Low Back and Pelvic Pain among Pregnant Women in Taiwan: Prevalence, Characteristics and Coping

Thursday, 16 July 2009: 10:30 AM

Hao-Yuan Chang, RN, BS
Yeur-Hur Lai, PhD
School of Nursing, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to know the prevalence of pregnancy-related low back and pelvic pain (PR-LBPP) in Taiwanese pregnant women.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to understand the pain characteristics of PR-LBPP, including pain intensity, pain interference, pain quality and pain coping among Taiwanese women.

Purpose: Low back and pelvic pain frequently occurred in pregnancy. In Taiwan, however, few studies investigated the prevalence and experience of pregnancy-related low back and pelvic pain (PR-LBPP). The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and characteristics of PR-LBPP in Taiwanese pregnant women.

Methods: A cross-sectional design and consecutive sampling was used in the current study. Eligible pregnant women with LBPP in 35th to 41st gestational week (n = 140) were recruited in medical center in Taiwan. Data were collected by questionnaires, including demographics, Brief Pain Inventory—Short Form Taiwanese version (BPI-T), Short Form—McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), and Chronic Pain Coping Inventory—Pregnancy (CPCI-PR).

Results: The prevalence of PR-LBPP in Taiwan was 74.9 %. Pain intensity scores of the “worst,” “least,” “average,” and “pain now” were 6.10, 1.70, 4.28, and 2.73 of pregnant women, respectively, while pain scores ranged from 0 to 10. Pain interfered with pregnant women’s daily life, especially “sleep” (Mean 5.56, SD 2.92), “walking ability” (Mean 4.21, SD 2.74), and “enjoyment of life” (Mean 4.06, SD 2.88). The word “sore” was most commonly used to describe PR-LBPP. The coping strategies that pregnant women most frequently used were Task Persistence (4.01 day/week), Asking for Assistance (3.87 day/week) and Resting (3.70 day/week). Furthermore, the least frequently used coping strategies were Social Support (2.14 day/week), Relaxation (2.55 day/week) and Exercise/Stretch (2.46 day/week).

Conclusion: This study suggests the importance of clinical professionals interfering with the pain management of pregnant women with LBPP in Taiwan. Also, this study supports future studies to highlight on pain management programs on pregnant women with PR-LBPP, especially in relaxation, exercise and stretch.