Quality of life of cardiac patients during pregnancy and after birth

Abstract

Objective: Analyze the changes in the quality of life of cardiac patients during pregnancy and after birth and study the correlations between the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and quality of life measures during the postpartum period. Methods: This prospective study included 33 pregnant women selected through non-probabilistic sampling. The research instrument was the SF-36 questionnaire. To compare the mean domain scores of the SF-36, Student's t-test was used, as well as Spearman's coefficient for possible correlations. Results: In comparison with the pregnancy, the assessed quality of life improved after birth, except in the domains general health status and vitality. The variable pregnancy planning indicated a positive correlation with the mental health domain and a negative correlation with emotional aspects in the postpartum period. Conclusion: After birth, the quality of life improved. Not planning the pregnancy contributed to improve the mental health, but aggravated the emotional aspects in the postpartum period.