Identifying patterns of symptom distress in pregnant women: A pilot study
Journal
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Journal Volume
18
Journal Issue
12
Pages
6333
Date Issued
2021
Author(s)
Abstract
During pregnancy, a woman’s enlarged uterus and the developing fetus lead to symptom distress; in turn, physical and psychological aspects of symptom distress are often associated with adverse prenatal and birth outcomes. This study aimed to identify the trends in the trajectory of these symptoms. This longitudinal study recruited 95 pregnant women, with a mean age of 32 years, from the prenatal wards of two teaching hospitals in northern Taiwan. Symptom distress was measured by a 22-item scale related to pregnancy-induced symptoms. The follow-up measurements began during the first trimester and were taken every two to four weeks until childbirth. More than half of the pregnant women experienced symptom distress manifested in a pattern depicted to be “De-creased then Increased” (56.8%). Other noticeable patterns were “Continuously Increased” (28.4%), “Increased then Decreased” (10.5%) and “Continuously Decreased” (4.2%), respectively. It is worth noting that most pregnant women recorded a transit and increase in their symptom distress, revealed by their total scores, at the second trimester (mean 22.02 weeks) of pregnancy. The participants’ major pregnancy-related distress symptoms were physical and included fatigue, frequent urination, lower back pain, and difficulty sleeping. The mean scores for individual symptoms ranged from 2.32 to 3.61 and were below the “moderately distressful” level. This study provides evidence that could be used to predict women’s pregnancy-related symptom distress and help healthcare providers implement timely interventions to improve prenatal care. ? 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Subjects
Patterns; Pregnancy-induced symptom distress; Pregnant women; Trajectory
Other Subjects
health care; maternal health; noncommunicable disease; pattern recognition; physical activity; pregnancy; symptom; adult; anxiety; Article; childbirth; constipation; depression; diarrhea; disease association; disease severity; distress syndrome; dizziness; dyspnea; fatigue; female; first trimester pregnancy; follow up; hemorrhoid; human; illness trajectory; leg cramp; leg swelling; longitudinal study; low back pain; maternal behavior; maternal disease; nausea; paresthesia; patient worry; pelvic pain; pilot study; pollakisuria; pregnancy outcome; pregnant woman; prenatal care; second trimester pregnancy; sleep disorder; stomach distension; symptom; Symptom Distress Scale; Taiwan; teaching hospital; uterus contraction; vomiting; birth; epidemiology; pregnancy; Adult; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Parturition; Pilot Projects; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Taiwan
Type
journal article