Perceived Social Support and Maternal Competence in Primipara Women during Pregnancy and After Childbirth

Esmaelzadeh Saeieh, Sara; Rahimzadeh, Mitra; Yazdkhasti, Mansooreh; Torkashvand, Shoukofeh

Perceived Social Support and Maternal Competence in Primipara Women during Pregnancy and After Childbirth

Document Type : Original article

Authors

Sara Esmaelzadeh Saeieh ¹

Mitra Rahimzadeh ²

Mansooreh Yazdkhasti ³

Shoukofeh Torkashvand ³

¹ Social Determinations of Health Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran; and Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

² Social Determinations of Health Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran; and Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health Sciences, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

³ Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health Sciences, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

Abstract

Background: Developing maternal competence in first time mothers has a significant impact on neonate’s growth psychosocial development and neonates growth and psychological development. Social support can be an important element for becoming a new mother. We aimed to investigate how social support and maternal competence change during pregnancy and 4 months after it and examine the relationships among social support and maternal competence.Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted on 100 first time mothers attending health centers in Alborz city, Alborz Province, between February 2015 and January 2016. Data were collected through perceived social support questionnaire that consisted of 12 questions and Parenting Sense of Competence Scale consisting of 17 items scored based on Likert’s scale. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 16. Repeated-measure test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used. P

Keywords

Social support

Primipara

Pregnancy

Competence