The Relationship Between Fatigue and Social Support in Postpartum Women and Their Perceived Self-Efficacy Level Regarding Parenting

Background Fatigue or exhaustion is the most common complaint among mothers in the postpartum period. Fatigue can negatively impact a person’s sense of well-being. Fatigue has a negative impact on parenting behavior and disrupts the parent-child relationship, including the ability to care for and interact with the baby. Social support plays an important role in women’s health, especially in the early postpartum period when infant care is demanding. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between fatigue and social support in postpartum women and their perceived self-efficacy level regarding parenthood. Design: The descriptive correlational study was conducted in eight family health centers in Erzincan city center between May 5 and November 5, 2023. Methods : The study was carried out with 313 puerperium women who met the criteria for inclusion in the study. A survey form, the “Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS)”, “Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (MSPSS),” and the “Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale (PMPS-E)” were used to collect data. The research data were analyzed with the SPSS statistical package program. Number, percentage, mean, min-max, and Pearson’s correlation analysis were used in data evaluation. Results: The mean age of puerperal women was 29.13±4.77. The mean FAS score of puerperal women was determined as 24.09±7.84, the MSPSS total mean score was 61.23±16.96, and the PMPS-E total mean score was 69.23±9.42. A significant negative correlation was identified between the MSPSS subscales and total mean score, the PMPS-E total mean score and the reading behavior(s) subscale mean scores and the FAS mean score ( p<0.05 ). A significant positive correlation was found between puerperal women’s PMPS-E all subscales and total mean score and the MSPSS all subscales and total mean score ( p<0.05 ). Conclusions: The fatigue levels of puerperal women decrease as their perceived social support decreases and perceived parenting self-efficacy increases in the postpartum period. Furthermore, it was revealed that perceived parenting self-efficacy increases with the increasing social support levels of puerperal women.