Associations of psychosocial factors with pregnancy healthy life styles

Abstract

Healthy behaviors in pregnant women have a major effect on pregnancy outcomes; however, only few studies have explored the relationship of multiple psychosocial factors with healthy lifestyles during pregnancy. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the five psychosocial factors of anxiety, stress, depression, marital dissatisfaction, and social support are associated with six domains of healthy lifestyles in pregnant women, including nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and self-actualization. In this cross-sectional study, 445 pregnant women from the obstetrics clinics of the teaching hospitals of Babol University of Medical Sciences were included. The subjects answered six questionnaires, including the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile, Beck Depression Inventory, Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Social Support Questionnaire, and Marital Satisfaction Scale. We developed a series of simple linear regression models based on each subscale of lifestyle (nutrition, physical activity, health responsibility, stress management, interpersonal relationships, and self-actualization) as the dependent variables and the five psychological variables (anxiety, stress, depression, marital dissatisfaction, and social support) as the independent variables. State and trait anxieties were the strongest negative predictors of all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, depression was negatively associated with all of the six subscales of a healthy lifestyle. Pregnancy-specific stress was the only negative predictor of stress management and self-actualization. Marital dissatisfaction was negatively associated with nutrition, stress management, health responsibility, and self-actualization. Social support had negative and positive associations with healthy behaviors. The study suggests that more attention should be paid to identifying the psychological risk factors in pregnancy in addition to providing suitable interventions for improving the lifestyle of pregnant women.

Effect of antenatal depression on adverse birth outcomes in Gondar town, Ethiopia: A community-based cohort study

“…A similar mediating effect for antenatal depression of social support on low birth weight has been reported in other cohort studies [28,79]. The significant indirect effect of stress coping ability on LBW mediated by preterm birth and antenatal depression has been previously highlighted [24,80,81]. However, other reviews report inconsistent associations for antenatal depression and low birth weight [82,83].…”

“…Consistent with other studies [76,77,97,121], the risk of preterm birth was higher among women without antenatal care service during pregnancy. Adherence to antenatal care service helps for early identification and treatment of obstetric complications, severe infections and for promoting healthy behavior during pregnancy [81]. Maternal employment status also predicted the risk for preterm birth with those in paid work at a 50% higher risk compared to women performing only home duties.…”

Health promotion behaviors of pregnant women and spiritual well-being: Mediatory role of pregnancy stress, anxiety, and coping ways

“…Research has shown that spirituality is associated with lower levels of anxiety and less perceived stress [13]. Also, State anxiety was predicted negatively healthy behaviors of pregnant women including; healthy nutrition, physical activity, and health responsibility [39].…”

Psychometric Evaluation of Persian Version of the Prenatal Health Behavior Scale

“…Pregnant women who are overweight or obese (body mass index >26 kg/m2 ) or women with higher weight gains during pregnancy are at a higher risk for unfavorable birth outcomes, such as pregnancy hypertension, high-birth-weight baby, preeclampsia, and emergency cesarean delivery.Studies show that intake of supplements and eating fresh vegetables daily were risk factors for spontaneous abortion during pregnancy (12).Thus, pregnant women are advised to refrain from healthimpairing behaviors like smoking and to increase healthpromoting behaviors like eating a balanced diet. During pregnancy, most women maintain or improve their healthpromoting behaviors compared to prepregnancy (11).…”