Pregnant Women's Perspective of Their Level of Stress and Coping Behaviors

Document Type : Research articles

Authors

1 Psychiatric Nursing and Mental Health, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University

2 Obstetric and Gynecologic Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University

3 Obstetric and Gynecologic Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Tanta University

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy is an experience characterized by lack of adequate
psychosocial resources. The presence of many stressors as work and family responsibilities
make pregnancy a distant reflection of the ideal prototype. Objective: The present study
aimed to identify pregnant women's perspective of their level of stress and coping behaviors.
Setting: It was conducted at antenatal clinic of El- Shatby Maternity University Hospital.
Subjects: The study comprised 100 pregnant women with normal pregnancy, free from
medical diseases and willing to participate in the study. Tools: Three tools were utilized for
data collection; a socio-demographic and reproductive history sheet, modified version of
patient stress scale Wilson (1987), and modified version of coping scale Jalawic & Powers
(1981). Results: The study revealed that thirty two percent of the studied women had high
level of stress, and about two third (61%) of them had moderate level of stress. Problem
oriented coping was highly used by half (51%) of women, While affective oriented coping was
moderately used by the majority (86%) of studied pregnant women. Recommendations:
Introducing the concept of early programming focusing on prenatal problems and stresses to
improve health for all pregnant women was recommended. A better understanding of coping
techniques used during healthy pregnancy can be used to design interventions that support a
woman's positive coping techniques or suggest alternatives for negative coping techniques.

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