The importance of resilience in women with and without high-risk pregnancy: Results from an Italian sample

Background: Resilience is defined as a force that drives a person to grow through adversity and disruption (Davydon, 2010). Aim: Given that pregnancy represents a period of vulnerability and stress, especially in the case of at-risk pregnancy, the aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between resilience and the pregnancy’s outcome (age of birth, weight, Apgar I and II, and cranic circumference, and length) in a sample of women with and without at-risk pregnancy. Methods: Participants were 140 pregnant women. Results: Among the women with at-risk pregnancy, we found a positive relation between resilience and gestational age of birth (r = .27, p < .05), weight (r = .53, p < .001), Apgar I (r = .25, p < .05), Apgar II (r = .25, p < .05), cranic circumference (r = .33, p < .01), and length (r = .43, p < 001) of the baby. On the contrary, any significant relation was found between resilience and pregnancy’s outcomes in women with a physiological pregnancy. Discussion and Conclusions: Resilience represents a protective factor for the pregnancy’s outcome in women with at-risk pregnancy. As a consequence, in case of at-risk pregnancy, psychological interventions should be aimed to increase women’s resilience in order to protect them and the child’s health.v