PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PREGNANT ADOLESCENTS

In México, perinatal maternal mortality constitutes the tenth cause of death among women between 15 and 29 years of age. Even though the factors that increase the risk of death of young Mexican pregnant women are unclear, it is possible that the psychosocial stress imposed upon them could impair their life's quality in such a profound way that pulls their organisms into a cataclysmic event. To begin exploring the merits of this presumption, we conducted a study aimed at evaluating whether psychosocial stress impacts negatively on the adolescent pregnant women's perception of their quality of life, and thus on their health. One hundred and twenty two pregnant women between 14 and 35 years of age were asked to fill out three questionnaires designed to gather information on background factors, stress symptoms and the perception of their quality of life and health. These data were cross-correlated by using a Pearson correlation analysis. Even though the perceived stress and the estimated quality of life were similar between adolescent and non-adolescent pregnant women, the former were more concerned about their restrictions to have free time and to have readily access to medical attention than the latter. Non-adolescent pregnant women had significantly greater emotional support from their families. Also, there was a relationship between the stress symptoms and the quality of life perception in pregnancy and this relationship varies in adolescent and non-adolescents. These results mean that nonetheless the level of stress symptoms do not vary with the pregnancy age; it has a different kind of impact on the quality of life perception, which may be used in the development of targeted interventions.