A Longitudinal Examination of Mothers' Early Postnatal Adaptation: Relative Stability Across the First Eight Weeks.

Objective: Using person-centered analyses, this study examined the trajectories of women's early postnatal adaptation and explored whether there were differences in their trajectories based on women's status as a first-time or more experienced mother. Methods: Data were collected from women (N = 137...

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Publicado en:Maternal & Child Health Journal Vol. 27; no. 12; pp. 2175 - 2185
Autores principales: Powell, Darcey N., Leonhardt, Nathan D.
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Springer Nature Dec2023
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Dec2023
      vid: 27
      iid: 12
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      pub: Springer Nature
      place: New York, New York
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        10.1007/s10995-023-03776-4
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        atl: A Longitudinal Examination of Mothers' Early Postnatal Adaptation: Relative Stability Across the First Eight Weeks.
      aug:
        au:
          Powell, Darcey N.
          Leonhardt, Nathan D.
        affil: https://ror.org/00jtk7j90 Psychology, Roanoke College, 221 College Lane, 24153, Salem, VA, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Adaptation, Psychological
          Postnatal Period
          Mothers
          Human
          Female
          Adult
          Parenting
          Self-Efficacy
          Personal Satisfaction
          Anxiety
          Stress, Psychological
          Depression
          Structural Equation Modeling
          Parity
          Chi Square Test
          Questionnaires
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Bivariate Statistics
          Ethnic Groups
          Residence Characteristics
          Sexual Orientation
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Female
      ab:
        Objective: Using person-centered analyses, this study examined the trajectories of women's early postnatal adaptation and explored whether there were differences in their trajectories based on women's status as a first-time or more experienced mother. Methods: Data were collected from women (N = 137; Mage = 28.6 years, SD = 4.49; 48.2% first-time mothers) at 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-weeks postpartum. At each wave of data collection, mothers reported on their parenting self-efficacy, parenting satisfaction, anxiety, parenting stress, and depressive feelings. Results: The creation of an amalgamated measure of postnatal adaptation demonstrated acceptable fit. Latent class growth analysis revealed four distinct trajectories of postnatal adaptation; two revealed stability across the early postnatal period and two had relative stability except for a change between weeks four to six. Women's parity was not associated with differences in their trajectories. Conclusions for Practice: These findings reiterate the importance of collecting data from women in the early postnatal period and identifying if a woman is struggling in those early weeks, as the women in our sample demonstrated relative stability in their postnatal adaptation across the first eight weeks. Furthermore, the findings suggest that work should be taken to dismantle the commonly held belief that parenting is "easier" after having already navigated the early postnatal period with an infant once before.
        Significance: Prior research has predominately examined one or two aspects of postnatal adaptation in each study. However, domains of postnatal adaptation (e.g., well-being, parenting satisfaction, parenting stress, and parenting self-efficacy) are associated. Furthermore, the results of studies comparing first-time and more experienced mothers' postnatal adaptation have been mixed. This study examined five aspects of women's postnatal adaptation, confirmed acceptable fit of an amalgamated measure of postnatal adaptation, revealed four distinct trajectories of postnatal adaptation, and demonstrated similarity in first-time and more experienced women' trajectories of postnatal adaptation.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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