The effect of perceived spousal support on childbirth self-efficacy on pregnant women in turkey

BACKGROUND: Spousal support during pregnancy reduces the anxiety and stress of the pregnant women and increases the ability to cope with the problems experienced by the pregnant women. The study aimed to examine the effect of perceived spousal support on childbirth self-efficacy on pregnant women in Turkey. METHODS: This cross-sectional exploratory study was conducted on 524 pregnant women who volunteered to participate in the research by approving the shared online survey and distributed by sharing the online questionnaire created by the researchers on social media (such as Facebook and Instagram) forums or group pages between 20 June and 27 July 2022. Data were collected with an e-questionnaire including The Information Form prepared by examining the literature from the pregnant women who volunteered to participate, the Spouse Support Scale measures the perceived spousal support level and consists of 27 questions, and the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Scale measures women's self-confidence in childbirth and their ability to cope and consists of 32 questions in the study. RESULTS: The mean age of the pregnant women was 29.99 (5.62) and the mean week of gestation was 25.93 (7.72). It was determined that 11.5% of the pregnant women were related to their spouses, 78.2% were married voluntarily, 86.5% had knowledge about birth, and 74.6% had a planned pregnancy. The Spouse Support Scale (SSS) total score average was 66.06 (19.82), the emotional support sub-dimension mean score of SSS was 22.03 (6.63), the material support and information support sub-dimension mean score was 17.17 (5.12), appreciation support sub-dimension mean score was 19.52 (5.90) and social interest support sub-dimension mean score was 21.98 (10.18), while the total mean score of the Childbirth Self Efficacy Scale (CBSES) was 234.20 (108.14), CBSES's result expectation sub-dimension mean score was 116.98 (54.13), and proficiency expectation sub-dimension mean score was 117.22 (54.07). A statistically significant correlation was found between the total and sub-dimension mean scores of CBSES and the mean scores of the total and sub-dimension SSS in pregnant women (p < .001). CONCLUSION: It was determined that perceived spousal support has an effect on birth self-efficacy in pregnant women in Turkey. Obstetrics nurses and midwives should support the spousal support and birth self-efficacy of pregnant women during pregnancy follow-up and delivery.