Purpose
This study investigated the physical and emotional health of South Korean mothers of preterm infants in the early postpartum period.
Methods
In this descriptive correlational study, the participants included 91 mothers of preterm infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in South Korea. Physical health status was measured using a self-reported questionnaire, postpartum depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and guilt using a 4-item scale.
Results
Fatigue had the highest score among mothers' physical health problems, followed by shoulder pain, nipple pain, neck pain. The average postpartum depression score was 11.02 points, and 44% of women had postpartum depression with a score of 12 or above. Postpartum depression significantly was correlated with physical health (r=.35, p=.001), anxiety (r=.84, p<.001), and guilt (r=.75, p<.001) and was significantly higher for women with multiple births, and preterm infants who required ventilator and antibiotic treatment. Anxiety also showed a significant difference according to preterm infants’ condition.
Conclusion
The significant correlations between postpartum depression and physical health, anxiety, and guilt indicate a need for nursing interventions that provide integrated management of mothers’ physical and emotional health.

Citations

• Physical Problems, Fatigue, and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Experienced by Women in the First 48 Hours of Postpartum Period
  Yasemin Erkal Aksoy, Bihter Akin, Sema Dereli Yilmaz
  Nursing & Health Sciences.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Extending the concept of moral distress to parents of infants hospitalized in the NICU: a qualitative study in Greece
  Polychronis Voultsos, Maria Arabatzi, Maria Deligianni, Alexandra K. Tsaroucha
  BMC Psychology.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Factors associated with posttraumatic stress and anxiety among the parents of babies admitted to neonatal care: a systematic review
  Reem Malouf, Sian Harrison, Victoria Pilkington, Charles Opondo, Chris Gale, Alan Stein, Linda S. Franck, Fiona Alderdice
  BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef