Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Midwifery, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Midwifery, Service Development & Health Promotion Research Center, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Medical & Health Services Management, Safety Promotion & Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

4 Associate Professor, Department of Management, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

5 Associate Professor Gynecology Department, Ayatolah Hospital, Zanjan, Iran

6 Medical Student’s School of Medical Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Social support by family and community reduces maternal stress during pregnancy and enhances the process of delivery and thus improves maternal health. This study aimed to analyze the concept of social support for pregnant mothers.
Methods: This study was a qualitative phenomenological one. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured in-person interviews with 40 pregnant mothers and health care providers. A total of 40 individual interviews were conducted. The participants were selected using purposive sampling, and the interviews continued until new and rich concepts did not emerge. Conceptual analysis in this study was performed using the Dikelman method.
Results: In the initial data analysis, 1017 codes were first extracted. After comparing the data, the number of codes was reduced to 105, and finally, three categories were extracted. The concept of social support for pregnant mothers from the participants’ perspective was classified into three categories of “information support”, “need satisfaction”, and “spiritual support”.
Conclusion: Policymaking and service delivery for pregnant women considering the dimensions of social support through increasing information, meeting needs, and providing spiritual support for mothers can be an effective step in improving the health of pregnant mothers.

Keywords

  1.  

     

    1. Racine N, Madigan S, Plamondon A, Hetherington E, McDonald S, Tough S. Maternal adverse childhood experiences and antepartum risks: the moderating role of social support. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2018; 21(6):663-670. doi: 10.1007/s00737-018-0826-1.
    2. Bosquet Enlow M, Bollati V, Sideridis G, Flom JD, Hoxha M, Hacker MR, Wright RJ. Sex differences in effects of maternal risk and protective factors in childhood and pregnancy on newborn telomere length. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2018; 95:74-85. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.05.025.
    3. Grigoriadis S, Graves L, Peer M, Mamisashvili L, Tomlinson G, Vigod SN, Dennis CL, Steiner M, Brown C, Cheung A, Dawson H, Rector NA, Guenette M, Richter M. Maternal anxiety during pregnancy and the association with adverse perinatal outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Psychiatry. 2018; 79(5):17r12011. doi: 10.4088/JCP.17r12011.
    4. Badon SE, Miller RS, Qiu C, Sorensen TK, Williams MA, Enquobahrie DA. Maternal healthy lifestyle during early pregnancy and offspring birthweight: differences by offspring sex. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2018; 31(9):1111-1117. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2017.1309383.
    5. Kinsella SM, Carvalho B, Dyer RA, Fernando R, McDonnell N, Mercier FJ, Palanisamy A, Sia ATH, Van de Velde M, Vercueil A; Consensus Statement Collaborators. International consensus statement on the management of hypotension with vasopressors during caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia. Anaesthesia. 2018; 73(1):71-92. doi: 10.1111/anae.14080.
    6. Moss KM, Simcock G, Cobham VE, Kildea S, Laplante DP, King S. Continuous, emerging, and dissipating associations between prenatal maternal stress and child cognitive and motor development: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. Early Hum Dev. 2018; 119:29-37. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev. 2018.02.022.
    7. Alexander E. The relationship between maternal ptsd and child internalizing behaviors: the influence of parenting stress and social support. Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Nebraska, Lincoln; 2019.
    8. Soma-Pillay P, Makin JD, Pattinson RC. Quality of life 1 year after a maternal near-miss event. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2018 Apr;141(1):133-138. doi: 10.1002/ijgo.12432.
    9. Taraban L, Shaw DS, Leve LD, Natsuaki MN, Ganiban JM, Reiss D, Neiderhiser JM. Parental Depression, Overreactive Parenting, and Early Childhood Externalizing Problems: Moderation by Social Support. Child Dev. 2019; 90(4): 468-485. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13027.
    10. Cwikel J, Segal-Engelchin D, Niego L. Addressing the needs of new mothers in a multi-cultural setting: an evaluation of home visiting support for new mothers–Mom to Mom (Negev). Psychology, Health & Medicine. 2018; 23(5):517-24. doi: 1080/13548506.2017.1363896.
    11. Ginja S, Coad J, Bailey E, Kendall S, Goodenough T, Nightingale S, et al. Associations between social support, mental wellbeing, self-efficacy, and technology use in first-time antenatal women: data from the BaBBLeS cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2018; 18:441. doi: 10.1186/s12884-018-2049-x.
    12. Aaron A, Rostosky SS. Transgender individuals' perceptions of maternal support in central Appalachia. Journal of GLBT Family Studies. 2019; 15(1):1-21. doi: 10.1080/1550428X.2018.1431167.
    13. McDermott ER. Reproducing economic inequality: Longitudinal relations of self-control, social support, and maternal education. Journal of Applied Developmental 2018; 56:79-88. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2018.03.002.
    14. Noohi E, Nazemzadeh M, Nakhei N. The study of knowledge, attitude, and practice of puerperal women about exercise during pregnancy. Iran Journal of Nursing. 2010, 23(66): 64-72. [In Persian].
    15. Hammarberg K, Taylor L. Survey of Maternal, Child and Family Health Nurses' attitudes and practice relating to preconception health promotion. Aust J Prim Health. 2019; 25(1):43-48. doi: 10.1071/PY18078.
    16. Azami M, Badfar G, Shohani M, Mansouri A, Soleymani A, et al. The Prevalence of Depression in Pregnant Iranian Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2018; 12(3):e9975. doi: 10.5812/ijpbs.9975.
    17. Esmaelzadeh Saeieh S PhD, Rahimzadeh M PhD, Yazdkhasti M PhD, Torkashvand S Ms. Perceived Social Support and Maternal Competence in Primipara Women during Pregnancy and After Childbirth. Int J Community Based Nurs Midwifery. 2017; 5(4):408-416.
    18. Gilbert L, Gross J, Lanzi S, Quansah DY, Puder J, Horsch A. How diet, physical activity and psychosocial well-being interact in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: an integrative review. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2019; 19(1):60. doi: 1186/s12884-019-2185-y. 
    19. Kharrazi S, Peyman N, Esmaily H. Correlation between Maternal Health Literacy and Dietary Self-Efficacy in Pregnant Mothers. Health Educ Health Promot. 2018;6(1):9-16. doi: 29252/HEHP.6.1.9.
    20. Barnes LAJ, Barclay L, McCaffery K, Aslani P. Complementary medicine products: Information sources, perceived benefits and maternal health literacy. Women Birth. 2019; 32(6):493-520. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2018.11.015. 
    21. Homer CSE, Castro Lopes S, Nove A, Michel-Schuldt M, McConville F, Moyo NT, Bokosi M, Ten Hoope-Bender P. Barriers to and strategies for addressing the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of the sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health workforce: addressing the post-2015 agenda. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2018 Feb 20;18(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s12884-018-1686-4.
    22. Navodani T, Gartland D, Brown SJ, Riggs E, Yelland J. Common maternal health problems among Australian-born and migrant women: A prospective cohort study. PloS One. 2019;14(2):e0211685. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211685.
    23. Ntre V, Papanikolaou K, Triantafyllou K, Giannakopoulos G, Kokkosi M, Kolaitis G. Psychosocial and Financial Needs, Burdens and Support, and Major Concerns among Greek Families with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). International Journal of Caring Sciences. 2018; 11(2):985-95.
    24. Tabrizi JS, Farahbakhsh M, Bazargani HS, Saadati M, Golestani M, Zakeri A. Health services utilization and responsiveness: a comparison of slum and non-slum regions in Tabriz, Iran. Medical Science. 2018; 22:577-82.
    25. Davies L, Richards J. Maternal and newborn transition: adjustment to extrauterine life. In Davies L, McDonald S. (Eds.), Examination of the newborn and neonatal health e-book: a multidimensional approach. Londan: Elsevier; 2008. PP. 107-26.
    26. Keley M, Nazari AM, Zahrakar K. The experience of pregnant women about sexual relation during pregnancy: a phenomenological study. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2020; 7(3):240-51. [In Persian].
    27. Hoseini BL, Saeidi M, Beheshti Norouzi Z, Kiani MA, Rakhshani MH. Assessment of Maternal Satisfaction with the Quality of Obstetric Care Provided in the Maternity Unit of Mobini Hospital, Sabzevar, Iran. International Journal of Pediatrics. 2019;7(5):9369-77. doi: 10.22038/IJP.2019.36862.3283
    28. Delavari M, Mohammad-Alizadeh-Charandabi S, Mirghafurvand M. The relationship between maternal-fetal attachment and maternal self-efficacy in Iranian women: a prospective study. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 2018 Jul;36(3):302-311. doi: 10.1080/02646838.2018.
    29. Fathi F, Mohammad-Alizadeh-Charandabi S, Mirghafourvand M. Maternal self-efficacy, postpartum depression, and their relationship with functional status in Iranian mothers. Women Health. 2018; 58(2):188-203. doi: 10.1080/03630242.2017.1292340.
    30. Narenji F, Nahidi F, Ebadi A, Nasiri M. Spiritual health care during pregnancy from Iranian mothers' perspective: a qualitative study with a content analysis
    31. Mental Health, Religion & Culture. 2018; 21(5):458-69. doi: 10.1080/13674676.2018.1484434.
    32. Hassanian ZM, Bagheri A, Sadeghi A, Moghimbegi A. Relationship between nurses' social responsibility and the quality of delivered nursing services to patients in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. J Pak Med Assoc. 2019; 69(1):99-102.
    33. Powell S, Gómez-Carlier N. A reflective space: Supporting local and expatriate patients, developing culturally sensitive mental health practices. Innovations in Global Health Professions Education. 2019; 1(1): 58-60.