The Relationship between Demographic Variables and Religious Attitudes in Pregnant Women with Incidence of Infant Colic

Introduction: Despite years of scientific research, the true cause of neonatal colic is still unclear. In fact, the cause of the infantile colic is considered multi-factorial and it is not known whether the physiological or psychosocial factors are responsible for creating these conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between demographic variables and religious attitudes in pregnant women with incidence of colic in infants. Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 300 pregnant women referred to women and midwifery departments of educational hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. The newborn babies of these mothers from October 2015 to October 2017 were examined for incidence of colic. The information about the occurrence of colic and religious attitude of mothers was done by a researcher-made questionnaire as well as maternal case and birth case records. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient test using SPSS software version 20. Results: The findings showed that there was a significant relationship between the religious attitude of the pregnant mother and the history of colic in her offspring with colic incidence in infants (P <0.001). There was no significant relationship between the number of pregnancies, feelings about the fetus, life satisfaction and difficulty in the previous pregnancy, and incidence of colic in the infancy (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Considering the positive impact of mothers' religious attitudes on reducing the incidence of neonatal colic, paying more attention to the spiritual dimension of human existence and planning to promote it in pregnant women, should be considered.