Pregnancy as a stressful life event and strategies for coping with stress in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) represents an extremely important problem in perinatology. Despite numerous clinical observations and studies, the etiology and exact sequence of pathophysiological events accompanying this specific disorder have remained still unresolved. The concepts most often considered are those that include genetic, endocrine and immunological mechanisms. Besides, one can also find in the literature considerations addressing potential participation of psychologicalfactors in pregnancy-induced hypertension. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included two groups of women--100 women with PIH and 100 of women with normal course of pregnancy, which were tested using two questionnaires concerning pregnancy as a stressful event and using strategies for coping with stress. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Women with PIH experience pregnancy in a more stressful way than women with regular course of pregnancy. However, it is necessary to point out that respondents of both groups thought that pregnant women seek attention from everyone from their environment, and that their husbands/partners should pay special attention to them during pregnancy. The importance of relationship between partners during pregnancy and the emotional life of pregnant woman has been also examined by other researchers. These data suggest that pregnancy is an emotionally vulnerable period during which women demand special attention from the environment and especially from their husbands/partners. In view of using particular strategies to cope with stress, certain differences have been registered between the two groups of women. Namely, women with PIH utilize much more the mechanism of seeking social support and much less the mechanism of positive redefinition, compared with women with normal course of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: From the psychosocial approach, pregnancy may be considered as a specific state of high emotional tension, which can represent a potent stressor. In the frame of specific reactions to stress, pregnancy as a stress-inducing situation may lead to transformation of emotional tension to biochemical and vegetative response, and thus contribute to onset of pregnancy-induced hypertension.