• Health Policy and Management
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.585-598
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• 2011

This study was conducted to examine the trend of national health insurance service use with relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium among pregnant and postpartum women older than 35 over the last decade. A descriptive analysis was conducted, using the data which were drawn from the "nationwide claim database of Korean National Health Insurance Corporation(NHIC)". Data were composed of the total cases related to pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium (International Classification of Disease, $10^{th}$revision [ICD-10] codes O00-O99) from 2001 to 2008. During 2001-2008, the number of pregnant and postpartum women older than 35 had continuously increased and the percentage of them also had increased in both hospital and ambulatory care. There are similar trends in their total use of national health insurance service and total expenditure. According to demographic characteristics, there was the biggest increase of the percentage in residents in large cities, self-employed workers, ones in the highest income level. According to ICD-10 codes, there was the biggest increase of the percentage in O10-O16 (oedema, proteinuria and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium). According to the major prevalent disease, there was the biggest increase of the percentage in O60 (preterm labor and delivery). Throughout the past decade, the necessity has been emphasized of supporting pregnant and postpartum women older than 35. But in maternal and child health care, they are in an early stage of development. The findings of this study would be helpful in developing the support programs for the aged pregnant and postpartum women.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.432-447
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• 1994

Koreans are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in America. Adjsting to life in foreign country produces a great deal of stress. Differences in culture, language, expectation and social behavior can lead to misunderstandings. The pregnancy and delivery event is one of maturational crisis in life cycle. The purpose of this research was to understand the structure of the lived experience of pregnant women and postpartum mothers who had immigrated to the United States. The research question was "What is the structure of the experience of pregnant women and postpartal mothers?" The sample consisted of 16 women registrated at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of one local clinic in Hawaii. The unstructured interviews were carried out from Jnuary 5, through January, 30, 1994. They were audio-recorded and analyzed using Van Kaam's method. There are different views on the causative factors of stress. Maladjustement to the immigrant life, spousal conflicts, anxiety related to bringing up the bay and conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are considered to be related factors. The experiences of pregnant women over the period of the pregnancy can be varied and can include change of body image, emotional and physical change. The experiences of postpartum mothers over the postpartum period can be varied and can include postpartum depression emotional irritability, fear related to bringing up the baby and disappointment with husband. Positive experiences over the period of pregnancy and postpartum were the strengthen-ing beliefs. Sources of support were, first, spouse then mother and faith. Support was also received from the physician in charge and through self-control. The nurse, by providing empathetic support, should be a person with whom they can express their feelings and share their experiences.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.152-158
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• 2019

This study examined the socio-economic and clinical characteristics associated with the use of ambulance services among pregnant, childbearing, and postpartum women based on data from the 2008-2016 Korea Health Panel. The analysis revealed that among the pregnant, childbearing, and postpartum women, the proportion using all ambulance services was 18.9% whereas 12.0% used private and 119 ambulances. Moreover, among those using ambulance services, delivery was the most common reason (38.7%) followed by complications of labor and delivery (20.0%) and pregnancy with abortive outcome (17.3%). There were statistically significant differences between the users and non-users of ambulance services in terms of the average annual household income, emergency arrival time, and delayed arrival at the emergency room. As childbirth becomes more complicated due to low fertility and elderly mothers, the expansion and improvement of ambulance services as a social safety net for pregnant, childbearing, and postpartum women will become increasingly important.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.535-542
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• 2019

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Proper nutrition intake during pregnancy and lactation is very important to both mothers and babies. Pregnant women should maintain proper nutritional status to restore decreased physical strength due to pregnancy and childbirth and produce breastmilk for the growth and development of the baby. Recently, the number of Chinese people living in Korea has increased as the exchange between Korea and China becomes active. It is important to provide proper nutrition education for pregnant women of both countries considering cultural differences. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects of this study were postpartum women in Gyeonggi, South Korea and Jinhua, China. The subjects were 20-45 years old less than six months after childbirth. A survey, using self-administered questionnaires, was conducted from October 2018 to January 2019. For data analysis, 221 Korean postpartum women (KPW) and 221 Chinese postpartum women (CPW) questionnaires were used. RESULTS: KPW had significantly higher nutritional knowledge score and dietary attitude score than CPW (P < 0.001). However, overall score for dietary habits was significantly higher in CPW compared to KPW (P < 0.001). In KPW, nutritional knowledge (P < 0.01) and dietary attitude (P < 0.001) had significantly positive correlations with dietary habits. The proportions of KPW and CPW who answered that they had experience of nutrition education were 28.5% and 80.1% (P < 0.001). The score for dietary habits was lower as the hours for watching TV and using mobile phone became longer in postpartum women of both countries, with significant differences in KPW (P < 0.001) and CPW (P < 0.05). In KPW, the score for dietary habits in postpartum women with exercise experience was significantly higher than that in postpartum women without exercise experience (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: More pregnancy-related nutrition education should be provided and various and effective nutrition education programs, which not only transfer information but can be practiced in the actual life, should be developed.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 2002

Many pregnant women have experienced low back pain (LBP) during pregnancy and after delivery, and it has been an important component in women health. This study was designed to investigate the characteristics and management of the LBP in postpartum women. Eighty-five postpartum women were participated in this survey. Mean age of 85 women was 28.1 years. Of 85 postpartum women, 55.3% (n=47) had LBP after pregnancy. Thirty of 47 women had pain on lumbar region, 17 postpartum women had pain on sacroilium region. Of 85 postpartum women, 74% (n=54) had LBP before pregnancy and 71.8% (n=61) had LBP during pregnancy. Of 47 postpartum women who had LBP, 83% (n=39) had not received medical management for LBP, 12.8% (n=6) took medication, and 4.3% (n=2) performed self-exercise. None of postpartum women had received physical therapy during pregnancy and after delivery for treatment low back pain. The pain in SI region was more severe than in lumbar region after pregnancy according to VAS (visual analog scale) (p<.05). However, there was no significant difference in VAS scores between SI pain and lumbar pain before and during pregnancy (p>.05). Pain region after delivery was related to pain region of pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy (p<.01). Pain level after delivery was related to the pain and night pain level during pregnancy (p<.01).

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.332-341
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• 2015

Purpose: Advanced aged pregnancy may be related with health problems so that more aggressive health care is necessary for these women. This study aimed to provide the basic data for developing nursing intervention programs to enhance the health of pregnant women and their new-born babies and by identifying the advanced aged women's need for pregnancy and childbirth. Methods: It is the cross-sectional descriptive study to identify the advanced aged women's need on pregnancy and childbirth. Subjects were pregnant women 35 years or older and postpartum women. Total number of subjects was 95. Measurement tool is self-reporting survey that consisted of 67 items with four-point Likert scale, which was completed during October to November 2014. Results: Average score was 3.44 out of maximum 4 on the care need on pregnancy and childbirth. Average scores according to category were as follows: baby rearing and parental role, 3.55; preconception care, 3.49; delivery care, 3.47; postpartum care 3.42; and prenatal pregnancy, 3.39. The degree of needs on pregnancy and childbirth was different according to delivery experience (t=-2.49, p=.014). Conclusion: Prenatal and postpartum nursing interventions were completed regardless of pregnant women's age until now; however, new nursing intervention programs are necessary to prevent the risk of advanced aged pregnancy, to provide the preconception care, and to increase the infant care and family support.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.346-357
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• 2020

Purpose: This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to explore the lived experience and meaning of pregnant women's adaptation. Methods: Ten pregnant women from an ongoing Pregnant Couples' Cohort Study agreed to participate in this study. The data were collected through telephone in-depth interviews regarding what they experienced and felt about pregnancy adaptation. The qualitative data were analyzed using Giorgi's method of descriptive phenomenology. Results: Five core situation components were extracted from the raw data, along with 12 themes and 33 focal meanings. The five core situations were 1) first recognizing the pregnancy, 2) pregnancy-related changes, (3) the upcoming birth, 4) the postpartum period, and 5) parenting. The 12 themes were as follows: "anxiety, pressure, and embarrassment due to pregnancy," "efforts to adapt to physical changes," "efforts to adapt to the psychological difficulties of pregnancy," "efforts to adapt to the financial burden and role changes caused by pregnancy," "connecting with the fetus," "adapting to a new marital relationship centering on the baby," "the frustration of childbirth," "fear of childbirth," "postpartum care, need help with lactation planning," "parenting beyond what I imagined," "dad's willingness to participate in parenting," and "career disconnect and consideration of workplace needs." Conclusion: We identified that pregnant women experience adaptation in physical, psychological, relational, and social aspects. The thematic clusters identified can be used to develop nursing interventions to promote women's adaptation to pregnancy.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.261-269
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate health management state during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum of immigrant women. Methods: A descriptive research design was employed. Data were collected from 182 immigrant women who lived in four provinces and D city. Subjects were completed the following questionnaires: demographic, medical service use, pregnancy and childbirth, and health management during the ante-postpartum. Results: The average age of subjects was 28.96 and 83 subjects (45.6%) were coming from Vietnam. 55 Subjects (30.2%) were within the low-income group with less than 4 million won per month. So, 62 subjects were uninsured women because of the expensive costs. Subjects mainly visited a health care center with their husband. On the using a health care center, subjects complained about communication difficulties and transportation problems. 42 Subjects were pregnant but 21.4% of pregnant subjects did not receive ante-natal care. Subjects got information about pregnancy and childbirth through their husbands and husband's family. Conclusion: Nursing intervention to manage the pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum of immigrant women need to be developed and should include strategies to take care of themselves after delivery and provide knowledge and information about ante-postpartum.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.387-393
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to compare pregnant women's gait parameters and mechanical energies caused by changes in hormone levels and anatomical features such as body mass, body-mass distribution, joint laxity, and musculo-tendinous strength from pregnancy to postpartum. Ten subjects (height: $161{\pm}6.5cm$, mass: $62.7{\pm}10.4\;kg$, $66.4{\pm}9.3\;kg$, $68.4{\pm}7.7\;kg$, $57.2{\pm}7.7\;kg$) participated in the four times experiments (the first, middle, last term and after birth) and walked ten trials at a self-selected pace without shoes. The gait motions were captured with Qualisys system and gait parameters were calculated with Visual-3D. Pregnant women's gait velocities were decreased during the pregnancy periods, but increased after birth. Stride width and cycle time were increased during pregnancy, but decreased after birth. Thigh energy (77.4%) was greater than shank energy (19.06%) or feet (3.54%) about total energy of the lower limbs. Their feet (Left R2=0.881, Right R2=0.852) and shank (Left R2=0.318, Right R2=0.226) energies were significantly increased (positive correlation), but double limb stance time (DLST, R2=0.679) and body total energy (R2=0.138) were decreased (negative correlation) for their velocities. These differences suggest that thigh segment may be a dominant segment among lower limbs, and have something to do with gait velocities. Further studies should investigate joint power and joint work to find energy dissipation or absorption from pregnancy period to postpartum.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.24-33
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• 1991

This study was conducted to assess to the knowledge and educational needs of pregnant women relating to antepartum, delivery, postpartum periods, and to identify the variables which influenced their knowledge and educational needs. The study subjects were 282 postpartum women who had delivered fullterm normal babies without any complications. Data were collected from women those who were not more than two days after delivery at general hospitals, 3 maternal child health care centers and 4 midwife's offices in Pusan using questionnaire method from Feb. 1. 1991 to Mar. 20. 1991. The results of this study are as follows 1. Relating to the antepartum period, the knowledge about the time when the sex of fetus was fixed was low, and relating to delivery, the knowledge about the method reducing labor pain was low. 2. Relating to the antepartum period, the educational needs about child rearing was high, and relating to delivery, the educational needs about newborn baby were high. Relating to the postpartum period, the educational needs about emergency care of new born baby were high. 3. There were statistically significant differences in total educational needs by educational level(P<.01), duration of marriage (P<.01), and number of pregnancy(P<.05). 4. There were positive correlation between the total knowledge and educational level and negative correlations between the total knowledge and duration of marriage and age.