Department of Nursing, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden
Abstract
Background: The focus on women’s emotional well-being during pregnancy has intensified in the past 20 years. Objective: To identify profiles of pregnant women based on their emotional well-being and assess changes in those profiles over time. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 280 women in Sweden were recruited to a continuity project for comparison with a historical cohort of 3061 women recruited two decades ago. Data were collected with a pregnancy-focused questionnaire measuring women’s background characteristics and attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth. Cluster analysis was performed with four validated instruments. Results: Despite no differences in the women’s backgrounds, emotional well-being differed between the cohorts. Separate cluster analyses revealed similar profiles. The ‘emotionally healthy’ cluster represented low scores for depressive symptoms, worries and fear of birth and high scores for sense of coherence. By contrast, the ‘emotionally unhealthy’ cluster, comprising 35% of each cohort, represented high scores for depressive symptoms, worries and fear of birth and low scores for coherence. Women belonging to the ‘emotionally unhealthy’ cluster were more likely to be single, to be born outside Sweden and to have negative attitudes towards childbirth. Conclusion: Pregnant women in Sweden now and 20 years ago showed similar profiles in terms of emotional well-being, in two clusters differing in background characteristics and attitudes towards childbirth regardless of period. Women’s emotional well-being needs to be recognised during pregnancy, because poor emotional health can adversely affect not only pregnant women but also their infants and families
