Coping strategies in low-risk pregnant women: the influence of low and late fertility

Abstract

Objective: Socio-demographic factors were strongly associated with coping styles in pregnant women. We studied fertility postponement, a new increasing phenomenon in industrialized countries.

Method: We studied coping (The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, CISS) in 341 healthy pregnant women, with a median age of 34 years (IQR 31–36), in their third trimester, living in Veneto, region of Italy which emerges for its low and late fertility.

Results: Task-oriented coping was the most frequently used coping styles (Median, IQR: 48, 44–53), followed by Emotion-oriented coping (Median, IQR: 44, 39–49). Avoidance-oriented coping with subscales Social Diversion and Distraction were used least frequently (Median, IQR: 44, 38–49; 21, 18–24, and 14, 12–16, respectively). Socio-demographic factors were not associated with coping styles, but maternal age was inversely correlated with task coping (Spearman coefficient rho = −0.13, p = 0.02).

Conclusion: Fertility postponement leads to the selection and use of ineffective coping strategies in an effort to alleviate anxiety.

• Childbearing age
• CISS
• coping assessment
• fertility postponement
• pregnant women