P-468 Relationship between spiritual well-being and prenatal stress level of women conceiving spontaneously or with assisted reproductive techniques
Authors: Çap B , Bilgiç D , Pala H  G 
Published: July 2024

Study question

Is there a relationship between spiritual well-being and prenatal stress level of women who conceived with spontaneous/assisted reproductive techniques (ART)?

Summary answer

Women Conceiving with ART have higher prenatal stress. As the spiritual well-being of women conceiving with ART increases, the level of prenatal distress decreases.

What is known already

The negative effects of prenatal stress on maternal-fetal well-being are known. Spirituality provides emotional support by feeling the support of spiritual forces, affirmation in re-meaning life, strengthening the ability to cope with stress with the teachings of the belief system, and increasing hope and harmony. The stress created by fertility treatment may continue during pregnancy. It is thought that spirituality may be effective in coping with stress in pregnancies after ART. Studies in this area are limited.

Study design, size, duration

he comparative descriptive study was conducted with 202 pregnant women, 115 spontaneous and 87 ART pregnant women, who applied to the obstetrics outpatient clinics of a state hospital between November 2021 and June 2022. Data were collected in an average of 15-20 minutes by face-to-face interview technique. According to the statistical analysis, the effect size was calculated as 0.80 and the statistical power as 99%.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Participants (a) who can speak and understand Turkish; (b) 18-49 years of age women; (c) who are 14 and above gestational weeks; (d) who haven’t risk pregnancies were included. The data of the research were collected with the “Personal Information Form”, “Spiritual Well-being Scale “ and “Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale”. The research data were evaluated by percentile calculations, averages, Chi-square analysis, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis test and Bonferroni test.

Main results and the role of chance

The average age of women who conceived with ART is 28.91±6.06, and the average age of women who conceived spontaneously is 28.08±5.75. The Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWBS) of the pregnant groups was determined as 124.52±12.00 for the ART group and 123.92±9.02 for the spontaneous group, and there was no statistical significance in terms of spiritual well-being between the groups (p &gt; 0.05). In our study prenatal distress was detected in 12.6% of pregnant women in the ART group (above 28 points) and in 9.6% of spontaneous pregnant women (above 28 points) according to the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale (TPDS) cut-off score. A statistically significant and negative relationship was found between the total SWBS and TPDS (r=-0.256, p &lt; 0.05) in the ART group. A statistically significant and negative relationship was found between the total SWBS and TPDS (r=-0.256, p &lt; 0.05) in the ART group.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Since the study was conducted in a single center in a province in the west of Turkey, it is a limitation that the results of the study cannot be generalized to the whole population.

Wider implications of the findings

The ART group experiences higher prenatal distress than the other group. As the spiritual well-being of pregnant women in the ART group increases, the level of prenatal distress decreases. Nurses and midwives should be aware of the prenatal distress-reducing effect on spiritual well-being and provide spiritual counseling.

Trial registration number

not applicable