Perceived Stress and its Relationship With Social Support in Pregnant Women Referring to Health Centers of Ardabil, Iran

Introduction About 90% of women experience pregnancy at least once (1). Pregnancy is an enjoyable event (2), which is valuable for women (3). Pregnancy period is associated with many tensions (4). For example, mental and physical adaptations occur in this period (5), which result in physical, mental, (6), social, and emotional (7) changes in women. In other words, pregnancy is one of the most sensitive (8) and one of the most stressful periods in women’s lives (9). Stress means one’s disability to cope with the surrounding environment (10). Maternal physical and mental health affects fetal health (3), and stress is harmful to both maternal and fetal health (11). The response of the body to stress is manifested as palpitation, vasoconstriction, hypertension, and reduced digestion (12). In addition, prenatal stress leads to preterm labor and low birth weight and. It can further cause several complications as follows. • Preterm labor and low birth weight (11,13,14); • Intrauterine growth restriction, asphyxia, the increased rate of cesarean section, high-risk pregnancies, and increased nausea and vomiting (15,16); • The increased risk of abortion, preeclampsia, and some degrees of mental disorders (17,18). Social support is believed to be the most significant and known force for dealing with stressful situations (19). It is defined as the accessible support for a person through social relationships with other people, groups, and the larger community (20). In addition, this type of support refers to the feeling by which persons can receive attention and are valued by others and in fact, it is regarded as the assistance which is received from others in difficult situations of life (21). According to the National Cancer Institute, social support can be provided by family members, friends, relatives, and neighbors and can give financial, psychological and physical help in times of need (22). Focusing on promoting women’s health can improve Abstract Objectives: Pregnancy is considered as one of the most enjoyable events although it is one of the most stressful periods of women’s lives. The pregnant women’s stress is harmful to maternal and fetal health and thus can lead to various complications including preterm labor. In this regard, social support is the most important and known force to deal with such stressful situations. Accordingly, this research aimed to assess the relationship between perceived stress and perceived social support in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 200 pregnant women who visited the health centers of Ardebil during February-August 2018. Cluster sampling method was used for sampling and perceived Stress Scale and perceived social support questionnaire were utilized for data collection. Finally, Pearson correlation, independent t test, one-way ANOVA test, and general linear model (GLM) were applied to analyze the data. Results: The mean (SD) total scores of the perceived stress and the social support were obtained 24.22 (7.33)/56 and 134.67 (18.47)/175, respectively. Based on the GLM (after adjusting the socio-demographic variables), a significant inverse association was observed between perceived social support and perceived stress (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Regarding the relationship between perceived social support and perceived stress, it seems necessary for pregnant women to receive support from their husbands, family members, and society.