Development And Evaluation Of Pregnancy Intention Scale

OBJECTIVE:To develop a Pregnancy Intention Scale that is valid,reliable,and appropriate in the context of contemporary China and is suitable for use with any pregnancy situations.METHODS:A two stage study design:qualitative methods to delineate the construct of pregnancy planning,and quantitative methods to establish the means of measurement.This qualitative study was carried out in two maternal and child health hospital in Hubei Province.In order to investigate women's circumstances before pregnancy,brief surveys and semi-structured were conducted with 40 consenting postpartum and currently pregnancy women.A thematic framework approach was used to analyze the data and identify key themes about women's pregnancy intention.Samples comprised pregnant and postpartum women recruited at two maternal and child health hospital in Hubei Province.Quantitative research field tests were carried out with 402 women.Reliability(internal consistency)was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlations.Construct validity was assessed using factor analysis and principal components analysis.RESULTS:Among the 40 women,34 of them were during the pregnancy period,and 6 were currently hospital inpatients on the postpartum unit.Some areas related to their motivations towards pregnancy were found:intentions,feelings towards motherhood,number of children to intend,contraceptive use,pregnancy timing,partner's influences,parent's influences,gender preference,pre-conceptual preparations.Those ten areas were clustered into three domains using the Theory of Planned Behavior:women's stance related to pregnancy,women's behavior,and the context of their lives.A twelve item measure of pregnancy intention was produced.Quantitative methods demonstrated that Pregnancy Intention Scale was better reliability in a China(Cronbach's a = 0.669,all itemtotal correlations>0.20)and high conten.Four factors were extracted with cumulative contribution rate of 56.019%,which demonstrated a good constructive validity.The loading of each item on the corresponding factors was higher than 0.4.Women's positions in relation to pregnancy intention and planning are represented by the range of scores(0-24).CONCLUSION:The results suggest that,from a planned behavior perspective,the current conceptual framework that views pregnancy-related stances and behaviors in Chinese women may be appropriate.The pregnancy intention scale is a valid and reliable measure of pregnancy intention,and is acceptable to Chinese women.Use of the Scale can enhance our understanding of pregnancy intention in China,giving insight into the family planning services that are required to better meet women's needs and save lives.