The Role of Maternal Empowerment during Pregnancy in Predicting Parent and Infant Outcomes among Working Women

Abstract

In this longitudinal small-scale study, we examined the association between maternal empowerment during pregnancy and infants’ social-emotional competence along with important maternal factors such as parental stress and the quality of mother-infant relationships. Thirty-eight women residing in a Midwestern state participated during the third trimester of pregnancy and when their infant was three to four months old. Results did not support a direct association between maternal empowerment during pregnancy and infants’ social-emotional competence. However, maternal empowerment during pregnancy, the quality of mother-infant relationships, and parental stress were significantly associated with one another, and parental stress was an important mediator of the association between maternal empowerment during pregnancy and the quality of mother-infant relationships. Our findings provide potential implications for the development of programs or practices that enhance the quality of mother-infant relationships by empowering pregnant women and reducing parental stress.