A FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY OF CHILDBEARING FATIGUE

Accounts of fatigue in childbearing women are identified in clinical r eports, maternity textbooks, and studies. However, limited conceptual clarification or empiric research directed at mothers' fatigue during childbearing has been undertaken. To better understand fatigue, factor s in the childbearing woman's life that are thought to predispose her to fatigue were identified; also delineated were the potential effects of fatigue on maternal performance. The framework that emerged. repre senting insights from childbearing and fatigue literature, is designed to serve as a guide to research that will add to understanding of chi ldbearing fatigue and how it can be prevented or ameliorated.