The relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors and pregnancy distress situations in pregnant women during the COVID-19 epidemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant changes in pregnant women’s healthy lifestyles such as nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and weight gain. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between pregnant women’s healthy lifestyle behaviors and distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: The data were collected between April and October 2021 through face-to-face interviews with pregnant women over 18. The sample of the study consisted of 209 pregnant women. The Tilburg pregnancy distress scale and the healthy living behaviors scale were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, parametric tests, and regression analysis methods were used to analyze the data in the study. Results: As a result of the study, the mean Tilburg Distress Scale score of pregnant women was 19.91±9.15. The total psychological distress score of 26.8% of the pregnant women was observed to be higher than the cutoff point. The mean score of the healthy living behaviors scale of pregnant women was 120.71±17.04. It was observed that the Tilburg Distress Scale total score and the spousal participation sub-dimension score affected pregnant women’s healthy living behaviors scale total score (values p<0.001 and p<0.005, respectively). It was determined that the total score of the Tilburg Distress Scale was 0.34 times effective on the quality of life during pregnancy, and the spousal participation sub-dimension was −2.16 times effective. Conclusion: This study concluded that pregnant women experienced psychological distress during the COVID-19 period and that this situation affected the quality of life of pregnant women.