RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOPELESSNESS AND SELF-ESTEEM OF PREGNANT WOMEN: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN SOUTH EASTERN TURKEY

This study aimed to determine relationship between hopelessness and self-esteem of pregnant women. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between February and June 2019 at the maternity and children hospital of a province, located in south-east region of Turkey. 128 pregnant women in the third trimester, who applied to the hospital in order to receive antenatal care, constituted the sample. "Sociodemographic data form", "Rosenberg self-esteem scale" and "Beck hopelessness scale" were used for data collection. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Mean age of the participants was 27.99 +/- 5.89 and mean gestational week was 34.67 +/- 6.44. Mean total scores obtained from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem and Beck Hopelessness scales were 0.97 +/- 0.47 and 4.92 +/- 4.02, respectively. We found a statistically significant relationship between the education level of the pregnant women and mean score obtained from the Beck hopelessness scale (p<0.05). We also found a weak and positive relationship between self-esteem and hopelessness levels of the participants (r: 0.251, p: 0.005). This study found that self-esteem levels of the participants decreased as their hopelessness levels increased. Besides, pregnant women with lower education level had higher hopelessness levels. The feeling of hopelessness during the pregnancy had a negative impact on self-perception, which, in turn, creates problems for the pregnant mother to fulfill their roles of motherhood. Consequently, we may suggest that the attempts to increase education levels of women may help them to demonstrate healthy lifestyle behaviors.