How Risky Pregnant Women Achieve Positive Antenatal Experience: A Cross-Sectional Study of Examination of the Sense of Coherence, Prenatal Distress, and Pregnancy Acceptance

Abstract

Rationale

Antenatal care incorporating a health-promoting approach should focus on positive pregnancy experiences. This approach can bring pregnant women closer to the health dimension.

Aims and Objectives

To examine the effects and explanatory power of sense of coherence and prenatal distress on pregnancy acceptance among high-risk pregnancies.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and October 2023. The sample included 219 high-risk pregnant women who had high-risk pregnancies and were admitted to prenatal clinics at a state hospital. t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and hierarchical linear multiple regression were performed using IBM SPSS software version 23.0.

Results

This study indicated that high-risk pregnant women exhibited moderate levels of sense of coherence (54.43 ± 7.49), high acceptance of pregnancy (24.53 ± 5.83), and low levels of prenatal distress (11.63 ± 4.96). The research findings showed that acceptance of pregnancy was influenced by the wanted pregnancy status (β = 0.231, p = 0.002), prenatal distress (β = 0.275, p = 0.000), and sense of coherence levels of women (β = −0.206, p = 0.001). The explanatory power of the model was 34% (F = 5.250, p = 0.000).

Conclusions

The research revealed a strong link between the acceptance of pregnancy and factors such as the desired status of the pregnancy, prenatal stress, and a sense of coherence. These findings highlight key psychosocial predictors of pregnancy acceptance in high-risk pregnancies.