In search of health: quality of life among postpartum Palestinian women.
OBJECTIVE
The postpartum period is a very important period for the health of the mother and the newborn. Despite its importance, research on this period is limited and tends to be more focused on biomedical aspects of the postpartum period. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, little is known regarding women's postpartum wellbeing. This study utilizes the Maternal Postpartum Quality-of-Life instrument to assess Palestinian women's postpartum quality of life and the factors associated with variations in their quality-of-life scores.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey utilizing the adapted Maternal Postpartum Quality-of-Life Questionnaire was completed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory with a final sample size of 1020 women.


RESULTS
The mean overall quality-of-life score for the sample was 21.53 (maximum = 30), suggesting that women are slightly satisfied with their lives in the postpartum period. Main variations in quality-of-life scores were associated with regional district, refugee status, the loss of a relative due to Israeli occupation violence, standard of living and pregnancy wantedness.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study highlight the diversity and complexity of the social context, in particular the region where women live, and the issue of pregnancy wantedness in postpartum quality of life. They also call into question the services currently offered to postpartum women.
Hammoudeh
Weeam
W
Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University, PO Box 154, Ramallah, West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territory. whammoudeh@birzeit.edu
Mataria
Awad
A
Wick
Laura
L
Giacaman
Rita
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018912:Arabs; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel; D008875:Middle Aged; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012036:Refugees; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014754:Violence; D014930:Women; D055815:Young Adult