Postpartum follow-ups of puerperant and the effect of follow-ups on quality of life

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the postpartum follow-ups of the puerperant and the effect of the follow-ups on quality of life. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with a questionnaire including questions regarding sociodemographic data and postpartum follow-ups and the "Postpartum Quality of Life Scale", applied with a questionnaire under observation method, for women between the ages of 18-49 who were followed up in 4 FHCs (family health centers) and were in the puerperium period between October 2018 and March 2019. During the study, the questionnaire was applied to a total of 142 people who met the criteria. Those who did not completely fill in the Questionnaire and Scale were not included, and the remaining 118 questionnaires were taken under evaluation. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 package program. The level of statistical significance was accepted as p <0.05. Results: The mean age of the 118 puerperant included in the study was 29.04±5.55 (min: 19-max: 43). The mean score of all participants for the MAPP-QOL was 19.70 ± 3.90. Among sociodemographic and obstetric data, only the relationship between income status and place of birth and PQLS was found to be statistically significant (p <0.05). In this study, no significant correlation was found between other sociodemographic (age, educational status, number of children, occupation) and obstetric data (number of pregnancies, number of births, last birth type, number of controls at last birth, knowing the number of postpartum follow-ups) and the mean score of the MAPP-QOL (p> 0.05). The relationship between the postpartum follow-ups and the MAPP-QOL was also examined. A significant correlation was detected between general status assessment at the first follow-up -a vital follow-up once every 15 minutes and a uterine examination once every 15 minutes, an hourly hemorrhage examination at the second follow-up -uterine control and Hb measurement, general body examination at the fourth follow-up, questioning of complaints at the fifth follow-up and general body examination, briefing about contraception at the sixth follow-up and the MAPP-QOL score. There was no significant relationship between the other follow-up steps and the MAPP-QOL scores. Conclusion: The quality of life of the puerperant included in this study was found to be medium high according to the MAPP-QOL. It was observed that the puerperant were less involved in the follow-ups in the late postpartum period. In order to increase the participation rate of all low follow-ups and increase the effect of follow-ups on quality of life by increasing their quality, the knowledge and competence of health workers should be increased. We believe that this can be achieved by further including postpartum follow-up in the curriculum before graduation and providing training about follow-ups after graduation. Keywords: Postpartum, Quality of Life, Puerperant