ABSTRACT
In clinical care settings, religiosity may serve as an important source of support for coping with the prenatal diagnosis of fetal abnormalities. This study evaluated the influence of religiosity on the situational coping of 28 pregnant women with fetal abnormalities. The study was approved by the institutional research ethics committee, and the informed consent document was obtained from all participants included in this study. Validated measures of religiosity and situational coping were used to evaluate data collected. Practical religiosity but not intrinsic religiosity correlated positively and significantly with coping scores. However, the severity of the fetal malformations did not correlate significantly with the scores of maternal coping. The results showed that religious practices were associated with improved coping in women diagnosed with fetal abnormalities and should be encouraged in care settings.
