Aims and objectives: The purpose of this study was to test further and validate the postpartum stress scale developed for Taiwanese women.
Background: The postpartum stress scale was developed to measure postpartum stress in Taiwanese women. However, over the last decade, the social context in Taiwan has changed and several items in the scale needed to be re-examined.
Design: Non-experimental quantitative research with repeated measures at the first and fifth week of the postpartum period was conducted for this study.
Methods: A proportional stratified quota was used to sample from the 10 hospitals and six clinics with the highest birth rates in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Participants were 505 and 518 postpartum women at each time point, respectively.
Results: Factor analysis at two points in time identified three attributes of postpartum stress: (a) maternal role attainment, (b) lack of social support, and (c) negative body changes. The Cronbach's alphas at each time point were 0.94 and 0.92, respectively.
Conclusions: The results support the postpartum stress scale as a validated instrument that has been conceptualized, created, and tested with Taiwanese postpartum women.
Relevance to clinical practice: This study was done in the hope that women experiencing specific postpartum stressors would be detected and subsequently helped by supportive nursing intervention that provides stressor-specific coping resources.