Influence of employment characteristics on postpartum mothers' health.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Over half of mothers with infants under one year are employed. This study explored the work experiences of women who returned to employment during the first year and the relationship of employment characteristics to maternal health. DESIGN/METHODS: Longitudinal, repeated measures during pregnancy and 1,4, 8, and 12 months postpartum. Data on employment characteristics and health status gathered between 1990-95 by questionnaire from 149 employed, partnered women residing in a large urban area in the northwestern United States. RESULTS: Work-family interference increased significantly between pregnancy and each postpartum occasion (p <.001). Between 19-34% of the variance in health status at each measurement occasion was explained by employment characteristics. Work-family interference consistently contributed to the variance in health status. CONCLUSIONS: New models are needed to further understand the complex interplay of work and family lives.

Women and employment: a decade review.

Contemporary women fulfill multiple social roles: wife or partner, parent and caregiver to elders, worker in the labor force. This chapter focuses on women and employment. Nursing research from the past decade on women and their role in the work force, with emphasis on the relationships between paid work and women's other social roles and their health is reviewed. Major categories of nursing research contributions are summarized, including populations studied, methodological approaches, and major findings. Suggestions for emphases in future research are included.

Postpartum return to work: mothering stress, anxiety, and gratification.

Over half of mothers with infants less than 1 year old are employed, yet there is limited research examining the early parenting experiences of these women. The purpose of this study was to examine maternal gratification, stress, and separation anxiety, in relation to employment patterns and selected health-status indicators, of women returning to work during the first postpartum year. Data were gathered from 142 employed, well-educated, partnered, predominantly Caucasian women at 1, 4, and 8 months postpartum, using a mailed questionnaire. Their parenting experiences improved throughout the first postpartum year. While depression and fatigue were associated with greater parenting stress and anxiety, as well as a decreased sense of gratification from parenting, few women experienced these symptoms at clinically significant levels. Employment patterns were unrelated to parenting stress or gratification. These findings can be used by clinicians when counselling women regarding the decision to return to work after childbirth.

Working during pregnancy: psychological stressor or asset?

Nearly half of women continue working during at least part of pregnancy. Health promotion for the pregnant client includes a focus on the impact of work on her health and the health of her fetus. Concerns about environmental hazards in the workplace, workplace stressors, and a non-supportive work environment contribute to the psychological vulnerability of the pregnant worker. However, working can also provide the pregnant woman with important health resources. Because of the potential of work during pregnancy to be both a stressor and a benefit, individualized assessment and counseling for each pregnant woman is indicated.

A randomized trial of electronic fetal monitoring in preterm labor: mothers' views.

To determine if perceptions of preterm labor and birth differed between women who were monitored by electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) or by periodic auscultation, 135 subjects were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups on admission to a tertiary perinatal care setting. The first group received external monitoring by continuous Doppler and tocodynamometer when membranes were intact, and with an internal fetal scalp electrode and pressure catheter once membranes were ruptured. The second group received periodic monitoring with a DeLee fetoscope or amplified Doppler. All women were cared for on a one-to-one basis by expert study nurses. Subjects completed a questionnaire about their labor experience during their postpartum hospital stay. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups on the study measures [T2(7,81) = 13.65; F = 1.82; P greater than 0.05]. Forty-four percent of the variance in women's global evaluation of labor was explained by their perceptions of nursing support. These findings suggest that mothers' perceptions of their preterm labor are less influenced by the technologic interventions used than by the supportive care received from nurses.

The effect of infant formula samples on breastfeeding practice.

To determine whether infant formula samples affect breastfeeding practice, 95 breastfeeding mothers were randomly assigned to receive or not receive formula samples on discharge from a postpartum unit. Unaware of the specific nature of the study, these mothers were interviewed by telephone six to seven weeks postpartum by an investigator blind to the randomization status. Although more women who had discontinued breastfeeding were among the group who had received samples than those who had not received samples, the difference was not statistically significant. Significant differences were not found in three subgroups hypothesized to be more vulnerable to the samples: less educated women, primiparas, and women who were ill postpartum.