Spirituality and high-risk pregnancy: another aspect of patient care.

A high-risk pregnancy can be a stressful situation for a woman, her partner and her family. Many women utilize their spiritual beliefs as a way to make sense of their situation. Health care professionals, including nurses, midwives and physicians, can provide effective spiritual care and support consistent with their professional scopes of practice. Spiritually focused interventions can help to reduce stress and anxiety and create a more open and confident approach to the management of pregnancy complications.