A Study on the Women's Need during early Postpartum

Abstract

This study sought to figure out women's needs during early postpartum for developing adequate nursing intervention toward postpartal women's healthy adaptation.A convenience sample of 89 women who are in the early postpartal period and admitted in a university hospital located in Seoul. Korea was studied from July 1. 1999 to August 13, 1999.1. The age group of 26-30 years was 52.8% and the level of education above high school, 91%. 67,6% of women had no job, 62.9% had experienced one time of delivery, and 52.8% had no experience of abortion.2. 31.5% of women received prenatal education, 44.9% only postpartal education. 77.5% of women planned breast feeding, and 53.9% of women had an experience of breast feeding during hospital stay. For the feeling of confidence related to the self care. 27% only expressed 'yes. I have' and 59.5% 'just a little bit'. For the feeling of confidence related to the baby rearing, 29.2% only expressed 'yes. I have' and 60.7% 'just a little bit'.3. The rate of postpartal women's mother as a preferred non-professional care giver was the highest. 75.3%. The rate of the style of Sanhwori highly preferred and planned at this time was at postpartal women's maiden home or her home with mother. 58.4%. 47.7% respectively. It shows that women still wish to have traditional Sanhujori at home.4. The mean of nursing need of postpartal women was 4.25 and it means that universally the degree of nursing need during postpartum is still high. General nursing need(4.29) was higher than that of traditional Sanhujori (4.09), however, the need of Sanhujori is still high.5. Specifically. the degree of nursing need according to the category of needs was 'educational need for baby rearing.' 4.43; 'ermtional-psychological care'. 4.41; ,envirorurental care.' 4.31: 'self-care,' 4.14; and 'physical care.' 3.85 in rank. The educational need score of the specific method about Sanhujori (4.35) was second to the highest among 15 items of self-care.6. The related factors to the degree of nursing need were age to physical care; educational level, plan of breast feeding and experience of breast feeding during hospital stay to emotional-psychological care; and the feeling of confidence in baby rearing to environmental care.7. There was highly positive correlation between the degree of traditional Sanhtdori need and general care need(r = .77).This result strongly reflects that there is a necessity of professional care givers' capability to consider the integrative care reflecting the socio-cultural need for women's healthy adaptation during postpartum. It provides a challenge to the professional care givers to research further on the effects of Sanhtdori on the health status, health recovery after abortion or delivery from the various aspects through the cross-sectional and longitudinal research for the refinement of the reality of Sanhtdori not only as cultural phenomenon but as an inseparable factor influencing on women's postpartal healthy adaptation and for the appropriateness of intervention and quality of care for desirable health outcome.