Contemporary psychology, Vol. 6 No. 1, 2003.
Original scientific paper
Mood changes after the delivery: baby-blues
Renata Miljević-Riđički
Abstract
More than 50% of women have some mood changes after delivery, known as baby-blues.
The aim of our research was to investigate baby-blues in our circumstances, in Croatia.We were interested in the relationship between some psychological and sociological variables and baby-blues.
A group of 99 mothers in Zagreb hospital Sveti Duh were interviewed. All of them had delivered without complications and the newborn was healthy. They were interviewed on the third day after delivery using the Blues Questionnaire written by Morsbach and Gordon and a questionnaire including psychological and sociological variables eventually related to baby-blues, specially constructed for this research.
Results indicate a significant relationship between baby-blues and the following variables:
education status lower than average, the newborn is female, expectations about the delivery; the pregnancy was planned (versus not-planned, but wanted), unwanted child. Most of our data are congruent with the data in the literature about the investigation of mood changes after delivery, but we have not found any data on the relationship between baby-blues and female gender of the newborn. It is also interesting that women who planned pregnancy show more symptoms of baby-blues then those who did not plan, but wanted a child. It could be explained in terms of expectations.
Keywords
Baby-blues; mood changes after delivery
Hrčak ID:
3226
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2003.
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