Abstract:

This descriptive study was carried out to determine the perceived social support level of pregnant women and factors affecting them. The sample consisted of 329 pregnant women who had no mental disabilities, were literate and had no risks in pregnancy. Prior to the research, ethical permission was obtained from the relevant institutions and individuals. The data were collected by using the Risk Assessment Form of the Ministry of Health, the Pregnant Diagnosis Form and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The data collected were analyzed using the percentage, means, and the Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests. RESULTS: It was found that the majority of pregnant women (64.4%) did not receive education in prenatal care, and 71. 4% of pregnancies were not planned. Almost all of those who had a planned pregnancy took prenatal care in the first trimester. The total average of MSPSS for pregnant women was 53.86±20.21. The family support subscale of the scale was 23.06±5.75 and was the highest. A significant difference was found between family support and age, work status, family type, and gestational week of pregnancy, whether the pregnancy was planned, the education level of the spouse and the social security of the women under study (p<0.05). A significant difference was also found between the pregnant women’s perceived level of social support and their level of education, work status, social security coverage, perceived level of the family income, family type, gestational week, and whether or not the pregnancy was planned (p<0.05). The perceived level of social support is influenced by the women’s status, their gestational week and whether or not the pregnancy was planned.

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