Determinants of Maternal Behavior of Mobile Phone Use during Pregnancy

Excessive use of mobile phones might bring negative physical and psychological consequences to pregnant women. This study aims to explore the potential determinants of pregnant women's mobile phone use behavior to assist healthcare providers in the development of guideline programs. In order to explain the behavior, we developed a theoretical model based on the widely applied theory of planned behavior (TPB) by incorporating two additional constructs of personal habit and perceived risk. Structural equation modeling technique is employed to estimate the model based on questionnaire survey. Research results clearly show that behavior attitude and perceived behavior control play dominant roles in determining the intention and behavior. It is interesting to find that perceived risk and personal habit are less important in determining pregnant women's behavior of mobile phone use. Finally, suggestions are put forward to reduce the risk of mobile phone use during pregnancy.