The Role of Spiritual Well-being in Predicting Pregnancy-Specific Stress

Background & objectives: Stress during pregnancy can be associated with serious and long-term adverse outcomes for mothers, fetuses, newborns, children, and even adolescents. One of the coping mechanisms with stress during pregnancy is paying attention to women's spiritual beliefs and values. The aim of the current study was to determine the role of spiritual well-being in the prediction of pregnancy-specific stress in women referred to health centers in Hafshjan. Methods: The current study was a descriptive- correlational study. The study population consisted of all pregnant women referred to health centers in Hafshejan, 2015. Two hundred pregnant women were selected using convenience sampling method. Spiritual well-being (Paloutzian and Ellison) and pregnancy-specific stress questionnaires (Sallary) were used for data collection. Data analyses were performed by Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression tests using SPSS version 20. Results: The mean age of the study sample was 27.68±4.75. The results showed a significant negative correlation between spirituality and pregnancy stress (r= -0.29, p<0.001). Multiple regression analysis indicated that spiritual well-being is capable to predict the stress during pregnancy (β = -0.444, R2=0.139, p<0.001). Conclusion: Taking into consideration the predictive role of spiritual well-being in pregnancy stress, women's health care professionals should pay particular attention to implement effective strategies for promoting of spiritual well-being level during pregnancy