The Relationship between Perceived Social Support from Family and Postpartum Empowerment with Maternal Wellbeing in the postpartum period

Introduction: To improve mothers and children's health, the World Health Organization has emphasized on women's empowerment and enhancement of their well-being. It is of paramount importance for the individuals to have an assessment of social support and self-empowerment in the sensitive moments after childbirth. This study therefore aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived social support from family and postpartum empowerment with maternal wellbeing in the postpartum period. Methods: In this descriptive study 358 women who were in 24-48 hours after delivery were included in the study. The social support was measured by Perceived Social Family Scale. The health status and women's empowerment were also evaluated with self-structured questionnaires. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The mean scores of well-being, perceived social support from family and the empowerment of women were 12.9±5.8, 15±3.7, and 70.3±13.5, respectively. The results showed that the score of perceived social support from family had a direct relationship with mothers’ well-being score. Moreover, there was a significant correlation of 0.55 between the postpartum empowerment and perceived support from family. Conclusion: Since there is a direct relationship between postpartum empowerment and perceived support from the family, to enhance the well-being of mothers in this memorable period, providing required training for families and health care personnel is recommended.