Perceived Stress and its Relationship With Social Support in Pregnant Women Referring to Health Centers of Ardabil, Iran

Objectives: Pregnancy is considered as one of the most enjoyable events although it is one of the most stressful periods of women's lives. The pregnant women's stress is harmful to maternal and fetal health and thus can lead to various complications including preterm labor. In this regard, social support is the most important and known force to deal with such stressful situations. Accordingly, this research aimed to assess the relationship between perceived stress and perceived social support in pregnant women. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 200 pregnant women who visited the health centers of Ardebil during February-August 2018. Cluster sampling method was used for sampling and perceived Stress Scale and perceived social support questionnaire were utilized for data collection. Finally, Pearson correlation, independent t test, one-way ANOVA test, and general linear model (GLM) were applied to analyze the data. Results: The mean (SD) total scores of the perceived stress and the social support were obtained 24.22 (7.33)/56 and 134.67 (18.47)/175, respectively. Based on the GLM (after adjusting the socio-demographic variables), a significant inverse association was observed between perceived social support and perceived stress (P<0.001). Conclusions: Regarding the relationship between perceived social support and perceived stress, it seems necessary for pregnant women to receive support from their husbands, family members, and society.