Psychological Well-being during Pregnancy: The Contribution of Stress Factors and Maternal-Fetal Bonding

Meital Navon–Eyal, Orit Taubman - Ben-Ari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy and anticipation of the birth of the first child is considered a happy and exciting time. However, the stress involved in pregnancy has been found to put women at greater risk of impaired psychological well-being, or higher distress. Confusion in the theoretical literature between the terms ‘stress’ and ‘distress’ makes it difficult to understand the underlying mechanism that may enhance or reduce psychological well-being. We suggest that maintaining this theoretical distinction and examining stress from different sources, may allow us to gain new knowledge regarding the psychological well-being of pregnant women. Objective: Drawing on the Calming Cycle Theory, to examine a moderated mediation model for the explanation of the dynamic between two stress factors (COVID−19-related anxiety and pregnancy stress) that may pose a risk to psychological well-being, as well as the protective role of maternal-fetal bonding. Methods: The sample consisted of 1,378 pregnant women who were expecting their first child, recruited through social media and completed self-report questionnaires. Results: The higher the COVID−19-related anxiety, the higher the pregnancy stress, which, in turn, was associated with lower psychological well-being. However, this effect was weaker among women who reported greater maternal-fetal bonding. Conclusion: The study expands knowledge of the dynamic between stress factors and psychological well-being during pregnancy, and sheds light on the unexplored role of maternal-fetal bonding as a protective factor against stress.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
Early online date9 Jun 2023
DOIs
StateE-pub ahead of print - 9 Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • COVID-19-related anxiety
  • Maternal-fetal bonding
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy stress
  • Psychological well-being

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