Background: The study described the perspectives and experiences of women and health care providers with regard to use of postnatal care and reasons why some women do not attend postnatal care in order to identify strategies for improving postnatal care services. Methods: An explorative, descriptive, and contextual research design was used. In step one data was collected with semi-structured interviews with seventeen (17) women who attended postnatal care. The second sample consisted of ten (10) women who did not attend postnatal care but brought their babies for well-baby clinic. Focus groups were conducted with midwives who offered postnatal care to women. The midwives of the first focus group worked in the hospital while the second focus group worked at a filter clinic. Results: In step one, some women indicated positive experiences but most women had negative experiences about postnatal care. The positive experiences were related to the satisfaction of the women with good services received and not encountering problems with staff's care. Common concerns mentioned in step one and two about postnatal care were shortage of skilled midwives, need for staff to be trained on postnatal care services, lack of confidentiality, poor infrastructure and non-integration of maternal and child services. Reasons for not attending postnatal care that were mentioned by women in step three were inaccessibility of the health care facilities, poor roads infrastructure, lack of knowledge about postnatal services and socio-cultural factors. Conclusion: Based on the findings, strategies to improve postnatal care were developed: Firstly, the midwives need to be trained on postnatal care and highlighted on current postnatal policies and guidelines. Secondly, woman and baby should attend the postnatal care at the health facility. Thirdly, community health nurses and trained community health workers should visit the women at home soon after birth of the babies. Fourthly, postnatal care should be provided at the family and community level by a trained and skilled midwife during the early postnatal period. Fifthly, combination of care facility and home visit - when the woman and baby are discharged from the hospital, follow- up need to be done at home by the midwife. Lastly, a comprehensive integration of postnatal services with other programmes needs to be enforced and supported by the programme management and policy makers. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Postpartal adaptation and vulnerability to depression was assessed in a sample of eighty women during the third and eighth weeks after childbirth. A questionnaire (IPA) was developed to assess postpartal adaptation in five areas: activities of daily living, labor-delivery events, mother-infant interactions, social supports, and construal of self and future. Other questionnaires included a psychological screening inventory (PSI), two depression measurements (Beck's Inventory and Pitt's Questionnaire), and a maternal assessment scale (MAS). Data were processed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, developed by Nie and Associates, Version 7 procedure, Northwestern University, Vogelback Computing Center, to obtain correlation analyses. Results suggested several areas of postpartal adaptation to be correlated with depression reactions after childbirth: moods, sleep, eating schedule, energy level, negative emotions toward infant, and items assessing social supports and self-construal.

Caring for a new child is a significant, demanding, and time consuming role, often associated with increased stress. Postnatal depression is one possible outcome of increased stress and research has highlighted the importance of detecting depression in new mothers. However fatigue a correlate of depression, has only recently become a focus of research among health professionals. Understanding the nature of fatigue and its management within the postnatal period, the focus of this study, may reduce its impact on women’s lives. This longitudinal study explores changes in intensity, physical, mental and emotional dimensions of fatigue, factors associated with higher levels of fatigue, the impact of fatigue on women’s usual activities, and strategies for managing fatigue. Self-administered structured questionnaires gathered data form 504 women at 1, 6, 12 and 24 weeks after birth. Reliable and valid instruments were used to measure the relationship between the defined factors and the outcome of fatigue at the various time points. State anxiety was a consistently strong predictor of fatigue intensity across time and group. Women sought to manage their fatigue by using self-care practices and asking for help from family and friends. This research highlights two issues for health professionals – care of new mothers must include recognition that higher levels of state anxiety are associated with higher levels of postnatal fatigue: ongoing assessment of fatigue and the strategies used to manage it is essential beyond the early postnatal period / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Much information is available through the print and other forms of media about pregnancy, parenthood, and the birth process, but significantly less information exists about postnatal depression or about how to cope with the often-painful realities of childbirth and parenting. Even less information exists about the effectiveness of caregiver intervention, especially from the point of view of womens' remembered experience. This study helps to fill the information gap identified in the literature. This is a hermeneutic phenomenological study guided by the ideas of van Manen (1990). I interviewed women who had experienced postnatal depression and health professional intervention, and asked them about their experiences. Some of the questions were, "What are the types and quality of health professional interventions provided for you by health professionals treating your postnatal depression?" "Which interventions did they use that were helpful for you, and which interventions were unhelpful?" The interviews were open-ended and tape-recorded, took one hour each, and the data was allowed to unfold naturally. The data were transcribed and analysed, then interpreted using the philosophical underpinning of phenomenology to guide my interpretation. The search for meaning in the text, and my attempts to make sense of the findings resulted in the development of two major themes, the first being Dual Reality and the second being Interventions, each theme had three sub-themes. Within the theme of Dual Reality were the sub themes of Behind the Mask, the Stresses involved in Being a New Mother, and The Depression Experience. Within the theme of Interventions were the three sub themes of Getting Help (the helpful interventions), Lack of Support, (the unhelpful interventions), and the Need for Education and More Services for Postnatal Depression (the missing interventions). The helpful and unhelpful health professional interventions were examined, some were positive and helped the women to heal from postnatal depression, and others were unhelpful (or simply absent), and the women were not assisted in their recovery. A number of recommendations are made and also suggestions for further research are included as a result of the findings of this study. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Department of Clinical Nursing, 2005.

This study is a response to the reported dissatisfaction of parents with postnatal maternity care services. The study adopted an action research methodology and followed the cycle of planning, action, observation and reflection to explore the provision of education and support to parents during the early postnatal period in order to develop, implement and evaluate strategies to improve postnatal care for mothers and fathers. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2008.

This study is a response to the reported dissatisfaction of parents with postnatal maternity care services. The study adopted an action research methodology and followed the cycle of planning, action, observation and reflection to explore the provision of education and support to parents during the early postnatal period in order to develop, implement and evaluate strategies to improve postnatal care for mothers and fathers.

Thesis (PhD) -- University of Western Sydney, 2003. / " 9 December 2003." References : leaves 170 - 188.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-115).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1982. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-72).

M.Cur. / A lot of mothers and babies are being discharged earlier from the hospital because of limits with the medical aids on the length of stay. In a few ofthese cases the mother and baby were readmitted because of health problems that persisted after they had been discharge. The question arises as to where the problem lies and what are the reasons so many patients are discharged with health problems and what can be done to prevent or reduce these problems. This study investigates the health status of the mother and their health problems on being discharged. The sample came from mothers with medical aids, in the post natal unit, in a selected clinic and ready to go home. Guidelines were developed to prevent these health problems or how to handle them differently. A literature study was undertaken on the normal physiological changes that take place with the birth of the baby and after the mothers have been discharged. According to this study changes and abnormalities could be identified. An instrument was developed to assess the mother's condition on discharge and to identify possible complications that could develop at home and obstruct health promotion. The results show that some of the mothers were discharged with one or other health problem that could cause severe problems at home. The biggest problem identified was with breast-feeding as well as oedema of the feet and hands. There were also a few mothers still unsure as to how to handle their babies. Guidelines were formed to help the nursing staff to supply information for the mother on early discharge and to help prevent health problems or to lessen them. The guidelines help the mothers to know how to look for the signs and symptoms of health problems at home Recommendations were made regarding future research on this issue.