AIMS: Pregnancy is an important part of a woman's life, but relatively few studies have investigated their quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study is to determine the factors that influence the QOL in pregnant women. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study including 394 pregnant women from 3 hospitals in mid-Taiwan were conducted in 2004. The average age of the pregnant women was 28 years and the standard deviation was 4.6 years. The numbers of women in the first, second and third trimesters were 83, 119 and 178, respectively. Participants completed the Taiwan version of the WHOQOL-BREF, SF-36 and other data, such as age, education level, employment status and pregnancy stage, were collected. The correlation coefficients and Cronbach's alpha were used to evaluate the validity and internal consistency. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the determinants of QOL. RESULTS: Our results showed the internal consistency was good, ranging from 0.68 to 0.79 in the WHOQOL-BREF domains and from 0.56 to 0.87 in the SF-36 scales. Except social functioning scale of the SF-36, the convergent validity and discriminant validity for all WHOQOL-BREF domains and SF-36 scales were good. The first trimester had significantly worse scores in the general health scale of the SF-36. The third trimester had significantly better scores in physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain and role emotional scales of the SF-36, and also in the physical component score of the SF-36. The employed pregnant women had significantly worse scores in the general health scale of the SF-36. While, there were no significant differences among all domains of WHOQOL-BREF. CONCLUSIONS: Stage of pregnancy and employment status are important predictors of quality of life in pregnant women.
