Determinants of quality of life among pregnant women in the city centre of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey

Background: To evaluate the quality of life in pregnancy is very important because of the changes in the female body during pregnancy. Quality of life should be evaluated in terms of health protection during pregnancy, prevention of health problems and treatment. Aims: The aim of this study is to determine the quality of life and the affecting factors by trimesters of pregnancy. Methods: The population of this cross-sectional study consisted of pregnant women in a city center of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The study included 12 districts across a range of socioeconomic structures. Every district was selected by a simple random sampling method. The study was conducted by the researchers in the home of pregnant women by face to face interview method. The data were collected using "Personal Information Form" and "Quality of Life Scale". The total sample consisted of 1010 pregnant women, 192 of which were in first trimester, 277 of which were in second trimester and 541 of which were in third trimester. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: There was no statistically significant difference between trimesters in physical domain (P = 0.96), mental domain (P = 0.94) and social domain (P = 0.47) of quality of life scale and there was a difference only in environmental domain (P = 0.02). The lowest quality of life in all three trimesters was found to be in physical domain. Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference between trimesters in physical, mental and social domains of quality of life scale and there was a difference only in environmental domain. The lowest quality of life scores in all three trimesters were in the physical domain. The quality of life of pregnant women differed according to the trimesters and some sub-dimensions of quality of life of pregnant women were negatively affected in all three timester.