Post-earthquake birth-rate evaluation using the brief cope

Abstract

Background: The study arises from the idea of analyzing the reasons why many women in L’Aquila decided to conceive in the months following the 2009 earthquake. In the months from January to June 2011, there was a +27.24% increase in the number of newborns (+ 91) delivered in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit of the San Salvatore Hospital of L’Aquila compared to the same six-month period in 2010. Methods: Between January 2010 and December 2010, 874 women gave birth in L’Aquila. The women living outside of L’Aquila were excluded from the study. The remaining women, namely a sample of 451 individuals, were administered a questionnaire that focused on the level of stress experienced during the earthquake, and subsequently the Brief Cope. Results: After the earthquake there was a +22.64% increase in the number of women who desired a pregnancy. The results of the Brief Cope show that the coping strategies used by the women in L’Aquila were active coping, planning, acceptance and positive reframing. Conclusions: The desire for motherhood was the main reason accounting for the increase in births that occurred after the earthquake. The decision to have a child was the tangible sign of adaptation to the post-traumatic stress.

Keywords::

• Earthquake
• birth-rate
• Brief-Cope
• coping
• post-traumatic growth

Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.