Social Support and Health Promoting Behaviors among Pregnant Women inBangladesh

Abstract

Background: The adoption of health-promoting behaviors during pregnancy can be a safe strategy to maintain and improve maternal health and childbirth outcomes. Various factors affect the successful adoption of these behaviors and the choice of a healthy lifestyle. Social support and health-promoting behaviors are factors that can increase awareness and decrease health risks for the mother. Objective: To examine the relationship between social support and health promoting behaviors among pregnant women in Bangladesh. Method: A correlational study was conducted among 102 pregnant women using a convenience sampling technique at a tertiary-level hospital in Dhaka. The instrument consisted of three parts: a socio-demographic section, a social support questionnaire, and a health-promoting behaviors questionnaire. Data were collected through structured questionnaires with face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics such as t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson product-moment correlation. Result: The study results showed that the mean score of social support was 68.71 (SD = 7.762) and the mean score of health-promoting behaviors (HPBs) was 163.53 (SD = 10.697). Social support was significantly and moderately correlated with HPBs (r = .566, p = .000). The following demographic characteristics were significantly associated with HPBs: education (F = 11.659, p = .000), monthly family income (r = .429, p = .000), and occupation (t = -2.726, p = .008). Conclusion: The study concluded that the social support, education, occupation and income were significant factors that influence the health promoting behavior. Therefore, social support needs to increase by prenatal counselling and health education for better health promoting behavior among pregnant women.