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Measuring perinatal and postpartum quality of life of women and associated factors in semi-urban Bangladesh

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to measure the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among pregnant women in the perinatal and postpartum periods and determine influencing factors that predict their HRQoL.

Methods

The study was conducted among pregnant women who live in a semi-urban area of Chandpur, Bangladesh. A total of 465 women were recruited. The EuroQoL 5-Dimension 3-Level (EQ-5D-3L) and EuroQoL visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) instruments were used to measure the HRQoL of participants. Two-sample mean test (t test) was performed to examine the changes in HRQoL between the perinatal and postnatal periods of the same individuals. Multivariate linear regression was employed to identify the factors influencing HRQoL during the two periods.

Results

Overall, the HRQoL scores improved significantly from the perinatal (0.49) to postpartum (0.86) period. Approximately 58% of women experienced moderate or extreme levels of health problems during the perinatal period regardless of their health status. However, most women had significantly improved health status in the postpartum period. Gestational weight gain and recommended postnatal care were significantly associated with improved HRQoL. Factors that negatively influenced changes in HRQoL included adolescent motherhood, caesarean delivery, inadequate antenatal care consultations and living in a poor household, during both the perinatal and postpartum periods.

Conclusions

Overall health status is found to be poor among women during the perinatal period compared with the postpartum period. The study indicates that interventions to address the influencing factors are needed to ensure better quality of life for women both pre- and post-birth. Community-based initiatives, such as awareness building, might address negative factors and subsequently improve health status and reduce adverse health outcomes related to pregnancy and postnatal care.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the funding body “Grand Challenges Explorations of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation”. We would like to thank the women who participated in this study. Finally, we would like to gratefully acknowledge that study participant recruitment was facilitated and supported by the Maternal and Child Welfare Centre (MCWC), Chandpur, Bangladesh.

Funding

The present study was funded by Grand Challenges Explorations of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Grant Number was OPP1118550.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health Economics and Policy Research, Centre for Health, Informatics and Economic Research, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia

    Rashidul Alam Mahumud, Khorshed Alam & Jeff Gow

  2. School of Commerce, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia

    Rashidul Alam Mahumud, Khorshed Alam & Jeff Gow

  3. Health Economics and Financing Research, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Rashidul Alam Mahumud, Nausad Ali, Nurnabi Sheikh, Raisul Akram & Abdur Razzaque Sarker

  4. School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa

    Jeff Gow

  5. Population Studies Division, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Abdur Razzaque Sarker

  6. Department of Management Science, University of Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, UK

    Abdur Razzaque Sarker

  7. Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Marufa Sultana

  8. School of Health & Social Development, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

    Marufa Sultana

Authors
  1. Rashidul Alam Mahumud
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  2. Nausad Ali
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  3. Nurnabi Sheikh
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  4. Raisul Akram
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  5. Khorshed Alam
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  6. Jeff Gow
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  7. Abdur Razzaque Sarker
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  8. Marufa Sultana
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Contributions

Conceptualised the study: RAM, ARS and MS. Contributed data extraction and analyses: RAM, under the guidance of ARS, KA and JG. Result interpretation: RAM, under the guidance of ARS, KA, JG and MS. Prepared the first draft: RAM. Contributed during the conceptualisation and interpretation of results and substantial revision: RAM, NA, NS, RA, ARS, MS, KA and JG. Revised and finalised the final draft manuscript: RAM, NA, NS, RA, ARS, MS, KA and JG. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rashidul Alam Mahumud.

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Mahumud, R.A., Ali, N., Sheikh, N. et al. Measuring perinatal and postpartum quality of life of women and associated factors in semi-urban Bangladesh. Qual Life Res 28, 2989–3004 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02247-0

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