Abstract:
The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to compare maternal role adaptation during the postpartal period between primigravidas who received nursing empowerment program (NE program) and those who received conventional nursing care. The sample was obtained from primigravidas who attended the prenatal clinic and were admitted to the postpartum ward at Suratthani Hospital. Twenty subjects each were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The groups were matched with regard to age and educational level. Majority of the subjects was adult mothers (60.0%), completed high school or less (75.0%), and had average monthly family income leass than ฿10,000 (85.0%). Research instrument included 1) NE program lesson plan and handbook and 2) maternal role adaptation questionnaire. The instruments were content validated and tested for reliability (Cronbach alpha 0.82). Data were analyzed by using independent t-test. The finding revealed that the maternal role adaptation during the postpartal period in primigravidas who received NE program was significantly higher than those who received conventional nursing care (t = -4.86, p < .05). Furthermore, the maternal role adaptation in the aspects of mother-infant attachment and infant care were significantly different between the experiment and control group (t = -4.03 and t = -4.55, p < .05). The finding suggests that NE program could be implemented in order to enhance maternal role adaptation during the postpartal period especially for the primigravidas.