ASSESSMENT OF WOMEN'S POSTPARTAL ADAPTATION AS INDICATOR OF VULNERABILITY TO DEPRESSION.

Abstract

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.