Can Postpartum Depression Be Prevented With Care

Overview

This study was designed to eliminate postpartum insomnia and fatigue and reduce the risk of postpartum depression through the maintenance of structural, personal, and social integrity with holistic care under the guidance of Levine's conservation model for primiparous puerperal women who experience fatigue and are at risk of developing depression. : A single-blind pretest-posttest randomized controlled study. Women were called to the hospital on the 7th postpartum day and randomly assigned by a computer program to either the intervention group (n=56) or the control group (n=56). Participants did not know which group they were in.

A nursing care program was prepared for the intervention group under the guidance of Levine's conservation model. This program was applied with 7 home visits between the 8th and 80th postpartum days. Face-to-face training and training booklets were provided in home visits. As of the fourth home visit, Pilates exercises were performed. The women in the control group received routine care. Pretest and posttest data were collected with a personal data sheet, visual analogue scale for fatigue, Postpartum Physical Symptom Severity Scale, Postpartum Sleep Quality Scale, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, and Postpartum Support Scale. Sleep quality improved for the primiparous puerperal women of the intervention group. They had reduced postpartum fatigue and increased energy; maintained their structural, personal, and social integrity; and had decreased risk of developing postpartum depression with the holistic care provided (all p\<0.001). A negative correlation was detected between the support subscale posttest total score from the Postpartum Support Scale and the posttest scores of the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale for the women of the intervention group (r=-0.303; p\<0.05)