Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing
ResearchBehavioral and Psychosocial Health of New Mothers and Associations With Contextual Factors and Perceived Health
Section snippets
Behavioral and Psychosocial Aspects of Women's Postpartum Health
The behavioral (e.g., smoking) and psychosocial (e.g., depression) health aspects of postpartum women are often viewed in terms of their effects on parenting and on infants’ health and development (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012, Balbierz et al., 2015, Cook and Strachan, 1999, Field, 2010, Gress-Smith et al., 2012, Kahn et al., 2002, McLearn et al., 2006). It is equally important, however, to view the period after giving birth from a larger women's health perspective (Institute of
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships between behavioral and psychosocial domains of postpartum health, their potential common determinants such as stress, and their relationship to overall perceived health. Based on our framework and prior research, our first aim was to test the following hypotheses:
- 1.
The domains of postpartum behavioral (diet, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use) and psychosocial (depression symptoms and body image) health are related.
- 2.
The
Design, Sample, and Procedures
This is the first report of a mail survey of mothers who were identified through state birth records as having live births during a 6-month period in a metropolitan county in Texas. The survey, which was approved by the institutional review boards at the authors' university and a state health agency, was conducted between late January 2014 and mid-April 2014. A total of 600 women were selected to receive the survey questionnaire. Inclusion criteria were that mothers had a term, singleton birth
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of respondents by income group are presented in Table 1. Women in the lower income group differed from those of higher income on four demographic variables: age, education, number of children living at home, and employment status. As expected from our sampling design, race/ethnicity did not differ significantly by income level (Table 1).
Hypothesis Tests
Regarding hypothesis 1, correlations among psychosocial and behavioral domains are presented in Table 2. As hypothesized, body image, dietary
Discussion
In our sample designed to include White, African American, and Hispanic postpartum women of lower and higher incomes, race/ethnicity was not associated with income level. The sampling strategy we used allowed us to minimize a confounding of income level with race/ethnicity so that associations with race/ethnicity and income level could be examined somewhat independently of each other. Other key demographic variables such as education attainment and employment, however, were associated with
Acknowledgment
Supported in part by the Luci B. Johnson Centennial Professorship and a grant from the St. David's Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research in Underserved Populations, School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin.
Lorraine O. Walker, EdD, MPH, RN, is the Luci B. Johnson Centennial Professor in nursing, School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
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Mothers’ experiences of the relationship between body image and exercise, 0–5 years postpartum: A qualitative study
2020, Body ImageCitation Excerpt :In a study where 74 women from an antenatal program were interviewed 2.5 years after delivery, mothers with greater body dissatisfaction after pregnancy reported undertaking significantly less exercise postpartum (Harris, Ellison, & Clement, 1999). Walker et al. (2016) also reported a statistically significant negative relationship between body dissatisfaction and physical activity from a cross-sectional survey of 600 mothers. Finally, two other quantitative studies found no association between body image and exercise in early motherhood (Collings, Hill, & Skouteris, 2018; Zaman & Jami, 2016).
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2016, JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal NursingCitation Excerpt :Questionnaires in English were mailed to non-Hispanic White and African American women, and in Spanish and English to Hispanic women. In total, 168 women returned usable questionnaires, which resulted in a response rate of 32.8% (after adjusting for undeliverable mailings); further details of the survey are included in an article by Walker, Xie, Hendrickson, and Sterling (2016). The sample inclusion criteria were that women were at least 18 years of age, gave birth at term (37 completed weeks) to one living child at the time of birth, were of non-Hispanic White, African American, or Hispanic race/ethnicity, had Medicaid or private insurance as their expected payer for birth, and were residents of the Texas county where this survey was done.
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Lorraine O. Walker, EdD, MPH, RN, is the Luci B. Johnson Centennial Professor in nursing, School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Bo Xie, PhD, is an associate professor, School of Nursing and School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Sherry G. Hendrickson, PhD, APRN, BC, is an associate professor of clinical nursing, School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Bobbie S. Sterling, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor of clinical nursing, School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
The authors report no conflict of interest or relevant financial relationships.