ASSESSMENT OF PREGNANCY RELATED STRESS AMONG WOMEN WITH SPONTANEOUS PREGNANCY(SP) AND IN VITRO FERTILIZATION/EMBRYOTRANSFER PREGNANCY(IVF/ET-P).

Introduction and background: A happy and trouble-free pregnancy is something thatall parents and practitioners might hope for, but for many couples this is not the reality and many women can experience stress at some point during their pregnancy.1 It was observed that pregnancy related stress in antenatal women who have adopted assisted reproductive technique due to infertility issues significantly affects maternal and fetal health and even the successful ratio of assisted reproductive technique. Also social stigma associated with it present in society about infertile women.2 This study was conducted to assess the pregnancy related stress in women with spontaneous pregnancy and in vitro fertilization or embryo transfer pregnancy. Methodology: Descriptive comparative research design was used. The study was conducted atselected hospitals of Central Gujarat Region.45 antenatal women having spontaneous pregnancy and 45 antenatal women having IVF/ET pregnancy were conveniently selected. A baseline data questionnaire and pregnancy related anxiety questionnaire ? Revised (PRAQ-R) was used for data collection. Results: The study result showed that stress level among woman is different in SP pregnancy group after 08 and 12 week. The mean stress level at 08 weeks of gestation in the SP group was 21.64 and in the IVF/ET pregnancy group was 19.78. The calculated?t? value was 12.42.While after 12 weeks of gestation mean pregnancy related stress of SP group was 17.80 and in the IVF/ET pregnancy group was 28.64. The calculated?t? value is 5.861.