The relationship of psychosocial well-being and social support with pregnant women's perceptions of traumatic childbirth.

AIM: This study was conducted to investigate the correlation of psychosocial health and social support with traumatic birth perception in pregnant women. METHOD: The data of this descriptive epidemiological study were obtained from 461 pregnant women who visited a Family Health Center (FHC) between August 2018 and 2019. The data were collected by the face-to-face interview method, using a Participant Information Form, the Psychosocial Health Assessment in Pregnancy and Perceived Social Support and Traumatic Birth Perception Scales. RESULTS: Traumatic birth perception was negatively correlated with the Psychosocial Health in Pregnancy Scale and its subscales, as well as being negatively correlated with the Perceived Social Support Scale and its subscales. According to this result, it was determined that traumatic birth perception increases as psychosocial problems increase. As the perceived social support of pregnancy and spouse relationship, especially related to familial relationships, decreases, the perception of traumatic birth increases. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the study, psychosocial assessment and screening of social support status in pregnant women are recommended as part of the routine clinical practices of midwives and nurses. In this regard, support may be obtained from international practices and experience.

THE PREVALENCE OF CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES AND AFFECTING FACTORS IN TURKEY: A NATIONAL SURVEY.

This study was carried out by the Turkish Republic Ministry of Health to determine the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and its correlates with socio-demographic and obstetric risk factors in women in Turkey. The cross-sectional, national-level study was carried out from October to December 2013. The study population was composed of women between the ages of 15 and 65 years living in Turkey. The sample size was calculated as 9290 houses within Turkey's 81 provinces so as to improve the Turkish rural-urban expectations by means of systematic stack sampling according to the Turkish Statistical Institute's address-based vital statistics system. The target sample size was 6364, but only eligible 4913 women, who had been married, were included in the study. The consanguineous marriage frequency in the sample was found to be 18.5%, and of these 57.8% were first cousin marriages. Women living in an extended family and whose education level and first marriage ages were low, and whose perceived economic status was poor, had higher frequencies of consanguineous marriage (p<0.001). Consanguineous marriage frequencies were higher (p<0.001) for women who had spontaneous abortions and stillbirths or who had given birth to infants with a congenital abnormality. In this context, it is important to develop national policies and strategies to prevent consanguineous marriages in Turkey.

Evaluation of the Impact of Childbirth Education Classes in Turkey on Adaptation to Pregnancy Process, Concerns About Birth, Rate of Vaginal Birth, and Adaptation to Maternity: A Case-Control Study.

This study aims to examine the impact of childbirth education in Turkey on the adaptation to pregnancy process, concerns about birth, rate of vaginal birth, and adaptation to maternity. This quasi-experimental study with control group was conducted from December 2013 to December 2014. The sample size was 132 primiparous pregnant women ( nexperimental = 66, ncontrol = 66). The average age of the pregnant women in the experimental and control groups was 24.41 ± 3.92 and 23.68 ± 4.19, respectively. The study showed that experimental group participants had lower concerns about birth, higher levels of knowledge, and faster adaptation to pregnancy and postpartum process; they could also give positive feedback about labor pain and action and could start breastfeeding at an earlier stage when compared with those in the control group ( p < .05). Childbirth education classes increase the knowledge of pregnant women and positively contribute in pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum process.