Fetal health locus of control in a sample of pregnant Turkish women

Background/aim: To examine the relationship between sociodemographic and pregnancy features and fetal health locus of control (FHLC) in a sample of pregnant Turkish women. Materials and methods: The study was conducted with 256 pregnant women. Data were collected by demographic questionnaire and the FHLC Scale consisting of 3 components: 1) Internality Scale (FHLC-I), 2) Powerful Others Scale (FHLC-P), and 3) Chances Scale (FHLC-C). Results: The age of marriage was found to have a positive relation with FHLC-I (r = 0.141) and a negative relation with FHLC-C (r = –0.145) (P 0.05). The age of first pregnancy was found to have a positive relation with FHLC-I (r = 0.127). Those who have a low educational level (r = –0.258) and income (r = –0.149), who are unemployed (r = –2.839), whose number of pregnancies is high (r = 0.152), who get pregnant unplanned (r = 3.839), and who come to their first prenatal examination late (r = –0.142) have a significantly high score of FHLC-C (P 0.05). Conclusion: It may be helpful for better outcomes of prenatal care to identify pregnant women who believe that their behavior has little effect on the health of their fetus and that it is controlled by chance.