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Maternal self-esteem after successful treatment for infertility
Sara Jane Cox1, Cris Glazebrook, Charlotte Sheard
1Institute of Work, Health and Organisations, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom. sara.cox@nottingham.ac.uk
Objective:
To [1] investigate self-esteem during pregnancy after previous infertility and [2] establish the relationship among self-esteem, anxiety during pregnancy, and parenting self-efficacy.
Design:
Limited prospective study.
Setting:
A regional infertility clinic and antenatal clinic.
Patient(S):
Seventy women who had conceived through assisted reproductive technology and 111 women who had conceived naturally.
Intervention(S):
Measures of self-esteem, anxiety, and parenting self-efficacy.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Self-esteem, anxiety, and parenting self-efficacy.
Result(S):
Women who had conceived through IVF treatment did not differ in terms of self-esteem during pregnancy from those who had conceived naturally. All of the women in the present study displayed levels of self-esteem that were within the normal range. Self-esteem increased as pregnancy progressed. Self-esteem was negatively correlated with anxiety during pregnancy. As self-esteem increased, anxiety decreased. Self-esteem at the start of pregnancy (18 weeks) and anxiety in the early stages of parenthood (6 weeks postpartum) predicted parenting self-efficacy.
Conclusion(S):
Self-esteem in the early stages of pregnancy, for both women who conceived through IVF and women who conceived naturally, is related to self-reported levels of parenting efficacy. Coaching and mentoring through antenatal clinics in the early stages of pregnancy should be tailored to incorporate advice regarding self-esteem in addition to management of pregnancy and psychological well-being.
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