[Comparison of maternal self-esteem, postpartal depression, and family function in mothers of normal and of low birth-weight infants].
OBJECTIVE
The study investigates the degree of maternal self-esteem, postpartal depression, and family function in mothers of normal and of low birth-weight infants.


METHODS
A retrospective cohort design was applied to compare the variables of interest between a group of 73 mothers with normal birth weight infants and a group of 45 mothers with low birth-weight infants, using the maternal self-report inventory(MSRV), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale(EPDS) and Family APGAR(FAPGAR).


RESULTS
The total mean score was 82.57 for MSRV, 8.45 for EPDS, and 6.83 for FAPGAR with no differences between two groups. A positive correlation was found between MSRV and FAPGAR, while a negative correlations between MSRV and EPDS, and FAPGAR and EPDS. Regardless of the direction of the relationship, the degrees of the correlations were stronger in low birth-weight mothers group than in normal group.


CONCLUSIONS
No differences in MSRV, EPDS and FAPGAR between the normal and the low birth-weight group considered as beneficial effects of the follow-up management which low birth-weight group was engaged in. This suggested the early intervention(follow-up) for the family with risk factor(low birth-weight) could reduce negative outcomes such as the impaired maternal self-esteem and family function, and the occurrence of postpartal depression, retrospectively.
Department of Nursing, Inha University, Incheon, Korea. aym@inha.ac.kr
Young-Mee
YM
Ahn
Jung-Hyun
JH
Kim