Relation between quality of life and mental health in pregnant women with prior pregnancy loss

Abstract

Aim: This paper intends to compare quality of life (QoL) and mental health among pregnant women with and without previous pregnancy loss.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 409 women between the 16th and 30th weeks of gestation in health centers in Ahvaz, Iran, including 145 women with prior pregnancy loss (group 1) and 264 women without such history (group 2). Data were collected using the QoL Short Form-36 questionnaire, the Mental Health Questionnaire 25 and a questionnaire for assessing sociodemographic variables. Data were analyzed using spss version 22. Results were analyzed using the χ² -test, the Student's t-test and logistic regression. P < 0.05 was defined as statistically significant.

Results: There was a significant difference between the two groups in respect to QoL and mental health. Women with previous pregnancy loss had lower scores in total and in all subscales of the QoL Short Form-36 (P < 0.001) and higher scores in total and in six out of the nine subscales of the Mental Health Questionnaire 25 compared to women without these histories.

Conclusion: Women with history of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth seem to have poorer QoL and mental health during their subsequent pregnancy than those without such experience.

Keywords: adverse pregnancy outcomes; fetal loss; mental health; quality of life.