Assessment of health-promoting lifestyle habits in normal and high-risk pregnancies

Objective: We planned this study in descriptive type in order to assess health-promoting lifestyle habits in normal and high-risk pregnancies. Methods: The population of the study consisted of all pregnant women who were receiving service at the clinic of high-risk and normal pregnancies of Konya Maternity Ward, Turkey. The size of population was calculated by power analysis as 71 individuals per group (total n=142). In order to prevent data losses, a total of 145 pregnant women were contacted. Pregnant women who volunteered to participate in the study, older than 18-year-old, who had no mental disorder and primary school graduate at least were included in the study. The data of the study was collected by sociodemographic questionnaire and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) scale. Results: The mean of total HPLP score was 117.27±24.24 in normal pregnant women, and 123.62±25.44 in high-risk pregnant women. There was no significant difference between normal and high-risk pregnancies in terms of total HPLP scores. However, there was a significant difference between two groups in terms of health responsibility (p=0.047), exercise (p=0.031) and stress management (p=0.039) subscales. Conclusion: In this study, we evaluated the health-promoting lifestyle habits of pregnant women and the factors affecting these habits. According to the results of the study, the development of risk conditions or their pre-existence during pregnancy makes a difference in the levels of health-promoting lifestyle habits and affects them negatively.