Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal

Background and Objectives: Recent studies have shown that social and environmental factors as well as social communication play crucial role in pregnancy outcomes. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between perceived social support in pregnancy with birth satisfaction. Materials and Methods: This was a correlational-descriptive study in which 200 pregnant women referred to the Shahid Akbarabadi hospital were randomly selected. Data were collected using demographic characteristic, the Multidimensional scale of perceived social support and Machey questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the regression analysis in the SPSS-16. Results: There was statistically significant relationship between the family and partner perceived social support with birth satisfaction. Only the partner perceived social support could explain the variance of birth satisfaction among the participants (p<0/05). Data indicated that the mean score of the partner perceived social support (23/63±4/34) was higher than the family perceived social support (22/51±5/18) and friends perceived social support (16/56±6/16). The mean score of birth satisfaction was 68/16±10/22. Conclusion: There was significant association between family and partner perceived social support with the birth satisfaction. It highlighted the necessity of providing educational programs for spouses and families of pregnant women in order to support and alleviate their birth satisfaction.