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| Author | Denise Ciappara |
| Abstract | The postnatal period and the transition to motherhood are marked with emotional changes and an increase in emotional stress. Whilst adjusting to their new role, the mothers might experience negative changes which affect their emotional well being. This demands ongoing attention from the health care professionals to detect any emotional disturbances. In the light of this, this quantitative research study was aimed at investigating the emotional wellbeing of the mothers following childbirth. A sample of 20 Maltese women from the postnatal ward was selected by a convenience sample in the local hospital. The purpose was to examine the changes in the emotional wellbeing during the postpartum period. The objective was to compare the changes in emotional wellbeing whilst in hospital and in the community. A questionnaire was administered twice to the same mothers, once whilst in hospital and then in the community. The response rate was 100% (n=20). The findings of this study suggested that factors increasing emotional stress were more prevalent in the community. Besides, first time mothers were found to have the highest levels of stress and postnatal blues when compared to mothers who had already experienced motherhood. This suggests that community care needs to be improved/extended to ensure early detection of emotional disturbances and thus ensure the provision of adequate emotional support in the postpartum period. |
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| Key words | Emotional Wellbeing, Mothers, Childbirth, Postnatal, Thesis |