The effect of psychological resilience, perception of social support, and birth stories on normal birth beliefs of pregnant women

This study was conducted in a descriptive design to examine the effect of psychological resilience, perception of social support, and birth stories on the normal birth belief of pregnant women. The study was conducted between December 2021 and December 2022 with 428 pregnant women who lived in any region in Turkey. The data were collected with the Pregnancy Descriptive Information Form, the Normal Birth Belief Scale, (NBBS), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the Connor-Davidson Psychological Resilience Scale (CD-PRS). Number, percentage, mean, Student t test, Variance, Multiple Linear Regression, Pearson and Spearman Correlation analyses were used in the statistical evaluation of the data. The mean gestational week was 31.25±6.34. The mean total score of NBBS was 76.83±13.87, and according to the cut-off point of the scale, 6.5% had low, 72.7% had moderate, and 20.8% had high-level beliefs and tendencies. The total score of the MSPSS was 63.69±12.89. 91.1% of the pregnant women listened to the birth story of someone who gave birth, 61.4% watched a video about birth, and 78.5% read an article about birth. There was a statistically significant, positive, and low-level relationship between the total score of NBBS and the MSPSS and CD-PRS (p<0.05). The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the Psychological Resilience variables predicted the Belief in Normal Birth by 6.5%. Listening to a positive birth story, watching a positive birth video, and reading a positive written text had a 1.176-fold, 1.203-fold, and 1.265-fold increasing effect on the total score of normal birth belief of pregnant women, respectively (p<0.05). It was concluded that psychological resilience and social support perception were effective on normal birth beliefs of pregnant women, and listening to a positive birth story, watching a positive birth video, and reading a positive written text about birth increased normal birth beliefs. In order to increase the normal birth beliefs of pregnant women, it is recommended to midwife and nurse that pregnant women routinely screen their mental health and social support status, provide necessary care and counseling in the presence of risk, and provide women-centered obstetric care.