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis supported strict invariance of the BFAS-SF across employment status and delivery mode. Full configural invariance, full metric invariance, and partial scalar invariance across parity and full configural invariance and full metric invariance across previous breastfeeding experience were supported, respectively. The results for latent mean differences suggested that mothers who were employed showed significantly higher scores for breastfeeding confidence. Mothers who had a vaginal delivery showed significantly higher scores for sufficient breast milk and baby's feeding capability. Multiparous mothers showed significantly higher scores for baby's feeding capability and baby's satisfaction with breastfeeding. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the BFAS-SF at 2 weeks postpartum are acceptable. It can be used to compare mean scores of breastfeeding adaptation according to employment status, delivery mode, and parity.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.24-33
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT)-based emotional regulation program for mothers of premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: The study utilized a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Seventeen mothers were recruited for the experimental group and 21 mothers for the control group. Data were collected from July 9, 2018, to Oct 12, 2018 from mothers of premature infants in the NICU regarding parental stress, state anxiety, depression, and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation. The experimental group received eight sessions of the REBT-based emotional regulation program for 3~4 weeks, and the control group only received standard nursing care. Results: Significant differences were found between the two groups in maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation (Z=-3.88, p<.001), stress (Z=-2.76, p=.006), state anxiety (Z=-3.72, p<.001), and postpartum depression(Z=-2.62, p=.009) after the intervention in the experimental group. Conclusion: The REBT-based emotional regulation program for mothers of premature infants was effective for reducing maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation, stress, anxiety, and postpartum depression. Therefore, it may be necessary to provide an REBT-based emotional regulation program for mothers of premature infants in the NICU in clinical practice.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.244-251
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• 2004

Purposes: This study was to examine the effects of postpartum exercise on pressure of the pelvic muscle contraction, body composition and physical fitness of postpartum mothers. Method: A nonequivalent pre-test, post-test control group study was conducted. Fifty-two postpartum mothers(experimental group, 26; control group, 26) admitted to a postpartum ward in a Busan mother-baby clinic were recruited. Data was analyzed using mean, $x^2$-test, and t-test by SPSS 10.0. Result: Body fat mass(t=-3.196. p= .002), body fat rate (t=-3.831, p= .000), and fat distribution(t=-3.026, p= .004) of body composition increased significantly in the experimental group after the postpartum exercise as compared with the control group. After an 8 week exercise program, the pressure of the pelvic muscle contraction in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control group(t=3.329, p=.002). In the change of physical fitness, grip strength of the hand, back muscle strength, and trunk flexion forward were not significantly changed, but trunk backward extension in the experimental group significantly increased(t=1.950, p=.050). Conclusion: Postpartum exercise affects pelvic muscle contraction, body composition, and physical fitness of the postpartum mother.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.463-495
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to obtain a fundamental data for developing a policy concerning women and child rearing and a parent education program for young parents who are around their childbirth, a period crucially important both for the parents in terms of the role adjustment, career management, and family finance, and for the infants in terms of its physical and psychological well-being. The subjects were 509 mothers before and after childbirth currently living in the Metropolitan City of Daejeon. Data were obtained through questionnaires and interviews in two major areas of pregnancy-delivery-childcare and parent education. Data were analyzed using SAS, mostly through frequency analysis, percentiles, t-tests, and F-tests. Results of descriptive analyses were organized along the following areas and issues: Pregnancy(family planning, regular check-ups, difficulties, prenatal education, costs, etc.); delivery(type of delivery, delivery related experience, costs, clinic/medical institute of choice, worries/problems, help/supports, etc.); postpartum care(place, kinds of help and helper, costs, postpartum care facilities, etc.); childcare circumstances(place, carer, time schedules, childcare centers or facilities feeding and weaning, etc.); husband's attitudes and involvement in the overall process; working mothers(maternity leave, temporary retirement for child rearing, etc.); and, parent education(family planning, pregnancy, delivery, postpartum care, child rearing, areas or issues needing parent education, facilitative and hindering factors to ideal parenting, etc.). Differences between groups of pregnant mothers and postpartum mothers, working- and non-working mothers, groups of different income levels, mothers and fathers of different educational levels, mothers of first pregnancy(or childbirth) and experienced mothers were also analyzed. Several conclusions with suggestions were drawn in relation to the need for strong implementation as well as developing of policies on women and childcare and for developing a new parent education program for parents before and after childbirth.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.75-89
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• 2002

This study was conducted to compare the emotional state between the mothers with low-birth-weights and mothers with normal infants, and to analyze the effects of home visiting for the low-birth-weights in one city. Data were collected from 51 mothers with low-birth-weights and 90 mothers with normal infants to compare emotional state, and from 26 mothers with low-birth weights to evaluate the effect of home visiting care. Summaries of results were as follows; 1. In mothers with low-birth-weights, social support form others was significantly lower than those of mothers with normal infants. Although the differences were not significant, mothers with low-birth-weights have more stress and child rearing burden, and less maternal self-esteem than those of mothers with normal infants. 2. Mothers with low-birth-weights, the more burden, postpartum depression, and the less husbands' support they felt. When they had lower maternal self-esteem and lower husbands' support, child rearing burden was higher. Also there was significant negative correlation between maternal self-esteem and postpartum depression. 3. In mothers with low-birth-weights, the score of post-intervention stress, care-giving burden, and postpartum depression were somewhat decreased, and maternal self-esteem was increased than pre-intervention data, although they were not statistically significant. 4. Mothers' satisfaction on the home-visiting care was considered to be high. In summary, mothers with low-birth-weights had lower social support even though they experienced more stress than mothers with normal infants. Therefore, public health nurse in community should pay more attention to them.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.4011-4020
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to determine the self efficacy, body image and family support affect on postpartum depression in early postpartum mothers. The data was collected 306 mothers on the first week after delivery from one hospital located in B city. The instruments were a survey of general characteristics, obstetrical characteristics, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS), self-efficacy, body image and family support. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. The results revealed that the average item score of the EPDS was 6.09. The significant predictors of postpartum depression were body image, emotional state in pregnancy, and family support. These variables had a 38.4% explainability. The results indicate that the postpartum mothers should be screened for postpartum depression early in the postpartum period and it's necessary to implement nursing intervention focused on to enhance the body image and family support, especially the weak emotional state mothers in pregnancy.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.333-343
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• 2019

Purpose: This study sought to develop the Breastfeeding Adaptation Scale-Short Form (BFAS-SF) for use at 4 weeks postpartum, to test its validity and reliability, and to examine its measurement invariance. The latent mean score of the BFAS-SF across multiple groups was also compared. Methods: This methodological research study was conducted to develop a short form of the BFAS and to test its psychometric properties and measurement invariance. Data were collected twice for measurement invariance testing. The sample included 431 and 272 breastfeeding mothers at 2 weeks and 4 weeks postpartum, respectively. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported six dimensions of the BFAS-SF at 4 weeks postpartum. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis revealed evidence for invariance of the BFAS-SF according to employment status, parity, delivery mode, and the postpartum period. There were statistically significant latent mean differences. Mothers who were unemployed and who had a vaginal delivery showed significantly higher scores for breastfeeding confidence, sufficient breast milk, and baby's satisfaction with breastfeeding. Conclusion: The BFAS-SF is valid, reliable, and an appropriate instrument for assessing mothers' breastfeeding adaptation. It can be used to compare mean scores according to employment status and delivery mode.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.432-447
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• 1994

Koreans are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in America. Adjsting to life in foreign country produces a great deal of stress. Differences in culture, language, expectation and social behavior can lead to misunderstandings. The pregnancy and delivery event is one of maturational crisis in life cycle. The purpose of this research was to understand the structure of the lived experience of pregnant women and postpartum mothers who had immigrated to the United States. The research question was "What is the structure of the experience of pregnant women and postpartal mothers?" The sample consisted of 16 women registrated at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of one local clinic in Hawaii. The unstructured interviews were carried out from Jnuary 5, through January, 30, 1994. They were audio-recorded and analyzed using Van Kaam's method. There are different views on the causative factors of stress. Maladjustement to the immigrant life, spousal conflicts, anxiety related to bringing up the bay and conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are considered to be related factors. The experiences of pregnant women over the period of the pregnancy can be varied and can include change of body image, emotional and physical change. The experiences of postpartum mothers over the postpartum period can be varied and can include postpartum depression emotional irritability, fear related to bringing up the baby and disappointment with husband. Positive experiences over the period of pregnancy and postpartum were the strengthen-ing beliefs. Sources of support were, first, spouse then mother and faith. Support was also received from the physician in charge and through self-control. The nurse, by providing empathetic support, should be a person with whom they can express their feelings and share their experiences.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.469-475
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• 2005

Mother-infant interaction is a crucial component of an infant's cognitive, emotional and behavioral development. Most people are preoccupied with fetal education, the physical conditions of the postpartum mother and baby, and emphasizing an early start in the child's education. However, the effects of a mother's postnatal emotional state on the development of the infant are often overlooked. Postpartum depression is a significant health problem affecting 10-20 percent of new mothers. Recent research findings indicate that the suffering caused by postpartum depression is not limited to these mothers alone; their babies and close family members are vulnerable to short-term and long-term effects as well. This review summarizes the findings of recent research works, in the light of publications within the last seven years.