title: Relationship between sense of coherence in final stage of pregnancy and postpartum stress reactions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, we evaluated postpartum stress using a postpartum depression scale and by measuring the level of a stress-related substance, to clarify the relationship between the stresscoping capabilities of women in the final stage of pregnancy and their postpartum stress reactions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between April 2004 and October 2004, 54 women participated in a question naire survey and the measurement of their secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) level as a stress-related substance two times in the final stage of their pregnancy (prepartum) and in their early puerperium (postpartum) was carried out. The questionnaire used in the prepartum stage included the following parameters: "basic features", "Sense of Coherence (SOC)" and "Japanese version of the self-assessment depression scale" of Zung. The questionnaire employed in the postpartum stage included the following parameters: "course of delivery", "Self-evaluation of delivery experience", and "Postpartum depression scale".
  
  
  RESULTS
  The depression score was higher and the s-IgA level was lower in the low-SOC score group than in the high-SOC score group, indicating that stress reactions were more intense in the low-SOC score group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was revealed that stress reactions were more intense for women with a low SOC score. Moreover, the finding of a relationship between the low SOC score in the prepartum stage and depressive tendency suggests that women who are likely to develop depressive tendency can be predicted in the prepartum stage, and the significance of measuring SOC in the prepartum stage is thus suggested.
authors: Division of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kamazawa University, 6-11-80 Kodatsuno, 920-0942, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, sekky@mhs.mp.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
authors: Naomi
authors: N
authors: Sekizuka
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Nakamura
authors: Keiko
authors: K
authors: Shimada
authors: Noriko
authors: N
authors: Tabuchi
authors: Yukie
authors: Y
authors: Kameda
authors: Akemi
authors: A
authors: Sakai