2016 Volume 30 Issue 2 Pages 300-311
Purpose
As a preliminary step in considering how to support pregnant women at high risk who have no choice but to undergo long-term hospitalization during pregnancy and their husbands in elevating each other as parents, we aimed to clarify the differences between, and characteristics of, readiness for parenthood in first-time pregnant women and their husbands in normally progressing and high risk pregnancies.
Subjects and Methods
Subjects were pregnant woman-husband couples (20-40 years of age, 22 to <28 weeks into pregnancy with first child, who had accepted pregnancy, and who had not yet enrolled in a maternal or parenting course). We targeted 50 couples each for the normal progression group and the high-risk group (diagnosed with imminent abortion, premature rupture of the membrane, cervical incompetence, placenta previa, pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), fetal growth restriction (FGR), multiple pregnancy, or previous problematic pregnancy; at least one week having elapsed after hospitalization). For the survey, we assessed characteristics, the marital relationship scale (6 items), the prenatal attachment inventory (21 items), realization of parenthood (19 items), and self-awareness and image of becoming a parent (visual analog scale) as well as contents of an anonymous self-completed questionnaire consisting of free responses related to this topic. SPSS Ver. 22 was used for statistical analysis, and as support for our interpretations, we adopted the results of free responses.
Results
Subjects included in the analyses were 16 couples in the normal progression group (response rate, 32%) and 9 couples in the high-risk group (response rate, 18%). Characteristics with significant differences between groups were the number of weeks into pregnancy at the time of questionnaire completion and family structure. Marital relationship and prenatal attachment were not significantly different between husbands and wives in either group, but they were strongly correlated with the item "realization and mental preparation of becoming a parent" in awareness of becoming a parent among wives, regardless of risk. Awareness of becoming a parent was significantly higher for the high-risk group in a comparison between the wives in each group with respect to the item "concern and anxiety about the to-be-born child" (p=.02). Self-awareness of becoming a parent was significantly higher in the high-risk group in a comparison between wives from marriage until pregnancy (p=.017); over the course of the time from marriage until pregnancy to the present, it significantly increased only for the wives of the normal progression group (p=0.18). The image of becoming a parent did not significantly differ between groups during the time from marriage until pregnancy or in the present, nor did it significantly differ within groups over time. However, it tended not to increase in the high-risk group for both wife and husband.
Conclusion
The results suggest that being in a high-risk state during pregnancy impacts the awareness and image of becoming a parent. Given that obstruction of this image during an important period in which practical preparations are made to become a parent can potentially cause confusion regarding parental roles after delivery as well as gaps in the marital relationship, there is a need to consider interventions that expand the images of becoming a parent for both husband and wife.
