Relationship between social support, family functioning, sociodemographic and gynecological-obstetric characteristics in pregnant women who attend prenatal care

Abstract

Introduction: Social support is an important aspect during pregnancy as it facilitates favorable coping with stressful situations that may arise during this stage of a woman’s life. Likewise, family support is a protective factor by reducing the risk of neonatal complications, facilitating the coping of the pregnant woman and the transition to motherhood. Objective: To establish the relationship between social support, family functioning, sociodemographic and gynecological-obstetric characteristics in pregnant women who attend prenatal care in a Primary Care Health Institution. Methods: Quantitative study of comparative and cross-sectional design. The information was collected by applying a sociodemographic survey and gynecological-obstetric variables. In addition, the Functional Social Support and Family APGAR questionnaires were used. 357 participants were selected. The data were analyzed using the Chi square test; statistical significance was established with p-value <0.05, and a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was performed. Results: There is a significant relationship between social support and socioeconomic status (p-value: 0.041). Occupation is another category that is also related to functional social support (p-value: 0.033); pregnant women who work have a normal perception, contrary to those who do household chores. Conclusions: Health services must provide comprehensive care to pregnant women, given the physical and emotional changes that occur during this period, hence the importance of social support as a mechanism to promote the physical and mental health of the pregnant woman and her unborn child.