Significant relationships and their impact on childbearing: a review

This review has examined selected literature concerned with the influences of important relationships on the woman's childbearing experiences. THe effects of early childhood relationships with parents and subsequent relationships shared with others during pregnancy are found to be of major significance. Through both the early and adult relationships, the woman's feelings about the adequacy or inadequacy of herself as a mother take form. Within the literature, a dominant theme recurs: Experiences of others as supportive and helpful facilitate childbearing endeavors, while feeling relationships to be distressing or depleting hinders or makes impossible a successful childbearing outcome. Continuing research efforts focused on the woman's experiences of others in relation to her maternity experience is essential if we are to achieve a better understanding of the complexities of motherhood.