Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Donna Bailey

Abstract

Postpartum depression affects many women globally, yet largely remains underdiagnosed. It is thus important for nurses to have all available tools when delivering education and care to the postpartum patient. Yet, there is a lack of information on the experiences of postpartum women related to postpartum education and postpartum depression. The purposes of this quantitative study, for which Beck's postpartum theory was the framework, were to explore postpartum women's perceptions of education experiences and to determine if a correlation exists between the satisfaction with education and scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Sixty study participants who were 6-8 weeks postpartum completed the questionnaire, with 22 participants meeting the inclusion criteria of being between the ages of 18-40 and not formally diagnosed with depression or postpartum depression in the past. Study participants completed a demographics survey, the modified client satisfaction tool, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale on the Survey Monkey website. Data from the modified client satisfaction tool analyzed with a scatter plot revealed that there was an uneven distribution of satisfaction scores. Spearman's rho correlation analysis revealed no statically significant correlation between the satisfaction of study participants and the development of postpartum depressive symptoms. The findings may encourage future researchers to examine whether there is a connection between low satisfaction and the development of postpartum depressive symptoms. The implications for social change include providing a greater understanding of postpartum depression and how healthcare workers and families can better support postpartum patients.

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