Fatigue and Depression from Early Postpartum to 1 Month among Postpartum Women with Mental Disorders

Some studies have shown that early postpartum is a period when fatigue is likely to occur due to burden of childbirth and child rearing, and particularly women with mental disorders suffer from fatigue more severely than other pregnant women and this seems to be the cause of their depressed state. This study aimed to ascertain the prevalence of fatigue and depression from early postpartum to 1 month after delivery among postpartum women with mental disorders. 

The participants of this study were postpartum women who had delivered a child after a full-term pregnancy and were suffering from a mental disorder. The authors administered the Postpartum Fatigue Scale (PFS) on days 1, 3, and 4 (to multiparas), and 1, 3, and 5 (to primiparas), and 1 month after delivery to all participants. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Japanese version, was also administered at the same time intervals as PFS except on day 3 after delivery. 

A total of 7 primiparas and 9 multiparas participated in this study. The average age was 29.0 ± 7.0 years old in primiparas and 32.0 ± 4.0 years old in multiparas. The PFS scores were higher among the primiparas and peaked at day 1, and more than half the primiparas scored more than 9 points in EPDS. In addition, the EPDS score at 1 month had a strong correlation with the PFS subscale “mental stress situation” (r = 0.818/p = 0.047). In multiparas, the percentage of women who scored more than 9 points decreased. However, their EPDS scores at 1 month were related to the total scores of the PFS, “physical stress situation”, “mental stress situation”, and “sleep deprivation situation”. Especially, the score of “sleep deprivation situation” was higher than those during hospitalization. 

In conclusion, there was more fatigue 1 month after the discharge among postpartum women with mental disorders. The percentage of women whose EPDS scores were more than 9 points was high in both primiparas and multiparas. This study suggests assisting primiparas and multiparas by controlling the former’s disorder during childcare, and using family support for the latter, so that they get time to rest.

Article by Nozomi Detsuka, et al, from Japan.

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