The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of sleep disturbances and fatigue among
postnatal women, and find out the association between sleep disturbance and fatigue. Crosssectional
study was carried out at Alnour Specialist Hospital in Makah in kingdom Saudi
Arabia on 500 postpartum primiparous women in reproductive age who delivered vaginally.
Tools for data collection were, postnatal women sociodemographic data structured interview
schedule, Global Sleep Assessment Questionnaire for sleep pattern (GSAQ), and
Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory-Short Form (MFSI-SF). The results revealed
that 18.4% of the women had sleep disturbances, and 32.4% had fatigue, sleep disturbance
and fatigue were significantly higher among non-Saudi women, and a statistically significant
positive correlation was revealed between the sleep disturbance and fatigue. It is concluded
that sleep disturbance and fatigue are positively correlated. It is recommended that, the
discharge plan prepared by the nurse must include all the details of postnatal care, along with
instructions for the women regarding sleep and rest. Special care must be given to women
who are at higher risk of developing postnatal fatigue and sleep disturbances, such as working
mothers and those living in home environment not encouraging rest as living with extended
families, and high crowding index.