Negative perceptions and emotional impact of striae gravidarum among pregnant women: Emotional impact of striae gravidarum

2021 
Abstract Background: The impact of striae gravidarum (SG), or stretch marks of pregnancy, on quality-of-life is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate how SG impact life-quality in pregnant women. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey study of healthy pregnant women who developed SG during their current pregnancy, we asked about the impact of lesions on emotional, psychological, and life-quality facets. Spearman product-moment correlation coefficients (r) were generated to determine the strength of relationships between variables. Results: We analyzed 116 valid surveys. Participants reported permanency of SG as the top physical concern (n=87, 75%). Regarding severity, nearly three-quarters of participants rated their lesions as “very prominent” (n=24, 21%) or “moderate” (n=57, 49%). Among life-quality facets queried, embarrassment/self-consciousness was the one most frequently associated with SG, with over one-third of participants reporting “a lot” (n=19, 16%) or a “moderate” (n=26, 22%) amount of embarrassment/self-consciousness related to having SG. Lesion severity significantly correlated with the degree of embarrassment/self-consciousness (r=0.543), as well as the impact of SG on other life-quality facets, including overall quality-of-life (r=0.428), clothing choice (r=0.423), self-image/self-esteem (r=0.417), feelings of anxiety/depression (r=0.415), and social activities (r=0.313) (all p≤0.001). Nearly one-quarter of participants felt that emotional distress related to SG was similar or more than that caused by other skin problems, such as acne, psoriasis, or eczema. Conclusion: SG can be associated with a host of negative reactions reflecting increased psychological and emotional distress, including embarrassment and decreased quality-of-life. These consequences may compound the emotional stress of pregnancy, potentially warranting psychological support and adjustment strategies.
    • Correction
    • Source
    • Cite
    • Save
    • Machine Reading By IdeaReader
    0
    References
    0
    Citations
    NaN
    KQI
    []