Perceived stress and its predictors in women with threatened preterm labour: A cross-sectional study.
Maryam Najjarzadeh, Shamsi Abbasalizadeh, Sakineh Mohammad-Alizadeh-Charandabi and 2 others
PMID 34553513WHAT IT FOUND
Hospitalized women with threatened preterm labour reported high stress: 41.8% had high stress, 35.9% borderline.
Urban living, psychological violence, low social support, poor sleep and income problems were linked to higher stress.
Key findings
01In 409 analysed women hospitalized with threatened preterm labour, mean perceived stress score was 18.7, and 35.9% had borderline and 41.8% high stress.
02Urban living, psychological violence during pregnancy, and low or moderate perceived social support were the strongest associated factors for higher stress.
03Sexual violence, dissatisfaction with sleep quality, insufficient household income, caring for older relatives, noise exposure, and living with extended family were also associated with higher stress.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional study, so it cannot show that any predictor caused higher stress. There was no control group, so the study cannot compare stress in women with threatened preterm labour with stress in other pregnant women. The stress, social support, and violence data were self-reported during hospital admission, so responses could be affected by the situation or by wanting to give acceptable answers. The sample came from two tertiary hospitals in Tabriz, Iran, and included hospitalized women, so it may not apply to women in other settings or to women not admitted to hospital. Three analysed cases had 1 to 4 missing values on violence or social support questions, and those answers were replaced with average values.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by Tabriz University of Medical Sciences.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that changing urban living, violence, social support, sleep, or income problems will lower stress. This was a cross-sectional study without a control group, so it shows associations at one point in time, not cause and effect.