Identifying Patterns of Symptom Distress in Pregnant Women: A Pilot Study

Ching-Fang Lee, Fur-Hsing Wen, Yvonne Hsiung, Jian-Pei Huang, Chun-Wei Chang and Hung-Hui Chen
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Ching-Fang Lee: Department of Nursing, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City 25245, Taiwan
Fur-Hsing Wen: Department of International Business, Soochow University, Taipei City 100006, Taiwan
Yvonne Hsiung: Department of Nursing, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City 25245, Taiwan
Jian-Pei Huang: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei City 104217, Taiwan
Chun-Wei Chang: Department of Psychiatry, Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital, New Taipei City 24352, Taiwan
Hung-Hui Chen: School of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10051, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-15

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 “Decreased 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.

Keywords: pregnant women; pregnancy-induced symptom distress; patterns; trajectory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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