School of Nursing & Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast BT17 9JY, United Kingdom.
Int J Nurs Stud. 2011 May;48(5):620-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2010.10.002. Epub 2010 Nov 18.
Pregnancy is viewed as a major life event and, while the majority of healthy, low-risk women adapt well to pregnancy, there are those whose levels of stress are heightened by the experience.
To determine the level of pregnancy-related stress experienced by a group of healthy, low-risk pregnant women and to relate the level of stress with a number of maternal characteristics.
An observational cross-sectional study.
A large, urban maternity centre in Northern Ireland.
Of the 306 pregnant women who were invited to participate, 278 provided informed consent and were administered one self-complete questionnaire. Due to the withdrawal criteria, 15 questionnaires were removed from the analysis, resulting in a final sample of 263 healthy, low-risk pregnant women.
Levels of stress were measured using a self-report measure designed to assess specific worries and concerns relating to pregnancy. Maternal characteristics collected included age, marital status, social status, parity, obstetric history, perceived health status and 'wantedness' for the pregnancy. Regression analysis was undertaken using an ordinary linear regression model.
The mean prenatal distress score in the sample was 15.1 (SD=7.4; range 0-46). The regression model showed that women who had had previous pregnancies, with or without complications, had significantly lower mean prenatal distress scores than primiparous women (p<0.01). Women reporting poorer physical health had higher mean prenatal distress scores than those who reported at least average health, while women aged 16-20 experienced a mean increase in the reported prenatal distress score (p<0.05) in comparison to the reference group of 36 years and over.
This study brings to light the prevalence of pregnancy-related stress within a sample representative of healthy, low-risk women. Current antenatal care is ill-equipped to identify women suffering from high levels of stress; yet a growing body of research evidence links stress with adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study emphasises that healthy, low-risk women experience a range of pregnancy-related stress and identification of stress levels, either through the use of a simple stress measurement tool or through the associated factors identified within this research study, provides valuable data on maternal well-being.
怀孕被视为重大生活事件，虽然大多数健康、低风险的女性能够很好地适应怀孕，但也有一些女性因怀孕而感到压力增大。
确定一组健康、低风险孕妇所经历的与怀孕相关的压力水平，并将压力水平与一些产妇特征相关联。
一项观察性的横断面研究。
北爱尔兰一个大型城市的产科中心。
在被邀请参与的 306 名孕妇中，有 278 名提供了知情同意，并接受了一份自我完成的问卷。由于退出标准，有 15 份问卷被从分析中删除，最终样本为 263 名健康、低风险的孕妇。
使用一种自我报告的测量方法来评估与怀孕相关的特定担忧和关注点，来测量压力水平。收集的产妇特征包括年龄、婚姻状况、社会地位、产次、产科史、自我感知的健康状况和对怀孕的期望。使用普通线性回归模型进行回归分析。
在样本中，产前焦虑得分的平均值为 15.1（SD=7.4；范围 0-46）。回归模型显示，有过一次或多次怀孕经历的妇女，无论是否有并发症，其产前焦虑得分平均值明显低于初产妇（p<0.01）。自我报告身体状况较差的妇女比自我报告至少平均健康状况的妇女有更高的产前焦虑得分，而年龄在 16-20 岁的妇女与参考组（36 岁及以上）相比，报告的产前焦虑得分（p<0.05）有平均增加。
本研究揭示了在健康、低风险的孕妇样本中，与怀孕相关的压力的普遍性。目前的产前护理不足以识别患有高度压力的妇女；然而，越来越多的研究证据将压力与不良妊娠结局联系起来。本研究强调，健康、低风险的女性会经历一系列与怀孕相关的压力，无论是通过使用简单的压力测量工具还是通过本研究中确定的相关因素，都能提供有关产妇健康的有价值的数据。
