title: [Effects of laughter therapy on postpartum fatigue and stress responses of postpartum women].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of laughter therapy on postpartum fatigue and stress responses of postpartum women.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research design was a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design. The participants were 67 postpartum women who agreed to participate in this study, selected by convenience sampling: (experiment group-33 and control group-34). The data were collected from August 5 to September 30, 2010. The experimental group received laughter therapy from a laughter therapy expert for 60 min, twice a week for 2 weeks, a total of 4 sessions. To evaluate the effects of laughter therapy, postpartum fatigue by self-report questionnaire and cortisol concentration in breast milk were measured. The data were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 13.0 Program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first hypothesis that "the degree of postpartum fatigue in the experimental group participating in laughter therapy would be lower than that of the control group" was accepted. These findings indicate that laughter therapy has a positive effect on decreasing postpartum fatigue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The finding provides evidence for use of complementary and alternative nursing in Sanhujori facilities and obstetric units to reduce postpartum women's fatigue.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing Scienc, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea. suksh@khu.ac.kr
authors.forename: Hye Sook
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Kyung Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Young A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005221:Fatigue / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D027641:Laughter Therapy; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D049590:Postpartum Period; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone