A longitudinal study of transformation in quality of life and related factors for pregnant women with nausea and vomiting

6^th World Nursing and Healthcare Conference

August 15-17, 2016 London, UK

Fan-Hao Chou, Mei-Chun Liu and Shih-Hsien Kuo

Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Nausea and vomiting (NV) are the most common symptoms of pregnancy, affecting 70% to 85% of women. These also impact women�s and fetal health, such as low quality of life (QOL) and low body weights of the mother. In addition, QOL is one of the most important indicators of evaluation for health care recently. There are many studies related to QOL, but few related to QOL and pregnancy-related NV. The purpose of this study was to explore the variation on QOL and its related factors among pregnant women with NV throughout 3 trimesters. This study was a longitudinal study design. A convenience sample of 101 pregnant women using questionnaires was recruited from prenatal clinics in southern Taiwan. The measurement instruments of this study included the Index of nausea, vomiting, and retching, the NVPQOL-Taiwan version, and visual analogous scales of stress and symptom disturbance. Data were collected at 3 times: during the first (weeks 6�13), second (weeks 14�27), and third (weeks 28�40) trimesters. Data were analyzed using SPSS packages for Windows. Generalized Linear Mixed Models indicated significant differences (p<0.001) for the scores of the perceived level of symptom distress, stress, and NVPQOL were observed at the first, second, and third trimesters. The score of NVPQOL obtained in first trimester was higher than those of the second and third trimesters (133.73 vs. 105.54 vs. 103.64), indicating the worst QOL in the first trimester. The scores of the perceived level of symptom distress, stress, and NVPQOL in the first trimester were significantly higher than those of the second and third trimesters. There was no significant difference between these scores of the second and third trimesters. These findings can provide advanced knowledge of transformation in QOL and related factors for pregnant women with NV to healthcare providers. It can also serve as empirical data for clinical care based on different trimesters to have better QOL for these women.

Biography :

Fan-Hao Chou, RN, PhD, Professor, College of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Email: fanhao@kmu.edu.tw