Abstract
The widespread accessibility and use of the internet provides numerous opportunities for women to independently seek out pregnancy-related information and social and emotional support during the antenatal period. Given the heightened psychological vulnerability of the pregnancy period there is a critical need to examine digital media use within the context of the feelings that women have about themselves and towards their fetus. The current study examined the relationship between digital media use during pregnancy, psychological wellbeing and their maternal-fetal attachment using an online survey. Forty-eight pregnant women completed a self-report questionnaire on their reasons for using digital media, and standardised measures of self-criticism, negative affect, social quality of life (QOL), and maternal-fetal attachment. The mean age of participants was 29.4 years (SD = 5.26), with a mean of 24.3 weeks gestation (SD = 9.95). Information seeking, emotional support and social support were highly endorsed reasons for digital media use (85.42%, 66.67%, 62.5% respectively). However, digital media use was positively correlated with negative affect (p = .003) and self-criticism (p < .001). Digital media use was also negatively correlated with QOL (p = .007). There was no evidence of a relationship between digital media use and maternal-fetal attachment (p = .330). Digital environments may be an important social context within which a pregnant woman develops her own maternal identity and knowledge. There are a number of benefits and limitations of this medium for providing information and support for women during pregnancy. Enhancing the opportunities to promote pregnant women's wellbeing in this context is an important avenue for further research and practice.
Highlights
Pregnancy represents a time of transition that can be rewarding and challenging, both physiologically and psychologically [1]
Obtaining social support is a commonly reported reason for using digital media [11, 13, 17, 18], which could serve to be protective against mental health issues, digital media use in this study was associated with higher self-criticism, higher negative affect and lower social quality of life
Maternal-Fetal Attachment (MFA) is proposed to be driven by a mother’s desire to know, protect and care for her child [27], and women in the current study reporting using the internet to inform themselves about the development of their fetus, we found no evidence that digital media use was associated with MFA
Summary
Pregnancy represents a time of transition that can be rewarding and challenging, both physiologically and psychologically [1]. Pregnancy is regarded as a positive time by many women, common sources of reported distress include loss of sense of self, changing physical appearance and comparison to other women, concerns about not bonding with their baby, and the possible impact of the distress itself on their developing fetus [2].
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