Perceived Social Support and Women's Empowerment and Their Associations with Pregnancy Experiences in Anxious Women: A Study from Urban Pakistan

Malik, Abid, Park, Soim, Mumtaz, Sidra, Rowther, Armaan, Zulfiqar, Shaffaq, Perin, Jamie, Zaidi, Ahmed, Atif, Najia, Rahman, Atif ORCID: 0000-0002-2066-4467 and Surkan, Pamela JJ (2023) Perceived Social Support and Women's Empowerment and Their Associations with Pregnancy Experiences in Anxious Women: A Study from Urban Pakistan. MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH JOURNAL, 27 (5). pp. 916-925.

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Abstract

<h4>Objectives</h4>Psychological distress in pregnancy is associated with adverse postnatal outcomes. We aimed to identify how social support and women's empowerment are associated with pregnancy-specific daily experiences among women suffering antenatal anxiety in Pakistan.<h4>Methods</h4>Data were collected as part of a randomized controlled trial of a psychosocial intervention for antenatal anxiety in a tertiary hospital in Pakistan. We included 594 women in early pregnancy (≤ 22 weeks) who endorsed mild to severe anxiety symptoms. Generalized linear regression models were used to analyze the associations of perceived social support and women's empowerment in relation to pregnancy-specific daily hassles and uplifts using a culturally adapted and psychometrically validated version of the Pregnancy Experience Scale-Brief.<h4>Results</h4>High social support was positively associated with frequency and intensity of positive pregnancy-specific experiences (B = 0.39, 95% CI 0.23-0.54 uplifts frequency; and B = 0.17, 95% CI 0.12-0.22 uplifts intensity), and was inversely associated with frequency of negative pregnancy-specific experiences (B = - 0.44, 95% CI - 0.66, - 0.22). Women's household empowerment was associated with greater uplifts frequency and intensity (B = 0.55, 95% CI 0.20-0.90 frequency; and B = 0.28, 95% CI 0.17-0.40 intensity). High social support and household empowerment were inversely related to PES hassle-to-uplift ratio scores.<h4>Conclusions for practice</h4>Greater social support and household empowerment were associated with positive pregnancy-specific experiences in the context of antenatal anxiety in Pakistan.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Anxiety, Pakistan, Pregnancy, Social support, Stress, Women's empowerment
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	20 Apr 2023 07:07
Last Modified:	06 Feb 2024 02:30
DOI:	10.1007/s10995-023-03588-6
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3169729