Maternal fatigue during the postpartum period

The purpose of this study was to describe maternal fatigue during the first six weeks postpartum. Forty-eight healthy, primiparous mothers who experienced uncomplicated vaginal births in a large urban hospital were asked to complete the Maternal Piper Fatigue Scale during their hospital stay, and at two and six weeks postpartum. Fatigue intensity was relatively high at two days and two weeks, but had significantly declined to a relatively "normal" level by six weeks postpartum. However, 25% of the mothers were still reporting "severe" fatigue at six weeks. The contributing factors most frequently identified by the mothers were labour and delivery issues (2 days), sleep pattern disturbances, and infant care issues (2 & 6 weeks). Rest, sleep, and instrumental support were consistently identified by mothers as helping alleviate their fatigue during the first six weeks postpartum