GEBELERİN DESTEK GEREKSİNİMLERİ: SOSYAL MEDYA MI SOSYAL ÇEVRE Mİ DAHA ETKİLİ?

The study was conducted to determine whether the social environment or social media is more effective in terms of the support needs of pregnant women in the prenatal period.The study was conducted using a phenomenological design one of the qualitative research designs between April-June 2022. The criterion sampling type was determined for the sample and the subjects who met the determined criteria were included in the study. 13 pregnant women were interviewed within the scope of the study, but 3 pregnant women were excluded from the study as they could not provide sufficient data. The study was continued with 10 pregnant women in line with the phenomenological design. The study data were collected through in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview form. In the analysis of the data, the thematic analysis technique was employed, and by moving from the meaning that emerged from the readings of the researchers to the themes, the phenomena were made more comprehensible.The data obtained were gathered under the themes of situations in which social support is needed, social support sources, getting information from the social environment and social media in meeting the need for social support, pregnant women's status of being affected by information sources, the use of the social environment and social media in combination, and changes in thought, attitude, and behavior according to the source of information. Pregnant women need social support in their pregnancy period. They use both the social environment and social media for these needs. However, they move forward by comparing both sources with each other. As a result, it was determined that pregnant women use both types of sources and progress by making comparisons between them.