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Background
Understanding modifiable factors that influence postpartum dietary habits and lifestyle is key to improve women's health after childbirth. Certain traditional practices still exist among postpartum women in Asian countries. However, only limited research has been done to understand postpartum women's perceptions on dietary habits and lifestyle among Korean or Chinese women.
Objective
To investigate and compare common postpartum practices and conditions including dietary behaviors, nutrition education, postpartum depression, and child care stress among Korean and Chinese postpartum women (between 0 and 6-months after childbirth).
Study Design, Settings, Participants
Total 221 women in Korea (Gyeonggi region) and 221 women in China (Jinhua region) completed a survey from November 2018 to January 2019.
Measurable Outcome/Analysis
A series of self-report questionnaires were administered to assess new mothers’ lifestyle routines, postpartum depression, and stress level after childbirth. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, Chi-square, and Pearson's correlation, using SPSS 25.0.
Results
The majority of Korean women (63.3%) reported that they take seaweed as the first meal after childbirth, while Chinese women (70.2%) reported that they choose porridge and noodle at the same time. Chinese women reported that they follow a traditional dietary regimen after childbirth for 22-28 days, compared to 7-14 days reported by Korean women (X² = 275.40, P < .001). Even though the majority of the participants from both countries reported that they need nutrition education, Korean women reported a stronger desire for such education (t = 4.85, P < .001). There was a significant correlation between postpartum exercise and reducing stress (P < .05) in participants from both countries. The overall satisfaction with quality of life and husband's support had a significantly negative correlation with postpartum stress (P < .001).
Conclusion
Traditional culture is an important factor that influences perceptions of postpartum women in Korea and China. Culturally tailored nutrition education and exercise programs may benefit Korean and Chinese women after childbirth.
Funding
None.
Article info
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc.
