The Relationship Between Postpartum Physical Symptom Severity and Sleep Quality in Women with Cesarean Section

Relationship Between Post-Cesarean Symptoms and Sleep

Abstract

Objective: The study was conducted to examine the relationship between postpartum physical symptom severity and sleep quality in women with cesarean section.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 193 women with cesarean section in a city hospital between 14 October 2019 and 30 May 2020. Data were collected using an individual characteristics form, the Postpartum Physical Symptom Severity Scale (PPSSS), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics such as number and percentage distributions, t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis H test, Pearson’s correlation analysis and linear regression analysis.

Results: The women’s PPSSS mean score was 10.38±5.92, suggesting a low postpartum physical symptom severity. However, their most common physical symptoms in the fourth postpartum week included poor sleep quality/lack of sleep (85.5%) and perineal/incision pain (82.9%); and their least common physical symptoms included vaginal infection (9.8%) and urinary incontinence (11.4%). In addition, the women’s PSQI mean score was 8.57±3.53, and 83.9% of them had poor sleep quality.

Conclusion: There was a statistically significant positive moderate relationship between the postpartum physical symptom severity and sleep quality in women with cesarean section (r=0.438; p=0.000) (p<0.05), whereby their sleep quality decreased as their postpartum physical symptom severity increased.