Objective: This study aims to
ascertain the prevalence of fatigue and depression from early postpartum to 1
month after delivery among postpartum women with mental disorders. Methods: The participants of this study were postpartum women who had delivered a child
after a full-term pregnancy and were suffering from a mental disorder. We
administered the Postpartum Fatigue Scale (PFS) on days 1, 3, and 4 (to
multiparas), and 1, 3, and 5 (to primiparas), and 1 month after delivery to all
participants. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Japanese
version, was also administered at the same time intervals as PFS except on day
3 after delivery. Results: A total of 7 primiparas and 9 multiparas
participated in this study. The average age was 29.0 ± 7.0 years in primiparas
and 32.0 ± 4.0 years in multiparas. The PFS scores were higher among the
primiparas and peaked at day 1, and more than half the primiparas scored more
than 9 points in EPDS. In addition, the EPDS score at 1 month had a strong
correlation with the PFS subscale “mental stress situation” (r = 0.818/p = 0.047). In multiparas, the
percentage of women who scored more than 9 points decreased. However, their
EPDS scores at 1 month were related to the total scores of the PFS, “physical
stress situation”, “mental stress situation”, and “sleep deprivation situation”. Especially, the score of “sleep deprivation situation” was higher than
those during hospitalization. Conclusion: There was more fatigue 1 month
after the discharge among postpartum women with mental disorders. The
percentage of women whose EPDS scores were more than 9 points was high in both
primiparas and multiparas. This study suggests assisting primiparas and multiparas
by controlling the former’s disorder during childcare, and using family support
for the latter, so that they get time to rest.