How Risky Pregnant Women Achieve Positive Antenatal Experience: A Cross-Sectional Study of Examination of the Sense of Coherence, Prenatal Distress, and Pregnancy Acceptance

Abstract

Rationale: Antenatal care incorporating a health-promoting approach should focus on positive pregnancy experiences. This approach can bring pregnant women closer to the health dimension. Aims and Objectives: To examine the effects and explanatory power of sense of coherence and prenatal distress on pregnancy acceptance among high-risk pregnancies. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and October 2023. The sample included 219 high-risk pregnant women who had high-risk pregnancies and were admitted to prenatal clinics at a state hospital. t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and hierarchical linear multiple regression were performed using IBM SPSS software version 23.0. Results: This study indicated that high-risk pregnant women exhibited moderate levels of sense of coherence (54.43 ± 7.49), high acceptance of pregnancy (24.53 ± 5.83), and low levels of prenatal distress (11.63 ± 4.96). The research findings showed that acceptance of pregnancy was influenced by the wanted pregnancy status (β = 0.231, p = 0.002), prenatal distress (β = 0.275, p = 0.000), and sense of coherence levels of women (β = −0.206, p = 0.001). The explanatory power of the model was 34% (F = 5.250, p = 0.000). Conclusions: The research revealed a strong link between the acceptance of pregnancy and factors such as the desired status of the pregnancy, prenatal stress, and a sense of coherence. These findings highlight key psychosocial predictors of pregnancy acceptance in high-risk pregnancies.