Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the
effects of laughter therapy on postpartum fatigue and
stress respon-ses of postpartum women. Methods: The
research design was a nonequivalent control group non-
synchronized design. The participants were 67 postpartum
women who agreed to participate in this study, selected by
convenience sampling: (experiment group-33 and control
group-34). The data were collected from August 5 to
September 30, 2010. The experimental group received
laughter therapy from a laughter therapy expert for 60
min, twice a week for 2 weeks, a total of 4 sessions. To
evaluate the effects of laughter therapy, postpartum
fatigue by self-report questionnaire and cortisol
concentration in breast milk were measured. The data were
analyzed using the SPSS WIN 13.0 Program. Results: The
first hypothesis that “the degree of postpartum fatigue
in the experimental group participating in laughter
therapy would be lower than that of the control group”
was accepted. These findings indicate that laughter
therapy has a positive effect on decreasing postpartum
fatigue. Conclusion: The finding provides evidence for use
of complementary and alternative nursing in Sanhujori
facilities and obstetric units to reduce postpartum women’
s fatigue.
Keyword : Laughter therapy, Fatigue, Cortisol, Postpartum women
