Special features of high-risk pregnancies as factors in development of mental distress: a review

Abstract

Introduction: Approximately 22% of all pregnant women are classified as having high-risk pregnancies, which may involve feelings of vulnerability because of having a high-risk pregnancy, resulting in greater exposure to stressful feelings. Objective: To review aspects of high-risk pregnancy that can have a negative impact on the these women's mental health status. Method: Original articles were identified by conducting searches of the PubMed/MEDLINE, LILACS and SciELO databases, followed by a manual search of references to select articles and additional bibliographic material. Articles from the last 22 years were included in the review . Results: Fifteen articles were found that specifically studied high-risk pregnancies and mental health outcomes. Women with high-risk pregnancies exhibited a significantly higher level of stress and reported negative emotions as they dealt with stress and had worse emotional status than women with normal pregnancies. Researchers found that hospitalized pregnant women had higher levels of anxiety than non-hospitalized women. Studies of women going through normal and high-risk pregnancies show that women with normal pregnancies had good self-perceived quality of life. Conclusion: Special features of high-risk pregnancies could be factors in development of mental distress, in addition to psychological and social factors. Therefore, only a biopsychosocial research study would be able to identify the factors that can affect the quality of mental health during high-risk pregnancy.

Multiprofessional care promotes of quality of life in pregnant women with preeclampsia: a cross-sectional study

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A systematic review regarding women’s emotional and psychological experiences of high-risk pregnancies

“…During the 1960s, literature started referring to the concept of high-risk pregnancy [8]. Roderigues et al [9] reveal that healthcare providers consider the label of high-risk pregnancy to be an indication that a woman and/or her unborn infant are at risk of both physical and psychological harm.…”

Well-being in high-risk pregnancy: an integrative review

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