Relationship between personal factors, pregnancy risk perception and self-care behaviors of first-time pregnant women

Abstract

Pregnancy is a period of physical and psychological changes, especially for first-time pregnant women who have no experience. Complications may occur during pregnancy if the pregnant woman is unaware of the risk conditions and has inappropriate self-care behaviors. This descriptive research aimed to examine the relationship between pregnancy risk perception and self-care behaviors among first-time pregnant women. The study sample consisted of first-time pregnant women attending antenatal care at Koh Kha Hospital. Research instruments included a personal information, a pregnancy risk perception, and a pregnancy self-care behavior questionnaire. Content validity was reviewed by five obstetrics experts, with content validity indices of .87 and .92, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of .90 and .82, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficients. The results revealed that participants had a moderate level of overall risk perception and self-care behavior during pregnancy ( =2.94, SD= 0.62) and self-care behavior ( =2.68, SD=0.30). A significant negative correlation was found between risk perception and exercise behavior and work (r=–.353, p<.05). Gestational age at the first antenatal visit was positively correlated with exercise behavior and work (r =.318, p< .05) but negatively correlated with stress management behavior (r=–.335, p<.05). No significant relationship was found between overall risk perception and self-care behavior (r=.005, p=.977). These findings can be applied to the development of educational interventions and self-care promotion models for first-time pregnant women, particularly among younger individuals with low levels of risk perception.