Pregnant Women’s View on Their Relationship: A Comparison With Nonpregnant Women

Authors

  • Karlijn Massar
    Work & Social Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
  • Abraham P. Buunk
    Social & Organizational Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  • Stefan L. K. Gruijters
    Work & Social Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Abstract

The positive effects of partner support on pregnancy outcomes and maternal (mental) health are well established in the literature. Less is known about pregnant women’s perceptions of their partner and relationship, and whether these differ from those of nonpregnant women. Therefore, in the current study, data were collected through an online questionnaire among pregnant (n = 66) and nonpregnant (n = 59) women with similar demographic profiles. The results show that pregnant women reported feeling significantly more happy with both their partner and their relationship than nonpregnant women. Importantly, we did not find any differences in self-esteem or mate value between groups. Although the present study is mainly exploratory, we suggest that pregnant women may show a positive bias in the way they view their partner and their relationship, which in turn may be beneficial to her own as well as her child’s mental and physical health.