Investigation of the effect of pregnant women's psychological well-being on their perceptions of birth self-efficacy

This descriptive study was conducted to examine the effect of the psychological well-being of pregnant women on their perceptions of childbirth self-efficacy. It was conducted with low-risk pregnant women with a gestational week of 20 and above in Karadeniz Technical University Farabi Hospital Pregnancy Polyclinic between January 2021 and December 2022. The sample consisted of 400 pregnant women determined with G power analysis. The data were collected using the Descriptive Information Form for Pregnant Women, Childbirth Self-Efficacy Scale, and Psychological Well-Being Scale. Student t test, Analysis of Variance, Regression, and Pearson correlation analysis tests were used to analyze the data. The mean age of the pregnant women was 29.43±4.95 years, and the mean gestational week was 33.13±4.87. The mean total score was found to be 242.84±38.63 for the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Scale and 48.62±7.01 for the Psychological Well-Being Scale. The explanatory effect of psychological well-being on childbirth self-efficacy of pregnant women was determined as 27%. A statistically significant positive relationship was found between the mean total scores of the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (r=0.526, p<0.05). Some socio-demographic characteristics of pregnant women (income perception, family type, etc.), fear and anxiety about childbirth, perception of adequate partner support during pregnancy, and the need for support from health professionals during pregnancy were found to affect the total score of childbirth self-efficacy and psychological well-being (p<0.05). Based on the results, it was concluded that psychological well-being was effective on pregnant women's perception of childbirth self-efficacy, and there was a positive relationship between perception of childbirth self-efficacy and psychological well-being. To improve the perception of childbirth self-efficacy and psychological well-being of pregnant women, it is recommended that midwives and nurses should routinely screen each pregnant woman in terms of childbirth self-efficacy and psychological well-being and offer necessary counseling services in the presence of risk.