Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this scoping review is to describe the research trends of postpartum healthcare for postpartum women, as well as to identify further direction for research in the area of postpartum healthcare. Methods: This study was conducted sequentially according to the Scoping Review Method referred to as 'frameworks of Arskey and O'Malley'. We searched for articles published as of May 15th, 2020 in seven Korean databases in order to obtain the data. A key term search strategy was employed, including terms such as “Postpartum period care”, “Postpartum health”, “Postpartum care”, and “Postpartum status” to identify relevant studies. Results: Eighty-three articles were selected from a total of 259. The research has been undertaken steadily since 1997, particularly in the fields of Nursing and Korean medicine. In terms of study design, survey studies were the majority (48.2%), followed by interventions and experimental papers (32.5%). However, qualitative research areas are lacking. The research topics were largely divided into two categories: postpartum care characteristics and postpartum care interventions. The characteristics of postpartum care were highly connected with care for mental health. Among the postpartum care interventions, the most common employed was Korean medicine intervention. Conclusion: This study confirms that management of mental health during the postpartum period is necessary. In addition, it is necessary to identify the experiences of postpartum women and the effectiveness of a postpartum care intervention program through the utilization of qualitative research methods. In particular, such research is needed in the field of Korean medicine.