Abstract

Two research studies were carried out to know the symptomatology and the mood disturbance in the first year after delivery of primiparous women. The sample consisted entirely of women with a normal and term pregnancy, normal delivery and helthy child. All the subjects were tested at the third day and at one, six and twelve months after delivery. In the first study 30 women completed the Symptom Questionnaire (SQ), wich evaluates Anxiety, Depression, Somatic symptoms and Hostility. Whereas, in the second study 30 women completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS), wich evaluates the mood disturbance. The results obtained demonstrate that the primiparous women show a low levels of mood disturbance and moderate psychological and somatic symptomatology. Particularly, the mood disturbance is extremely modest at the third day after delivery. The results are discussed and some explicative hypotheses are proposed.