RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL SUPPORT AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PREGNANT WOMEN AT HABITUAL RISK: THE IMPACTS FOR PHYSICALTHERAPY ASSISTANCE
Support, quality of life, pregnancy, pregnant
Women in the gestational period have been objects of study, regarding Quality of life (QL). Another relevant point to be considered is the social support (SS) networks in this context. They are important foundations to pregnancy to be conducted in the best possible way. Family and financial support, recreational activities, psychological support, prenatal care are relevant points so that the pregnant woman can feel welcomed and inserted in the biopsychosocial scope, minimizing complications during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, as well as psychological disorders. The objective of this study was to verify the relationship between QL and SS in pregnant women at usual risk, and its impacts on physical therapy care. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out in the Laboratory of Physiotherapy in Women's Health (LAFISM), of the physiotherapy department of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, within an extension project involving pregnant women, in the period from January to 2021 to January 2022. The sample consisted of 102 pregnant women with a mean chronological age of 31.06±3.65 years, being between the second and third trimester of pregnancy. All of them answered an initial assessment form, the Social Support Questionnaire - The Medical Outcomes Study for Social Support Survey, and the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Questionnaire. The observed data suggest that there is a relationship between SS and QL in the group of pregnant women. However, more studies need to be performed to confirm or refute the results of this study.