Hsiao-Ying Hung1, Pei-Fang Su2, Meng-Hsing Wu3, Ying-Ju Chang4. 1. Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. 2. Department of Statistics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. 3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. 4. Institute of Allied Health Sciences & Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address: yxc2@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Women with threatened preterm labor (TPTL) resting at home face several life challenges, but their psychological well-being has been ignored. This study aimed to explore the status and related factors of the psychological status of women with TPTL resting at home, and to compare the psychological status differences between TPTL and healthy pregnant women. METHODS: A cross-sectional, multiple time-point study was conducted to repeatedly assess depression, perceived stress, and distress in 49 TPTL women and 62 healthy pregnant women during pregnancy in Taiwan. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare the psychological status differences between these women and the generalized estimating equation was used to identify the factors related to their psychological status. RESULTS: The TPTL women's perceived stress at 24-27 weeks (p=0.047) and 32-35 weeks (p=0.04) and distress at each time point was significantly greater than that of healthy pregnant women (p<0.001). The common distress experienced by TPTL women was the inability to provide self-care and family care, the baby's health and safety, and to request leave from work for bed rest. Positive personalities, gestational age, preterm birth history, follow-up status and employment have been shown to be related to the psychological status of TPTL women. LIMITATIONS: The major limitation of this study is the small sample size. CONCLUSION: This study contributed to a better understanding of the emotional burdens of women with TPTL resting at home. Such findings highlight the need for constructing effective interventions to alleviate the psychological burden of these women.
BACKGROUND:Women with threatened preterm labor (TPTL) resting at home face several life challenges, but their psychological well-being has been ignored. This study aimed to explore the status and related factors of the psychological status of women with TPTL resting at home, and to compare the psychological status differences between TPTL and healthy pregnant women. METHODS: A cross-sectional, multiple time-point study was conducted to repeatedly assess depression, perceived stress, and distress in 49 TPTL women and 62 healthy pregnant women during pregnancy in Taiwan. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare the psychological status differences between these women and the generalized estimating equation was used to identify the factors related to their psychological status. RESULTS: The TPTL women's perceived stress at 24-27 weeks (p=0.047) and 32-35 weeks (p=0.04) and distress at each time point was significantly greater than that of healthy pregnant women (p<0.001). The common distress experienced by TPTL women was the inability to provide self-care and family care, the baby's health and safety, and to request leave from work for bed rest. Positive personalities, gestational age, preterm birth history, follow-up status and employment have been shown to be related to the psychological status of TPTL women. LIMITATIONS: The major limitation of this study is the small sample size. CONCLUSION: This study contributed to a better understanding of the emotional burdens of women with TPTL resting at home. Such findings highlight the need for constructing effective interventions to alleviate the psychological burden of these women.