Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences

Supervisor:

• prof.dr. R.G. De Vries 

Co-supervisors:

• dr. M. Ausems;
• dr. M. Nieuwenhuijze 

Keywords:

maternal distress, pregnant women, intervention

Each year, one in four or five pregnant women – some 35,000 in total – experience mental and emotional problems during pregnancy. This is known as maternal distress and can trigger fear of childbirth, postnatal depression and serious, long-term psychological symptoms. As for the child, it can lead to low birth weight and developmental and behavioural problems later in life. The intervention WazzUp Mama was developed to reduce and prevent maternal distress. This tailored website with practical tips can help pregnant women identify how they feel and determine the factors that contribute to emotional imbalance. In addition to the website, the intervention also includes instructions to help midwives offer the right support during pregnancy. This dissertation found that women who were introduced to the WazzUp Mama intervention method were emotionally stronger than women who weren't. This study was carried out as part of the Midwifery Science research group at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences.