Paper
Friday, July 15, 2005
Perceived Stress, Adaptation, and Pregnancy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Study in Taiwan
Fan-Hao Chou, RN, PhD, School of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Taiwan and Shih-Hsien Kuo, RPh, Basic Medical Science Education Center, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung Hsien, Taiwan, Taiwan.
| Learning Objective #1: Understand the relationships between perceived stress and maternal psychosocial adaptation in Taiwanese women with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy |
| Learning Objective #2: Understand the predictive relationships of the nausea and vomiting experience, perceived stress, and social support to maternal psychosocial adaptation |
The purpose of this study was to: (1) examine the relationships and the differences among perceived stress, social support and maternal psychosocial adaptation in Taiwanese women with different severities of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy; and (2) explore the predictive relationships of the nausea and vomiting experience, perceived stress, and social support to maternal psychosocial adaptation. A nonexperimental, correlational research design was used. A convenience sample was recruited from four prenatal clinics in Taiwan. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 10.0 for Windows. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, ANOVA, and multiple regression. A total of 243 pregnant women participated in this study. About 82.3% of the subjects had pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. There were significant positive correlations between severity of nausea and vomiting and perceived stress, and perceived stress and maternal psychosocial adaptation scores. The relationships between severity of nausea and vomiting and maternal psychosocial adaptation scores were also significant positive. There were significant negative correlations between perceived stress and social support, and social support and maternal psychosocial adaptation scores. Findings for the stepwise multiple regression revealed that severity of nausea and vomiting, perceived stress, social support and planned pregnancy were the four significant predictors of maternal psychosocial adaptation during pregnancy, accounting for 38.6% of the variance. The study indicated that women with severe pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting perceive higher stress. And, decreased perceived stress and severity of nausea and vomiting combined with more social support and planned pregnancy might assist women to have a good adaptation. Therefore, knowledge of the findings can be applied to nursing practice to improve maternal psychosocial adaptation among pregnant women in Taiwan.