Effectiveness of the combination of ginger-lemongrass beverage and the mother baby-care method on the increase of CD4/CD8 ratio and mental health status in postpartum mother
Abstract
Background: The postpartum period requires comprehensive and integrated attention to maternal wellbeing, encompassing both physiological and psychological dimensions. During this critical phase, modulation of the immune system plays an essential role in maintaining the balance of CD4/CD8 ratio, which reflects immune competence, while the prevelance of postpartum mental health problems has been reported to reach up to thirty percent. Natural functional beverages, such as ginger-lemongrass formulations containing whilst postpartum mental health problem prevalence reaches thirty percent. Ginger-lemongrass beverage containing phenolic compounds at a concentration of 267,37 mgGAE/100g and antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 20ppm, demonstrates promising immunomodulatory and protective potential.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of a combined intervention consisting standardized ginger-lemongrass beverage and the MotherBaby-Care method in increasing CD4/CD8 ratio and improving the mental health status of postpartum Mothers.
Methods: This research employed a true experimental design with pretest-posttest control group approach involving forty postpartum mothers who were randomly assigned into four groups : control, ginger-lemongrass beverage only, Motherbaby-Care only and a combination of both interventions. The interventions were administered over a fourteen-day period. Immune status was assessed by measuring the CD4/CD8 ratio using flowcytometry, while mental health status was evaluated using the Self Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20).
Results: The result showed that the combination group demonstrated the highest increase in CD4/CD8 ratio (1.748), compared to the MotherBaby-Care (1.328), the ginger-lemongrass (1.206) and control (1.006). Furthermore, the Proportion of mothers without mental health problems increased from seventy percent to ninety percent (p=0.031).
Conclusions:The conclusion of this study is the combination of standardized ginger-lemongrass beverage and the MotherBaby-Care method effectively enhanced immune balance and improved mental health status among postpartum mothers, indocating a superior synergistic effect compared to single interventions.
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