Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology最新文献

Background: Emotional distress, including depressive and anxiety symptoms, is a common concern among pregnant individuals and has negative impacts on maternal and offspring's health. Previous studies indicated the heterogeneity of perinatal emotional distress. Moreover, during the pandemic of COVID-19, expectant mothers are faced with more tough challenges, which could exacerbate their emotional distress.

Objective: The aim of present study is to examine potential subgroups with distinct profiles on emotional distress and relationship resources during the pandemic.

Methods: A total of 187 pregnant people in China were recruited from April 22 to May 16 in 2020. Latent profile analysis was applied based on prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms, COVID-19-related negative emotions, prenatal attachment, marital satisfaction and family sense of coherence.

Results: Four subgroups were identified. Group 1 and Group 2 shared with low levels of emotional distress and COVID-19-related negative emotions, among which Group 1 had plenty of relationship resources, while Group 2 had insufficient support. Group 3 had moderate levels of emotional distress but above-average prenatal attachment. Group 4 was a highly distressed subtype with severe emotional distress and poor states across all domains.

Conclusion: Our findings support that emotion distress among expecting mothers is heterogeneous, highlighting the need for tailed interventions to address the specific needs of subgroups during pregnancy.

Background: Knowledge about fertility and factors affecting it, for example, the impact of age, seem to be lacking, even in highly educated populations. The same applies to fertility preservation knowledge, pointing to the relevance of increasing fertility preservation awareness and education among young women.

Objective: To describe general fertility knowledge and factors affecting fertility, fertility preservation knowledge and attitudes, and the desire to access more information on this topic in a sample of reproductive-age Portuguese women.

Methods: The sample comprised 257 Portuguese women aged 18-45, mostly single and nulliparous. A questionnaire was developed explicitly for this study and disseminated through social media advertisements.

Results: Career building/development and financial stability were the more endorsed options for delaying childbearing, with 90 (35%) and 68 (26.5%), respectively. Most participants considered becoming a mother important (n = 185; 72%). More than halve provided an incorrect answer regarding the age range of women being more fertile (n = 132; 51.4%) and the age range of fertility decline (n = 168; 65.4%). Participants were aware of the influence of lifestyle and sexual health factors as well as the effect of age. Oocytes cryopreservation was the technique participants knew more (n = 206; 80.1%), but 177 (68.9%) showed no interest in using it. Most participants agreed that fertility and fertility preservation information should be provided during medical consultations or at school.

Conclusions: More information regarding fertility and fertility preservation is relevant to ensure that more women can make informed decisions concerning their reproductive life.

Objectives: This qualitative study aimed to comprehend the psychological well-beings and available interventions of current Chinese infertile patients, as well as investigate more integrated and effective patient support interventions, if necessary.

Background: It is well known that infertility is a difficult struggle. Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) provide patients with the hope of having a child, but they also cause them pain and stress. There is a dearth of research on the mental health of infertile patients, particularly in developing nations such as China.

Method: Individual interviews were conducted with eight experienced clinicians at the Reproductive Medicine Center from five different hospitals. On the basis of the grounded theory, interviews were transcribed and recursively analysed with the NVivo 12 Plus software by a research team.

Results: 73 categories were created, which were then grouped into 12 subthemes that were combined to form the following themes: Theme I: Psychological Distress; Theme II: Sources of Distress; Theme III: Protective Factors; and Theme IV: Interventions.

Conclusions: The themes of subjective experience identified in the study reveal infertile patients' emotional disturbance and resources of distress, consistent with previous related studies. Despite limitations such as the relatively small number of participants and the exclusively self-report nature of qualitative study, the findings of the study imply the importance of emotional and physical support networks for infertile patients at Reproductive Medicine Centers, consistency of psychological awareness and adequate professional supports.

Objective: The present study aimed at investigating whether gay fathers' coherence of mind within the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) moderated the influence of parental disclosure on children's exploration of their surrogacy origins during middle childhood and early adolescence.

Background: Once children of gay fathers are disclosed to about their surrogacy conception, they may start exploring the meanings and implications of their conception. Very little is known about the factors that may enhance such exploration in gay father families.

Method: A home-visit study was conducted with 60 White, cisgender, gay fathers and their 30 children born through gestational surrogacy, all residing in Italy and with medium to high socioeconomic status. At time 1, when children were aged 6-12 years (M = 8.31, SD = 1.68), fathers were rated for AAI coherence of mind and interviewed about their disclosure of the surrogacy origins to their child. At time 2, approximately 18 months later (M = 9.87, SD = 1.69), children were interviewed about their exploration of their surrogacy origins.

Results: In the context of more information disclosed about the child conception, only children whose fathers showed greater AAI coherence of mind explored their surrogacy origins in more depth.

Conclusion: Gay fathers' ability to show an internally consistent, but not emotionally overwrought, state of mind regarding their own attachment experiences impacted the extent to which their children felt safe and legitimated in sharing their curiosity about their conception.

Background: Both the diagnosis and the process of undergoing fertility treatment have a considerable negative effect on a person's quality of life (QoL). The evaluation of this effect is essential to offer comprehensive and high-quality care. The FertiQoL questionnaire is the most widely used instrument to evaluate QoL in people with fertility issues.

Objective: This study is aimed at examining the dimensionality, validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the FertiQoL questionnaire in a sample of Spanish heterosexual couples undergoing fertility treatment.

Methods: FertiQoL was administered to 500 people (50.2% women; 49.8% men; average age 36.1 years) recruited from a public Assisted Reproduction Unit in Spain. In this cross-sectional study, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to analyse the dimensionality, validity and reliability of FertiQoL. Discriminant and convergent validity were assessed using the Average Variance Extracted (AVE), and model reliability was shown by Composite Reliability (CR) and Cronbach's alpha.

Results: CFA's results support the 6-factor solution of the original FertiQoL (RMSEA and SRMR <0.09; CFI and TLI >0.9). However, several items had to be eliminated due to their low factorial weights - in particular, items Q4, Q5, Q6, Q11, Q14, Q15 and Q21. Moreover, FertiQoL showed good reliability (CR >0.7) and validity (AVE >0.5).

Conclusion: The Spanish version of FertiQoL is a reliable and valid instrument in measuring QoL in heterosexual couples undergoing fertility treatment. The CFA confirms the original 6-factors model but indicates that by eliminating some items the psychometric properties could improve. However, further research is recommended to address some of the measurement issues.

Objectives: This study examined the relationship among constructs of the Breastfeeding Relationship Scale and exclusive direct breastfeeding (EDBF) while controlling for covariates in US breastfeeding dyads in the first 3 months.

Background: The Breastfeeding Relationship Scale was developed to measure mother-infant mutual responsiveness during breastfeeding in response to perceived insufficient milk, but there is no clear understanding about the relationships between the Breastfeeding Relationship Scale's constructs and EDBF.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. The convenience sample of 589 directly breastfeeding mothers in the US whose infants were between 1 and 12 weeks of age were included for analysis using a structural equation model. Covariates for EDBF included mother's age, education, marital status, parity, prior breastfeeding experience, infant's age, weight, and sex.

Results: Mother-Infant Breastfeeding Interaction and Breastfeeding Synchronicity were related (β = 0.33, p < .001), as were Breastfeeding Synchronicity and Perceived Adequate Milk Supply (β = 0.35, p < .001) and Mother-Infant Breastfeeding Interaction and Perceived Adequate Milk Supply (β = 0.08, p = .05). The relationship between Mother-Infant Breastfeeding Interaction and Breastfeeding Synchronicity with EDBF was fully mediated by Perceived Adequate Milk Supply, where the odds of EDBF was higher for mothers with higher scores on Perceived Adequate Milk Supply (OR = 1.61, p < .001) and prior breastfeeding experience (OR = 2.31, p = .006).

Conclusions: Perceived Adequate Milk Supply and prior breastfeeding experience are major determinants of EDBF in the first 3 months. Breastfeeding Synchronicity can bolster Mother-Infant Breastfeeding Interaction and promote Perceived Adequate Milk. More attention should be paid to breastfeeding relationship to be the result of EDBF.

Objective: The aim of this qualitative study was to examine experiences and meanings of maternal ambivalence in first-time mothers with young children.

Background: In contrast with normative expectations surrounding contemporary motherhood, there is growing recognition that becoming and being a mother involves ambivalent feelings, and that these feelings are normal and have positive psychological consequences. Yet, little attention has been paid to women's subjective experiences of maternal ambivalence, and capacity to acknowledge and manage ambivalent feelings.

Methods: Eleven semi-structured online interviews, with first-time mothers, were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology.

Results: Two group experiential themes were identified: Crossing boundaries of acceptable mothering feelings and Mothering from a place of 'enough'. Ambivalent mothering feelings challenged participants' expectations about motherhood and themselves as mothers, producing anxiety, self-doubt and feelings of failure. Distress accompanying maternal ambivalence was especially acute when participants perceived their feelings to be unacceptable. Viewing conflicting feelings with compassion, however, helped participants to cope with their diverse and fluctuating emotional mothering experiences, allowing them to mother with a greater sense of equanimity, agency and competence.

Conclusion: The study's findings indicate the potential benefits of providing information about the emotional turbulence of early motherhood as part of routine maternity care, as well as the potential value of offering parenting interventions that promote self-compassion to mothers struggling to manage feelings of ambivalence.

Introduction: Prior research has identified associations between pregnancy intendedness and maternal-foetal bonding, but no studies have examined the potential mediation of pregnancy happiness on the development of the maternal-infant relationship.

Methods: In 2017-2018, a clinic-based pregnancy cohort of 177 low-income and racially diverse women in a South-Central U.S. state participated in a study examining their pregnancy intentions, attitudes and behaviours. Pregnancy intentions and happiness and demographic characteristics were measured during the first trimester assessment, and maternal-foetal bonding was measured with the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) during the second trimester. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the associations between intendedness, happiness and bonding.

Results: Findings indicate positive associations between intended pregnancies and pregnancy happiness and pregnancy happiness to bonding. The direct effect from intended pregnancy to maternal-foetal bonding was not significant, providing evidence for full mediation. We did not find any associations between pregnancies that were unintended or ambivalent with pregnancy happiness or maternal-foetal bonding.

Conclusions: Pregnancy happiness provides one potential explanation for the association between intended pregnancies and maternal-foetal bonding. These findings have implications for research and practice, as inquiring about mothers' pregnancy attitudes (e.g. how happy they are about their pregnancy) may be more important for maternal psychological health outcomes, such as the maternal-child relationship, than whether or not their pregnancies were intended.

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)-characterised by excessive and uncontrollable worry-is the most frequently diagnosed anxiety disorder during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Identification of GAD often relies on assessment of its cardinal feature, pathological worry. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is the most robust measure of pathological worry to date but has not been extensively evaluated for use during pregnancy and the postpartum period. This study evaluated the internal consistency, construct validity, and diagnostic accuracy of the PSWQ in a sample of pregnant and postpartum women with and without a principal GAD diagnosis.

Methods: One hundred forty-two pregnant and 209 postpartum women participated in this study. Sixty-nine pregnant and 129 postpartum participants met criteria for a principal diagnosis of GAD.

Results: The PSWQ demonstrated good internal consistency and converged with measures assessing similar constructs. Pregnant participants with principal GAD scored significantly higher on the PSWQ than those with no psychopathology and postpartum participants with principal GAD scored significantly higher than those with principal mood disorders, other anxiety and related disorders, and no psychopathology. A cut-off score of 55 and 61 or greater was determined for detecting probable GAD during pregnancy and the postpartum period, respectively. Screening accuracy of the PSWQ was also demonstrated.

Conclusions: This study underscores the robustness of the PSWQ as a measure of pathological worry and probable GAD and supports its use in the detection and monitoring of clinically significant worry symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum period.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented levels of stress amongst pregnant women and new mothers. The current qualitative study explored the ways in which perinatal women made meaning of their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Data came from a parent study in which 54 perinatal (pregnant and postpartum) women in the United States completed semi-structured interviews from October 2021 to January 2022 describing their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was interpreted using a hermeneutic, phenomenological approach to delve deeply into the concept of meaning-making.

Results: Despite high levels of stress and challenging circumstances, participants reported engaging in meaning-making through finding connection, focusing on gratitude, and identifying openings for change. Unique forms of meaning-making amongst this population include a sense of connection to women throughout history, connection to their baby, and recognition of the need for systemic change for perinatal women.

Conclusions: Perinatal women coped with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic by making meaning from their experiences. Future research should further explore the importance of these aspects of meaning-making to perinatal women and implement these findings to adapt prevention and treatment approaches to address perinatal stress, especially during times of crisis.