Health-promoting Lifestyles and Related Factors in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Introduction: Health-promoting behavior increases the self-care of the individuals and improves the health. It reduces the chance of maternal and fetal harm during pregnancy. The objective of this study was to determine the sociodemographic factors related to health-promoting self-care behavior in Iranian pregnant women categorized by domains.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design with convenience sampling was used to recruit 384 pregnant Iranian women that were referred to the health center in Sari in 2014-2015. Self-reporting questionnaires included sociodemographic characteristics and health-promoting lifestyle profile-II questionnaires. Data were analyzed with using the statistical package for the social sciences software (version 19). One-way ANOVA and chi-square tests were used to determine the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics and health-promoting behaviors.Results: The mean age of pregnant women was 27.65±4.753 years. Most of the participants were in the second trimester of pregnancy. The mean of the total score for health-promoting behaviors was 142.96±17.947. Among the six dimensions of health-promoting behaviors, the interpersonal relations scored maximal, and the physical activity scored the lowest. Significant correlations existed between spirituality and the wife’s education, the wife’s job, and the family income. In addition, a significant correlation was established between stress management and the wife’s education, also between the aspect of relationships and the husband’s education, the wife’s education, the family income, and the decision maker (all P<0.005).Conclusion: The findings of the present study confirmed that the sociodemographic factors were vital in health-promoting behaviors in pregnant women.