The Relationship between Anxiety, Depression, and Vital Signs among Postpartum Mothers in Yogyakarta

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: After labor, mothers need good physiological and psychological adjustments. The inability to adapt to a new situation can result in mothers' psychological stress, eventually leading to postpartum crises and depression. If this incident is not handled, it can lead to serious mental health problems, especially postpartum psychosis to bipolar disorder. In depressed and anxious people, the body will secrete adrenal hormones, which cause vital signs such as blood pressure, body temperature, respiration, and pulse. Objectives: This study aims to find the relationship between anxiety, depression, and vital signs of postpartum mothers. Method: This study used qualitative with correlation cross-sectional design. The respondents were 60 postpartum mothers at 0-6 months postpartum in Yogyakarta recruited using purposive sampling techniques. The instrument used to measure postpartum maternal depression was The Back Depression Inventory version II and State Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to measure anxiety. Data analysis used Pearson to find the relationship between anxiety, depression, and vital signs. Results: The ttest analysis shows there were relationship between state and trait anxiety with a pulse (p-value = 0.00), respiration (p-value = 0.00), depression with a pulse (the pvalue = 0.00) and respiration (p-value 0.00). Discussion: Anxiety and depression can be detected from the changes in the vital signs of postpartum mothers so that early detection by health workers can prevent anxiety and depression Keywords: anxiety, depression, postpartum, and vital signs.