Health-related quality of life of mothers at 12 weeks after normal vaginal delivery in selected hospitals in enugu metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The process of birth may mean extra pressure on a mother's well-being, and this could affect her health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The paucity of published Nigeria-based studies on HRQoL highlights the need to examine the HRQoL of mothers after normal vaginal delivery. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the HRQoL of mothers at 12 weeks after normal vaginal delivery in selected hospitals in Enugu metropolis. Settings: The study was carried out in one military, one private, and two university teaching hospitals within Enugu metropolis. Enugu metropolis is a city in the southeastern part of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design. All 79 participants who delivered between August and September 2015 were enrolled in the study. Adapted SF-36 questionnaire was used in measuring HRQoL. Data were collected from each participant after informed consent and ethical clearance have been obtained. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to analyse the collated data. Level of statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: The mean (standard deviation [SD]) age and parity of participants were 34.17 (5.56) years and 3 (1) children, respectively. Findings revealed that the mean (SD) HRQoL was 58.14 (15.47), but participants rated their physical functioning and role limitation due to emotional problem at score range 0–49. Conclusions: The findings demonstrated that in this group of post-partum mothers, HRQoL was moderate, amid poor physical functioning and role limitation due to emotional problem. Health-care providers should consider post-partum counselling on physical and emotional aspects of maternal health.