title: Relationship between social support and quality of life in childbearing women during the perinatal period.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore demographic and social support predictors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (mental and physical) for childbearing women in the perinatal period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three public hospitals in metropolitan Brisbane, Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred seventy-three (473) women recruited at 36 weeks of pregnancy, and 6 and 12 weeks following childbirth.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Short Form-12 (SF-12) Version 2 Health Survey was used to measure the mental and physical domains of HRQoL. Social support was measured using the Maternal Social Support Scale (MSSS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean scores for the mental and physical domains of HRQoL were lower than population norms. Social support was found to be a significant and consistent predictor of higher HRQoL scores, particularly in the physical domain at 12 weeks following child birth and mental domain during the perinatal period. The relationship between social support and HRQoL was found to be independent of other factors including education, length of relationship with partner, age, parity, and antenatal visit. The only other significant predictor was length of relationship with partner in the mental domain at 36 weeks of pregnancy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Social support is a significant and consistent predictor of a mother's HRQoL during the perinatal period. Nurses and midwives need to assess social support, rather than making assumptions based on demographic factors.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Midwifery & Nutrition, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia. elizabeth.emmanuel@jcu.edu.au
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Emmanuel
authors.forename: Winsome
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: St John
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D008603:Mental Health; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000379:methods; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011788:Quality of Life; D011793:Queensland; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult