* Corresponding author: Nahid Golmakani, Assistant Professor, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Tel: 09153114393; Email: golmakanin@mums.ac.ir The Relationship between Prenatal Coping Strategies and Irrational Beliefs in Pregnant Woman Farideh Khavari (MSc) 1 , Nahid Golmakani (MSc) 2 *, Azadeh Saki (PhD) 3 , HamidReza Aghamohammadian Serbaf (PhD) 4 1 Student in Midwifery, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 4 Professor, Department of Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Article type: Original article Background & aim: Physiological changes during pregnancy cause high levels of stress in the mother. Thus, the need for maternal psychological adjustment using coping strategies is important. Coping strategies can be influenced by individual beliefs and attitudes. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the relationship between irrational beliefs and prenatal coping strategies. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 702 low-risk pregnant women at 35-39 weeks of gestation (gravidity: 3≥) who referred to the health centers of Mashhad, Iran, during 2015. Multi-stage random sampling was used to select the participants (stratified, cluster proportional to size). Data collection tools included Demographic and Midwifery questionnaire, Irrational Beliefs Test, and Revised Prenatal Coping Inventory. Reliability of the scales was determined with inter-class correlation coefficient. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, regression, and general linear models by SPSS, version 16. Results: Total score of irrational beliefs had a significant direct correlation with avoidance coping strategies (r=0.24, P<0.001), but it had no significant correlation with planning-preparation and spiritual-positive coping strategies (P>0.05). Also, types of irrational beliefs were significantly related to the dimensions of perinatal coping strategies (P<0.001). Conclusion: Considering that types of irrational beliefs can affect stress coping behaviors, it is necessary to include the evaluation of these two issues in prenatal screening. Article History: Received: 21-Jun-2017 Accepted: 15-Ap-2017 Key words: Irrational beliefs Pregnancy Prenatal coping Please cite this paper as: Khavari F, Golmakani N, Saki A, Aghamohammadian Serbaf HR. Prenatal Coping Strategies Based on the Irrational Beliefs in Pregnant Woman. Journal of Midwifery and Reproductive Health. 2018; 6(2): 1215-1222. DOI:10.22038 /JMRH.2017.9921 Introduction Pregnancy is a physiological event, which can cause stress and anxiety in the mother due to neuroendocrine, physical, psychological, and social changes (1). In this period, mothers should adapt to their new role. For some women, change and taking on the increasing pregnancy-related responsibilities is challenging (2). In addition to daily stresses, pregnant women are concerned about the health of their child and the unknown process of delivery (3). Holmes and Rahe also accounted pregnancy as a stressful event, and gave it a score of 40 out of 100 (4). Studies performed in England and Sweden reported the prevalence of stress in pregnancy to range from 33% to 37% and from 5% to 7%, respectively (1). The study of Bahadoran (2005) in Isfahan, Iran, showed that 19.27% and 25.58% of the pregnant women suffered from moderate and severe levels of stress, respectively (5).