Abstract

Pregnancy intention can change emotional response, psychological adjustment and care requirements for pregnancy. In a relatively few studies, the effect of pregnancy intention on psychosocial health and perceived social support was examined. This study aims to compare the perceived social support and psychosocial health in pregnant women according to their pregnancy intention. This descriptive study was conducted in the obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinic of a public hospital in Turkey. In the study, 342 women aged between 18-49 years who were in gestational age of >10 weeks were included. The data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Pregnancy Psychosocial Health Assessment Scale (PPHAS), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). It was determined in the study that 31.6% of the women in the antenatal period continued an unintended pregnancy. PPHAS scores (3.69 vs. 3.91) and MSPSS scores (68.41 vs. 72.25) of the unintended pregnant women were lower than intended ones (p<0.05). There was a positive correlation between MSPSS and PPHAS mean scores of women in both unintended (r=0.271, p=0.004) and intended pregnancies (r=0.181, p=0.006). The unintended pregnant women perceived less friend support, were need psychosocial health counseling more, complained more about anxiety and stress symptoms, experienced the problems of spouse relationships more and were more disadvantaged in domestic violence (p<0.05). Healthcare professionals should consider that the women being in the antenatal period and having the history of unintended pregnancy may have less social support and more psychosocial health care needs while determining their care needs.

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