The Occurrence of Symptoms and the Proportion Treated in Swedish Infants and their Mothers

Abstract

Eighty-five per cent of 229 post-parturient women answered a questionnaire concerning the occurrence of symptoms in themselves and in their infants after discharge from two maternity wards up to the infant age of four months. Information about the treatment and drugs used was also requested. Although the level of maternal education differed between the two regions examined, the panorama of symptoms, the drug treatment, and the breastfeeding were reported mainly the same.

Symptoms were common both in the mothers and in their infants. No symptoms were reported by six per cent of the mothers and for eight per cent of the infants. Many of the symptoms were not pharmacologically treated, but 70% of the mothers and 38% of the infants took one or more drugs besides vitamins. None of the drugs taken by the mothers was considerd to have adverse effects on breastfeeding and none of the drugs given to the infants was considered to be ineligible.

Key Words:

• symptoms
• treatment
• infants
• mothers
• drugs
• questionnaires