DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT

7 Users found this project useful

Impact of Postpartum Support Services on Maternal Wellbeing among New Mothers in Nigeria

Abstract

The postpartum period is an important stage in the health and wellbeing of women following childbirth. New mothers may experience physical discomfort, fatigue, sleep difficulties, breastfeeding challenges, emotional changes, social adjustment, and increased caregiving responsibilities during this period. In Nigeria, inadequate access to postpartum healthcare, limited social support, financial constraints, cultural expectations, insufficient postpartum education, and poor continuity of maternal care may affect the wellbeing of new mothers. Postpartum support services provide an opportunity to address these challenges through maternal health education, breastfeeding support, counselling, psychological support, home visits, peer support, referral services, and follow-up care. However, limited availability of postpartum services, inadequate healthcare personnel, poor referral systems, financial barriers, and limited awareness of available support may reduce their effectiveness. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of postpartum support services on maternal wellbeing among new mothers in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Social Support Theory, Health Belief Model, and Health Promotion Model. Social Support Theory explains how emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal support from healthcare providers, family members, peers, and community networks may influence maternal wellbeing during the postpartum period. The Health Belief Model explains how mothers' perceptions of postpartum health risks, perceived benefits of support services, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their utilization of available postpartum services. The Health Promotion Model emphasizes individual experiences, interpersonal influences, perceived benefits and barriers, and behavioural factors that influence health-promoting practices and wellbeing. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how postpartum support services may influence maternal wellbeing among new mothers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative analytical cross-sectional or quasi-experimental research design. The study population will comprise women who have recently given birth and are within the defined postpartum period in selected communities and healthcare facilities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, local government areas, communities, healthcare facilities, and eligible new mothers. Postpartum support services will be assessed using indicators such as availability and frequency of postpartum follow-up, maternal health education, breastfeeding support, counselling, psychological support, home visits, peer-support activities, family support education, referral services, postpartum complication assessment, and access to healthcare professionals. Maternal wellbeing will be assessed using indicators such as physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, sleep quality, perceived stress, social functioning, confidence in maternal care, satisfaction with postpartum support, ability to perform daily activities, and overall self-reported wellbeing. Where appropriate, validated maternal wellbeing or postpartum wellbeing assessment instruments will be used. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, validated wellbeing assessment tools, postpartum clinic records, home-visit records, referral registers, and relevant maternal health programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to postpartum support services, and maternal wellbeing outcomes. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of postpartum support services on maternal wellbeing. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, maternal wellbeing scores before and after exposure to structured postpartum support services may be compared, while relevant demographic, socioeconomic, obstetric, and healthcare-access factors are appropriately controlled. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that postpartum support services have a significant positive impact on maternal wellbeing among new mothers in Nigeria. Mothers who receive regular and comprehensive postpartum support are expected to demonstrate better physical, emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing than mothers with limited access to postpartum support. Breastfeeding assistance, maternal health education, counselling, home visits, peer support, and timely referral may help mothers manage postpartum challenges, recognize health problems early, improve confidence in caring for their newborns, and adapt more effectively to the demands of motherhood. Emotional and informational support may also reduce feelings of isolation and stress during the postpartum period. However, inadequate healthcare staffing, financial barriers, geographical distance, cultural expectations, limited family support, poor continuity of care, and low awareness of available postpartum services may reduce their effectiveness. The study therefore expects accessible, continuous, culturally appropriate, and comprehensive postpartum support services to contribute significantly to improved maternal wellbeing among new mothers in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on postpartum support services, maternal wellbeing, postpartum care, maternal health, breastfeeding support, maternal mental wellbeing, community-based maternal healthcare, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health, hospitals, primary healthcare centres, maternal and child health programmes, healthcare professionals, community health workers, women's health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening postpartum care. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for expanding postpartum follow-up services, strengthening home-based postpartum support, improving breastfeeding and maternal health counselling, increasing access to psychosocial support, strengthening referral and continuity-of-care systems, training healthcare workers in comprehensive postpartum care, and integrating maternal wellbeing assessment into routine postpartum services across Nigeria.

Keywords: Postpartum support services, maternal wellbeing, new mothers, postpartum care, maternal health, breastfeeding support, psychosocial support, maternal wellbeing, postpartum healthcare, Nigeria, public health.