Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 26, 2023; 11(33): 7980-7986
Published online Nov 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i33.7980
Treatment of postpartum depression with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing and electrical stimulation
Wen-Hui Zhai, Mei-Jiao Wang, Yi-Jing Zhao, Shuang-Ling Hu, Jin-Man Zhou
Wen-Hui Zhai, Mei-Jiao Wang, Yi-Jing Zhao, Shuang-Ling Hu, Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit 2, Wudong Hospital, Wuhan 430084, Hubei Province, China
Jin-Man Zhou, Department of Nursing, Wuchang Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430063, Hubei Province, China
Co-first authors: Wen-Hui Zhai and Mei-Jiao Wang.
Author contributions: Zhai WH and Wang MJ conceived, designed, and refined the study protocol; Zhao YJ and Zhou JM were involved in data collection; Zhai WH, Wang MJ, Zhou JMz, and Hu SL analyzed the data; Zhai WH and Wang MJ drafted the manuscript; all authors were involved in the critical review of the results and read and approved the final manuscript. Zhai WH and Wang MJ as co-first authors contributed equally to this work. The reasons for designating Zhai WH and Wang MJ as co-first authors are threefold. First, the research was performed as a collaborative effort, and the designation of co-first authorship accurately reflects the distribution of responsibilities and burdens associated with the time and effort required to complete the study and the resultant paper. This also ensures effective communication and management of post-submission matters, ultimately enhancing the paper's quality and reliability. Second, the overall research team encompassed authors with a variety of expertise and skills from different fields, and the designation of co-first authors best reflects this diversity. This also promotes the most comprehensive and in-depth examination of the research topic, ultimately enriching readers' understanding by offering various expert perspectives. Third, Zhai WH and Wang MJ contributed efforts of equal substance throughout the research process. The choice of these researchers as co-first authors acknowledges and respects this equal contribution, while recognizing the spirit of teamwork and collaboration of this study. In summary, we believe that designating Wen-Hui Zhai and Mei-Jiao Wang as co-first authors is fitting for our manuscript as it accurately reflects our team's collaborative spirit, equal contributions, and diversity.
Supported by 2017 Wuhan Medical Research Project, No. WZ17Z11; 2021 Wuhan Medical Research Project, No. WX21Z65.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Wuchang Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology.
Informed consent statement: All the patients voluntarily participated in the study and signed informed consent forms.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest for this paper.
Data sharing statement: Data generated from this investigation are available upon reasonable quest from the corresponding author.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jin-Man Zhou, MD, Doctor, Department of Nursing, Wuchang Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, No. 116 Yangyuan Street, Wuchang District, Wuhan 430063, Hubei Province, China. zhoujinman2023@163.com
Received: September 14, 2023
Peer-review started: September 14, 2023
First decision: September 28, 2023
Revised: October 9, 2023
Accepted: November 10, 2023
Article in press: November 10, 2023
Published online: November 26, 2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common psychological disease among puerperal women, and postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction is a common disease among pregnant women. The occurrence of postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction will increase the incidence of PPD.

AIM

To explore the therapeutic effect of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing combined with electrical stimulation of pelvic floor muscles and the rectus abdominis on PPD.

METHODS

From April 2020 to January 2022, 100 parturients with a rectus abdominis muscle separation distance > 2.0 cm who underwent reexamination 6 wk after delivery at our hospital were selected as the research subjects. According to the random number table method, the patients were divided into either an observation group (n = 50) or a control group (n = 50). There was no significant difference in the general data between the two groups (P > 0.05). Both groups were treated by electrical stimulation. The observation group was additionally treated by integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing. A self-designed Depression Knowledge Questionnaire was used to evaluate the awareness of knowledge on depression in all patients 3 wk after intervention. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) was used to evaluate the depression before intervention and 1 wk and 3 wk after intervention, and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was used to evaluate the medication compliance. SPSS19.0 was used for statistical analyses.

RESULTS

The rate of awareness of knowledge on depression in the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The scores of MMAS-8 were comparable between the two groups before intervention (P > 0.05), but were significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group at 1 wk and 3 wk after intervention (P < 0.05). The HAMD scores were comparable between the two groups before intervention (P > 0.05), but were significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group at 1 wk and 3 wk after intervention (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing combined with electrical stimulation of pelvic floor muscles and the rectus abdominis is effective in the treatment of postpartum depression and worthy of clinical promotion.

Keywords: Integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing, Pelvic floor muscles, Rectus abdominis, Electrical stimulation, Postpartum depression

Core Tip: As a common disease among pregnant women, postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction can seriously increase the incidence of postpartum depression (PPD). The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic effect of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing combined with electrical stimulation of pelvic floor muscles and the rectus abdominis on PPD. After randomly selecting parturients with pelvic floor dysfunction, they were given electric stimulation therapy, either alone or in combination with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing. The results showed that the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine nursing and electrical stimulation of pelvic floor muscles and the rectus abdominis was effective in the treatment of PPD.