New Assessment Tool—Postpartum Functional Assessment Questionnaire

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Functional status of the mother after delivery is crucial for performing activities of daily living and caring for the newborn. It is important to assess functional abilities after childbirth in order to improve the quality of postpartum care. The aim of this study is to determine the psychometric properties of the questionnaire and assess the functional abilities after childbirth. Materials and Methods: This study is observational. Postpartum Functional Assessment Questionnaire includes eleven items. 301 women after childbirth, 234 after vaginal birth and 67 after caesarean section participated in the study. An assessment of pain intensity and functional abilities was performed on the first and third day after childbirth. The Factor and Cronbach’s alpha analyses were performed to determine the factor structure and internal consistency. Results: The analysis reveals two factors, with seven items loading on factor 1 and four on factor 2. Cronbach’s alpha for construct I (Mobility) at the first day was 0.927 and at the third day was 0.913; and for Factor II (Self-care) at the first day was 0.846 and at the third day was 0.894. All between-group differences in pain intensity and functional abilities were highly statistically significant (p < 0.001). Differences between the first and third postpartum day were statistically significant for all variables and all subgroups (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Postpartum Functional Assessment Questionnaire has good psychometric properties and is a valuable tool for use in clinical practice.