Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology最新文献

Aims/background: Limited research has examined family-building strategies among plurisexual individuals. Culture and gender are essential determinants of parenthood prospects among individuals with minoritized sexual identities. For plurisexual individuals, the partner's gender also seems to play a critical role. Our investigation aimed to explore cisgender plurisexual individuals' preferred paths to parenthood considering their country of origin, gender, and partner's gender.

Design/method: We examined associations between preferred pathways to parenthood and country, gender, and partner's gender among 405 cisgender plurisexual individuals aged between 18 and 45 years (M = 25.76; SD = 5.57), from Portugal (n = 140; 34.9%), Israel (n = 78; 19.3%), Poland (n = 85; 21%), and the UK (n = 102; 25.2%).

Results: Overall, couple adoption and sexual intercourse were the most chosen pathways to parenthood, and self-insemination and co-parenting were the least chosen. Participants from Poland and the United Kingdom were less likely to choose artificial insemination, single adoption, and self-insemination than their Portuguese counterparts. Women were more likely than men to choose artificial insemination. Individuals in different-gender relationships were more likely to choose sexual intercourse as a means of having children than were those in same-gender relationships, and the opposite was true for artificial insemination.

Conclusion: Country, gender, and the partner's gender influence plurisexual individuals' choice of some parenthood pathways. Psychological and reproductive counselling should consider these aspects.

Background and aim: It is estimated that 19% of women experience childbirth as traumatic, and around 4% develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result. The City Birth Trauma Scale was developed specifically to assess childbirth-related trauma according to recognised diagnostic criteria. This study aimed to translate and validate the City Birth Trauma Scale in Italian (City BiTS-IT) and investigate its psychometric properties to enhance early detection and intervention.

Methods: The sample consisted of 255 postpartum women aged 18-38 years. Participants completed the INTERSECT Survey which includes the City Birth Trauma Scale (City BiTS). The bi-factor model was applied to assess the latent structure of the scale, and convergent and divergent validity were evaluated.

Results: The City BiTS-IT demonstrated good fit to the data, with high internal consistency (ω = 0.93) and reliability (ECV = 51%). Subscales of Birth-related symptoms and General symptoms showed good reliability (ω = 0.90, ω = 0.89, respectively). Convergent validity analyses revealed strong correlations between City BiTS-IT and depression (EPDS; r = 0.59). Birth-related symptoms correlated more strongly with birth satisfaction scores (BSS-R; r = -0.68), highlighting the impact of traumatic birth experiences on maternal satisfaction. The prevalence of childbirth-related PTSD was 2.4%.

Conclusion: The validation of the City BiTS-IT provides a valuable tool for healthcare professionals in Italy to identify and intervene early in cases of CB-PTSD. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to understand the progression of CB-PTSD symptoms and develop tailored interventions for at-risk populations.

Background: Obstetric violence (OV) is a form of mistreatment against women during childbirth that negatively impacts women's childbirth experiences and overall well-being. It is a globally recognised phenomenon, but the lack of a shared definition and measurement questionnaire makes it difficult to understand its prevalence. Furthermore, this form of violence has been studied mainly on the consequences of women's well-being, while no attention has been paid to its relationship with the quality of the mother-infant bonding. The present study aimed to provide an Italian validation of the Obstetric Violence Scale (OVS) and to explore the relationship between OV and the quality of postnatal maternal bond, considering the role of maternal depressive symptoms in this relationship.

Method: A total of 488 women (M = 34.36 ± 3.74) were recruited for validation of the OVS, and 577 (M = 34.11 ± 3.75) for testing the hypothesised model.

Results: The results confirmed the psychometric robustness of the Italian version of the OVS. Furthermore, the data highlighted a relationship between the experience of OV and the quality of postnatal maternal bond, both directly and indirectly, through the role of depressive symptoms. Women who experience OV are more likely to develop depressive feelings in the postpartum period, which, in turn, affects the maternal bond with the child.

Conclusions: This study is the first to highlight the relationship between OV and postnatal maternal bond quality, underlining the need for preventive policies and further longitudinal research to understand the long-term effects of OV.

Aims/background: Perinatal use of alcohol, caffeine, and second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure is associated with a variety of adverse birth outcomes and may be associated with adverse infant temperament outcomes. This study aimed to examine the relationship among maternal substance use, maternal sociodemographic factors, and infant temperament.

Design/methods: Using longitudinal data for 96 women and their infants in a health provider shortage area (HPSA), we examined the relationship between infant temperament and maternal alcohol and caffeine use, and SHS exposure prior to, during, and 6 months following pregnancy. We also assessed the relationship between religion, social support, employment status, and income with maternal substance use. Substance use was quantified via a semi-structured timeline follow-back interview and infant temperament was measured using the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire-Revised Short Form.

Results: SHS exposure was negatively correlated with infants' perceptual sensitivity. Non-Latter-day Saints religious affiliation was associated with alcohol use during pre-pregnancy, prenatal, and postnatal periods and caffeine use postnatally. Greater annual income was associated with less prenatal alcohol use and SHS exposure. Those without a college degree consumed more caffeine during pregnancy and were exposed to more second-hand smoke before, during, and after pregnancy.

Conclusion: Greater SHS may be related to less 6-month perceptual sensitivity though additional research is needed. Religious affiliation, income, and education were associated with substance use at various time points around pregnancy. This study informs protective influences on maternal substance use in HPSAs. Future studies should investigate perinatal substance use and infant temperament in socioculturally diverse samples, incorporating multi-method approaches.

Background: Postpartum mother-child bonding is crucial for maternal mental health and child development, with significant influences beginning in the prenatal period. The aims of this study were to examine if prenatal depressive symptoms and prenatal self-efficacy could predict postpartum bonding impairments and to determine if prenatal self-efficacy buffers the relationship between prenatal depressive symptoms and postpartum maternal bonding.

Methods: The final sample analysed was 189 expectant first-time mothers, who took part in a longitudinal prospective study. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Short Scale for Measuring General Self-Efficacy Beliefs (ASKU) were assessed in the last trimester of pregnancy. The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) was filled in 6 months after birth.

Results: Depressive symptoms and self-efficacy during pregnancy were significant predictors for postpartum bonding: The more depressive symptoms or the less self-efficacy, the more bonding impairments 6 months after birth were reported. Additionally, self-efficacy served as a significant moderator. A higher prenatal perceived self-efficacy buffered the negative effect of prenatal depressive symptoms on postpartum bonding.

Conclusion: The results highlight the need of prenatal screenings that assess both maternal mental health and self-efficacy, given the latter's protective role against depressive symptoms and its positive impact on bonding. Potential interventions to improve self-efficacy and reduce depressions should be available to pregnant women. This could improve maternal well-being and prevent or reduce impaired maternal postpartum bonding.

Introduction: The transition to parenthood is a period of excitement and stress that can affect couples' psychological well-being and relationships. Despite the significance of this period, there are limited effective, evidence-based couple-focused prevention programs. Research indicates that interventions emphasising enhancing co-parenting can be effective. This study is based on the hypothesis that enhancing co-parenting quality at the transition to parenthood can improve well-being, relationship quality and reduce destructive conflicts.

Methods: This protocol is a randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the Family Foundations Program in Iran. Family Foundations is a global, comprehensive program designed to support couples in fostering cooperative co-parenting during the transition to parenthood. The study will include both in-person and online sessions. Participants in the intervention group will attend five group sessions during pregnancy and four online sessions postpartum. The control group will receive standard prenatal and postnatal care. Participants in this study will be evaluated in three phases: pre-test (Pregnancy < 25 weeks), post-test (week 10 after delivery), and two-month follow-up (Iranian Clinical Trials Registry: IRCT20230709058725N1).

Conclusions: Most research on transition to parenthood programs has been conducted in developed Western societies. Evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of such programs in societies with differing economic and cultural conditions is essential. This study seeks to address gaps in the literature by providing insights into program evaluation in such a context.

Objective: A strong maternal bond to the infant has been shown to be important for child development and to be related to maternal mental health, for example to postpartum depression. During the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of maternal depression increased and some studies suggest that maternal bonding was also affected by the stressful circumstances related to the pandemic. Our aim was to examine the relationship between maternal bonding, depressive symptoms and perceived stress during the pandemic.

Methods: Five hundred and eighty-nine mothers of young children (mostly aged 0-3 years) participated in a longitudinal online survey. Data regarding maternal bonding, depressive symptoms and perceived stress was taken at two time points, the first (T1) with few pandemic-specific restrictions and the second (T2) while more pandemic-specific restrictions were in place (e.g. closures of day care facilities). Cross-lagged panel modelling (CLPM) was applied for analysis.

Results: Bonding, depressive symptoms and perceived stress significantly worsened from the first to the second time point (effect sizes d = 0.35, d = 0.56 and d = 0.49). CLPM strongly suggested cross-lagged, reciprocal predictions between depressive symptoms and perceived stress as well as a significant prediction of stress at T2 by bonding at T1, with a small effect (β = .08, p < .05).

Conclusion: This study shows that maternal mental health deteriorated during the pandemic and that bonding influenced these dynamics. In light of the importance of maternal bonding for child development, strengthening this bond can be considered a preventive measure to support mothers in times of crisis.

Aim: To explore whether nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) across the spectrum of severity is associated with depression and anxiety and to determine whether NVP and psychological variables predict antenatal anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Method: Using a longitudinal design, we recruited a community sample of 255 pregnant women from the UK. Participants completed online questionnaires examining depressive symptoms, anxiety, NVP, prenatal coping, perceptions of antenatal care and maternal fetal bond in the first (T1) and third (T2) trimesters.

Results: NVP across the spectrum of severity was associated with depressive symptoms throughout the antenatal period but not anxiety symptoms. Avoidant coping was significantly associated with NVP and predicted depressive symptoms in the first trimester but not the third trimester.

Conclusion: This study provides evidence that NVP, co-occurring anxiety and avoidant coping are risk factors for antenatal depressive symptoms. The findings have clinical implications for understanding the risk factors in antenatal depression and possible avenues of support for women experiencing NVP.

Objective: Postpartum social support can sometimes go beyond its purpose. This study was conducted to examine postpartum social support from the perspective of women.

Materials and methods: The study was conducted using a hermeneutic phenomenology approach, one of the qualitative research designs. The sample of the study consisted of women living in the western region of Türkiye who received social support postpartum. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of 2 sections. The first part included socio-demographic questions to initiate communication with women, and the second part included questions about the nature of the social support received by women. The interviews lasted approximately 30-35 minutes. The MAXQDA 2022 programme was used for the analysis, coding, and thematic formations of the data obtained from the interviews. The study concluded after interviews were conducted with 18 women.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 27.61 years. Women's social support was expressed in three themes: postnatal experiences, feelings, and conflicts. Women mostly complained about not being able to participate in the care of their babies due to the practices of the older generation and the exclusion of their husbands. Cultural practices were a key source of conflict in postpartum support.

Conclusion: Social support provided by the older generation is not always desired by mothers. It is thought that social support given in line with the demands of women, by the desired people, and in an individualised manner will provide much more positive outcomes.

Background: Approximately 14% of women experience severe childbirth fear (tocophobia), influencing delivery choices. High childbirth self-efficacy, or confidence in managing labour, can reduce fear and improve outcomes. High-fidelity simulation-based education may enhance self-efficacy and decrease labour anxiety. This study evaluated its effects on childbirth self-efficacy and fear.

Method: A parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted with sixty primiparous women randomly assigned to simulation-based education or standard prenatal education. Birth expectations and self-efficacy were measured pre- and post-intervention using the Self-Efficacy in Labor Scale (SELS) and Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ-A). Data were analyzed using independent and paired t-tests and MANOVA.

Results: At baseline, no significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of birth expectations or self-efficacy. However, after the intervention, the intervention group showed a significant reduction in birth fear and a significant improvement in self-efficacy compared to the control group.

Conclusion: High-fidelity simulation-based birth education significantly improved childbirth self-efficacy and reduced fear of labour. These results suggest that simulation-based education can be a valuable tool in prenatal care, helping expectant mothers feel more confident and prepared for childbirth.