The Effects of Prenatal Classes on the Quality of Life in Pregnant Women

Quality of life is individuals’ perception of their status in life in the context of the culture and value systems they live in. Pregnancy has a great impact on mothers and their quality of life. Prenatal classes provide mothers with information about pregnancy, labor process and newborn care.
The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of prenatal classes on the quality of life of pregnant women.
This quasi-experimental study recruited 100 pregnant women in Amini Hospital of Langeroud, Iran. Mothers were divided into intervention group, who received education (n = 50), and control group who received only routine prenatal care (n = 50).Prenatal classes were held in 8 sessions. The quality of life of pregnant women was assessed before and after the intervention. Data was collected by a demographic questionnaire and a Quality of Life Short Form Survey (SF-36) which was completed by women before and after the intervention. After entering into the computer, the statistical data were analyzed using chi-square test and independent and paired t tests.
The results of comparing the means of quality of life domains in the intervention group showed that mental health (P=0.40), vitality (P=0.11), and emotional role functioning (P=0.87) had higher health scores in the intervention group compared to before the intervention, although the difference was not statistically significant and only physical functioning had a significant difference (P=0.001). However, the comparison of the mean and standard deviation of quality of life domains before and after classes in the control group indicated lower scores for all domains after theintervention. Differences were significant in terms of physical functioning (P=0.007), physical role functioning (P=0.011), emotional role functioning(P=0.039), and pain (P=0.002).
The study showed that women who received prenatal education had better scores and mental health. Therefore, prenatal educations are necessary to improve health and quality of life of mothers.