title: Relationship between fatigue and sleepiness with general health of mothers in the postpartum period.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fatigue and changes in sleep patterns are one of the impressive features in the first year after birth, which have negative effects on work, family life, and social relationships. Therefore, the objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between fatigue and Stanford sleepiness with the general health of mothers in the postpartum period.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current research is a descriptive correlational study which was performed on 190 mothers between 2 and 24 postpartum weeks, referring to the health centers of Isfahan in 2014. All mothers meeting the inclusion criteria were selected through cluster purposive sampling. Data were collected by use of four questionnaires including profile and fertility, fatigue, Stanford sleepiness, and general health. Data were analyzed by statistical tests at a significance level of ≤0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that 5.3%, 59.5%, and 35.3% of subjects had mild, moderate, and severe fatigue, respectively. In addition, 26.3% of women showed a public health disorder, and according to Stanford sleepiness, 20.5% of subjects had sleepiness. The statistical results indicated that there were significant relationships between fatigue (P ≤ 0.001, r = 0.52) and Stanford sleepiness (P = 0.04, r = 0.14), and mothers' general health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to prevalence of fatigue and sleepiness in the postpartum period and its relationship with maternal health, application of sleep health education and appropriate counseling during pregnancy and after delivery is recommended to prevent mothers' mental complications in order to achieve a safe pregnancy.
authors: Student Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors: Nafiseh
authors: N
authors: Khayamim
authors: Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors: Parvin
authors: P
authors: Bahadoran
authors: Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors: Tayebeh
authors: T
authors: Mehrabi
keywords: Fatigue; Iran; Stanford sleepiness; postpartum; public health