ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to determine prenatal distress levels of pregnant women from seven provinces of Turkey and factors affecting prenatal distress levels. The multicentre descriptive study included 2365 pregnant women who were in the twentieth gestational week and above. The data were collected using the pregnancy information form, prenatal distress questionnaire and spousal support scale. Descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, ANOVA and logistic regression were used to evaluate the data. The results of this study demonstrated that pregnant women's prenatal distress levels are affected by such factors as the region lived in, lack of spousal support and being a primary school graduate. Nurses should develop intervention strategies that involve the pregnant woman's spouse to reduce prenatal distress and the factors affecting prenatal distress.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? Prenatal distress can have significant effects on pregnancy, maternal health and human development across the lifespan.What the results of this study add? Spousal support could also have an effect on the psychological health of mothers.What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Nurses and midwives monitor the pregnant women, and therefore, they should evaluate the prenatal distress levels in the prenatal period, plan intervention strategies for pregnant women with high stress levels and include the pregnant women's spouses in these intervention strategies.
Subject(s)
Pregnancy Complications/epidemiology , Pregnant Women/psychology , Psychological Distress , Stress, Psychological/epidemiology , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Educational Status , Female , Geography , Humans , Logistic Models , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications/psychology , Pregnancy Trimester, Second/psychology , Pregnancy Trimester, Third/psychology , Social Support , Spouses/psychology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Turkey/epidemiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: One of the most important decisions that women have to make after becoming pregnant concerns their mode of birth, and these decisions are influenced by complex physiological, psychological and socio-cultural factors. AIM: To obtain in-depth descriptions of nulliparous women's experiences during the decision-making process for their mode of birth and to reveal their beliefs, attitudes and values. METHODS: This is a qualitative, phenomenological study that included 29 nulliparous women. Data were collected using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and analysed using the constant comparison method and guidelines developed by Collaizi. FINDINGS: The women's experiences during their decision-making process for their mode of birth were placed into one of four categories, "getting confused", "no matter what happens", "others influencing women's decisions" and "make a decision one way or the other". Vaginal births were considered under the theme "natural but hard way" and caesarean sections under the theme "easy choice". The women indicated that they wanted to have vaginal births, but that they were not offered knowledge and support about modes of birth from health care professionals and, as a result, they asked their relatives for support. CONCLUSION: It is important to obtain pregnant women's preferences for modes of birth so that knowledge, support and care can be provided and so that they can be involved in the decision-making process. Therefore, health care professionals should understand pregnant women's experiences during the decision-making process for their mode of birth.
