Assessment of perceived stress amongst primigravidae attending an ante natal clinic in Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Pregnancy is an important life event for the woman and is often accompanied by many positive changes and events in anticipation of motherhood; especially for primigravidae. However, the physical, physiological, psychological changes and socio-cultural events related to pregnancy qualify pregnancy as a potent stressor. Stress reactivity during pregnancy may increase the risk of spontaneous abortion, low birth weight and development of mental illness in the offspring. This risk may constitute a big burden in our society considering the high pregnancy and birth rate typical of our society; and such data including for primigravidae is very scanty. This study aims to assess perceived stress amongst primigravidae in our local environment and relate it to socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. We hypothesized, that primigravidae in our local environment will have significant perceived stress. A total of 120 primigravidae were recruited in a cross-sectional study in an antenatal clinic of an urban hospital in Kano city, northern Nigeria. Socio-demographic and clinical information was obtained during an interview and physical examination. Perceived stress was assessed using perceived stress score (PSS-10). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20.0. The median age of the primigravidae was 20.0 (3) years and 93.3% of them fell within the age range of 16-25 years. Most were secondary school educated house wives living above the poverty line with a singleton pregnancy in the third trimester. The median PSS score of the participants was 13 (8), indicating that the primigravidae had low perceived stress. Majority (53.3%) of the participants had low perceived stress, while the rest had moderate perceived stress and none of them had severe perceived stress. Perceived stress score of the subjects was influenced by the presence or absence of twin pregnancy (Chi = 12.05, P = 0.002). The Perceived stress score was not associated with any of the socio-demographic or clinical characteristics (P > 0.05). It is concluded that the primigravidae generally had low perceived stress which was influenced by the presence or absence of twin pregnancy and not associated with the socio-demographic or clinical characteristics examined.

Keywords: Perceived stress, primigravidae, pregnant women, maternal and child health, Kano, Nigeria