Effect of preconception counseling on health promoting behaviors of reproductive age women in Sari city

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Prenatal health behaviors encompass different health-promoting behaviors in women of reproductive age,which improve physical and mental health, as well as pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of prenatal trainingon the health-promoting behaviors of the women of reproductive age.Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 104 women of reproductive age in Sari city locatedin Mazandaran, Iran. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. Inclusion criteria were willingnessto have children, age range of 18-40 years, and overall physical and mental health. Data were collected using sociodemographicquestionnaires and standard health promoting lifestyle (HPLP-II) questionnaire. In the intervention group, training was performed infour sessions (45-60 minutes) at one-week intervals focusing on health responsibility, physical activity and stress management. Onemonth after the intervention, data analysis was performed using independent T-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Chisquaretest, and mean, frequency, and standard deviation.Results: After prenatal training, total score of health-promoting behaviors had a significant difference in the intervention and controlgroup (151.60±17.503 vs. 139.42±19.596) (P=0.002). Mean score of health responsibility (27.75±4.066), physical activity (21.10±3.211)and stress management (23.19±3.036) were higher in the intervention group compared to the control group (23.90±5.032, 16.84±4.017and 19.66±3.330, respectively), and the study groups had a statistically significant difference in this regard (P