A Quantile Regression Analysis of Factors Associated with First-Time Maternal Fatigue in Korea.

Jeongok Park,Kyoungjin Lee,Chang Gi Park

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010215

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify the factors associated with different percentiles of first-time maternal fatigue. A total of 123 first-time healthy mothers aged 18 years or older participated through an online survey. The fatigue was measured by the Korean version of the fatigue severity scale. Main variables were constructed based on the integrated fatigue model, which included mothers’ sleep quality, parenting stress, the amount of free time mothers have, the number of the child’s night wakings, general characteristics including socioeconomic status, and working status. Quantile regression was used to analyze the associated factors according to the fatigue level of first-time mothers with a young child. The mean age of the mothers and children were 32.11 years and 20.81 months, respectively. Mean fatigue score was 6.16 among the 75% quantile with high fatigue score. Lack of adequate free time in mothers, advanced maternal age, being a housewife, having a moderate income, and frequent night wakings of their child significantly increased fatigue among mothers in the third quantile of fatigue. To reduce fatigue, healthcare providers should focus on exploring ways to reduce maternal sleep disturbance and improve maternal sleep quality.

Highlights

The symptom of fatigue is a common problem in women after childbirth and the prevalence of fatigue after childbirth has been reported to range from 55.0% to 69.0% [1,2].Fatigue is defined as a sign and symptom of subjective feelings of tiredness caused by changes in aspects as biological and psychosocial factors [3]
Maternal fatigue is associated with parenting stress [5], which is defined as the unpleasant experience arising from the interaction between parents and their children in the process of
The major findings of this study are as follows: (1) sleep-wake and psychological patterns such as maternal sleep quality and parenting stress were significantly associated with maternal fatigue; (2) activity-rest, individual, and environmental patterns such as free time, mother’s current age, working status, economic status, and number of the child’s night wakings were associated with a high level of fatigue

Summary

Introduction

The symptom of fatigue is a common problem in women after childbirth and the prevalence of fatigue after childbirth has been reported to range from 55.0% to 69.0% [1,2].Fatigue is defined as a sign and symptom of subjective feelings of tiredness caused by changes in aspects as biological and psychosocial factors [3]. Quality of sleep, parenting stress, and social support have been reported as key factors associated with maternal fatigue [5,6,7,8]. The quality of maternal sleep is affected by the child’s sleep pattern [9,10]. The sleeping patterns of infants is different from that of children aged 2 to 3 years old. Infants are characterized by frequent waking at night without integrated sleep owing to immature 24-h circadian rhythms [12]; sleep onsetlatency or insomnia is common in children aged 2–3 years [13]. Maternal fatigue is associated with parenting stress [5], which is defined as the unpleasant experience arising from the interaction between parents and their children in the process of

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion