PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS IN BRAZILIAN WOMEN WITH HIGH AND LOW-RISK PREGNANCIES

Pregnancy is a period defined by several changes in women's lives and involves social, biological, marital and psychological facts. The way each woman reacts to pregnancy varies according to the circumstances in which the pregnancy occurred. The objective of this study was to compare the occurrence of depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress levels and social support for pregnant women, at high and low risk, during prenatal care, in the Brazilian public health system. Sixty-six high-risk pregnant women and 60 low-risk pregnant women, aged between 18 and 35, participated in the study. The Interview Roadmap, Social Outcomes Study (MOS), Hospital Anxiety and Av. Bandeirantes, 3900 Vila Monte Alegre, CEP: 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil, email: ncvaz@hcrp.usp.br Natália C. V. Soncini, Cassiana M. Oliveira, Juliana C. Viviani, & Ricardo Gorayeb www.sp-ps.pt 123 Depression Scale (HAD) and Perceived Stress Scale (EEP) were used to assist in data collection. The results show higher frequency of symptoms of anxiety and depression in high-risk pregnancies (36.36%) than in low-risk pregnant women (25.93%), and higher level of stress in low-risk pregnant women score 24.24 for high-risk pregnant women and 34.66 for low-risk pregnant women. In the sample, high-risk pregnant women had an average of 79,81 and low-risk pregnant women an average of 90,05 in relation to the social support variable.