Determining the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between well-being and body image in pregnancy

. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between well-being in pregnancy and body image and self-compassion and to determine the mediating role of self-compassion in this relationship. This descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 162 healthy pregnant women between November 2023 and February 2024 in the pregnant outpatient clinic of Hacettepe University Hospital. Data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Data Collection Form, Well-being in Pregnancy Scale, Body Image in Pregnancy Scale, and Self-Compassion Scale Short Form. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation regression analysis and sobel test were used to analyze the data. According to the results of the study, the mean total score of the Well-Being in Pregnancy Scale was 58.30±8.15, the mean total score of the Body Image in Pregnancy Scale was 71.80±18.67, and the mean total score of the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form was 39.34±8.11. In the study, it was found that the mean score of the Well-Being in Pregnancy Scale was higher in those who were not working (t=- 2,344; p=0,020), who had a pregnancy under 28 weeks (t=2,529; p=0,012) and whose pregnancy was planned (t=-3,586; p=0,001). In the study, it was found that well-being during pregnancy was moderately negatively correlated with body image (r=-0,470; p=0,001) and moderately positively correlated with self-compassion (r=0,451; p=0,001). In the study, planned pregnancy (β = 0.174, p = 0.008), body image (β = - 0.294, p = 0.001) and self-compassion (β = 0.308, p = 0.047) were found to be significant predictors of pregnancy well-being and these predictors explained 38% of the variance of pregnancy well-being. In addition, self-compassion partially mediated the relationship between body image and well-being in pregnancy (z = -4.307; SH= 0.019; p = 0.001). The results of this study show that well-being in pregnancy varies depending on certain descriptive characteristics, there is a negative relationship between body image and well-being, and self-compassion partially mediates this relationship. The findings draw attention to the negative relationship between wellbeing in pregnancy and body image and emphasize the necessity of self-compassionoriented interventions in nursing care in order to increase the well-being of pregnant women in this relationship