Measuring Women’s Fatigue During the Postpartum Period

Abstract

The Fatigue Symptom Checklist (FSC) (Yoshitake, 1978), developed in Japan, was selected to measure postpartum fatigue among American women. Minor wording changes and a change in the reference time frame were made. Reliability and validity of this modification of the FSC were tested in this reanalysis of data from a longitudinal study of 285 mothers. Internal consistency reliability for the total 30-item FSC was acceptable. Evidence for criterion-related and construct validity was found. Original FSC subscales were not confirmed in these analyses. Using factor analysis, a shortened 10-item postpartum scale and two postpartum subscales, physical and mental fatigue, were identified. LISRAEL confirmatory factor analysis supported the subscales. Results support appropriateness of the total 30-item FSC, the shortened 10-item postpartum scale, and postpartum subscales for measuring postpartum fatigue in American women.