title: The natural evolution of postpartum fatigue among a group of primiparous women.
abstract: A prospective, longitudinal study was conducted to examine the natural evolution of levels of fatigue, as measured by the Visual Analogue Scale-F, among a group of 36 primiparous women during the first 6 weeks postpartum. The results revealed that this group of women experienced higher levels of morning fatigue across the 6 weeks than had previously been reported. Their morning fatigue peaked at 4 weeks and then slowly decreased. At the 6th week, the group mean for morning fatigue was 1.42 points (on a 100-point scale) lower than at the 1st week postpartum, suggesting women do not completely recover from the effects of pregnancy, childbirth, and transition to parenthood by 6 weeks postpartum. Maternal age and length of labor were found to be significantly related to the levels of fatigue and energy at various times during the 6 week postpartum period.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA. ntroy@cms.cc.wayne.edu
authors.forename: N W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Troy
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dalgas-Pelish
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018450:Disease Progression; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires