Psychosocial features at different periods after childbirth.

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare first-time mothers' postpartum stress, depression, social support, and health status over the first 6 weeks following discharge from hospital after childbirth. Four hundred and thirty-five women were enrolled from clinics and hospitals in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan. The study showed that three items - "the baby getting sick suddenly", "the unpredictability of the baby's schedule", and "the flabby flesh of my belly" - were consistently perceived to be among the top five postpartum stressors by women, regardless of which postpartum week it was. Most women had minimal depression with 71.83% in the sixth week to 81.58% in the first week. Women perceived a high level of social support and their greatest amount of support was from family. A range of women from 25.71% in the fifth week to 32.39% in the second week of postpartum was categorized as having minor psychiatric morbidity. However, the results indicated that the mean scores for postpartum stress and social support did not differ significantly for the women over the 6 postpartum weeks. Women with different depression levels and health status over the 6 postpartum weeks had no significant differences either. Insight into the results of this study provides a framework for additional research that a longitudinal design is needed from immediate childbirth to 1 year postpartum in order to explore the fluctuations of women's psychosocial factors.