Quality of life is closely related to sociodemographic and environmental factors, living conditions and social relationships. Pregnancy is a period of adaptations and physical and emotional changes for women, which can affect their quality of life, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy, when most of the physical changes occur and delivery is approaching. The evaluation of this health indicator is important so that the physiotherapist can know where to act and what to offer for the health of the pregnant woman.

To describe the quality of life of pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy.

This work comprises preliminary data from a cross-sectional observational study, with a sample composed of 24 women in the third trimester of normal-risk pregnancy, with a mean age of 29.33±3.897 years and who had lower limb edema. Quality of life was assessed using the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index, adapted for pregnant women by Fernandes, Narchi and Cianciarullo. This instrument consists of 36 items divided into four domains, namely: health and functioning (16 items); family (4 items); social and economic (9 items); and psychological/spiritual (7 items). The score can vary between 0 and 30 points, with higher scores indicating better quality of life.

The sample was characterized by being mostly married (79.2%), primiparous (70.8%), with planned pregnancy (47.1%) and complaint of lower limb edema (100%). The mean score for overall quality of life was 21.70±3.627, with a minimum score of 14.79 and a maximum score of 28.76. Only one of the pregnant women scored less than 15 points in quality of life, showing that most have a quality of life ranging from fair to good. The family domain obtained the highest average score (25.37±3.59), followed by the psychological/spiritual (23.25±4.56) and social/economic (22.30±4.00) domains. Health and functioning had the lowest score among the four (19.07±4.34), which points to how much physical changes during pregnancy can affect quality of life in the third trimester. Another piece of data that corroborates this observation is that item 7 (energy for everyday activities), within that same domain, had the lowest score in the sample.

For the characteristics of this preliminary sample of pregnant women in the third trimester, it was observed that pregnancy had a low impact on quality of life in general, with a greater decline in the health and functioning domain. It is necessary to expand the sample and correlate these data with their sociodemographic characteristics.

The results demonstrate the importance of the physiotherapist in relieving the physical symptoms of women in the third trimester of pregnancy, in order to increase their quality of life, and to guarantee that this period is lived in the best possible way.