The effect of body image concerns and self-confidence levels of pregnant women on prenatal attachment

Body image includes the subjective perception of one's own body, which changes and develops throughout the developmental stages of individuals. Pregnancy is a period of physiological, psychological and emotional changes. Changing body image perception can cause some concerns. These concerns can affect mother-baby attachment and mother's self-confidence. This study was carried out as a descriptive study to determine the effects of body image concerns and self-confidence levels on prenatal attachment in pregnant women. The research was carried out with 250 pregnant women in Nevşehir State Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic Pregnancy Polyclinic Unit. The data were collected with the 'Personal Information Form', the 'Body Image Concern During Pregnancy Scale', the Prenatal Attachment Scale and the 'Female Self-Confidence Scale'. The data were evaluated using appropriate analysis methods in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows 22.0 statistical package program. In the study, it was observed that body image concerns of women during pregnancy increased as the gestational months increased and there was a significant difference between trimesters. It was determined that the pregnant women who got the highest score in the third trimester had higher body image anxiety. When the scale sub-dimensions are evaluated; In the sub-dimensions of avoidance-social anxiety, concerns about weight gain and physical appearance, there were significant differences according to trimesters. When the participants participating in the study were evaluated in terms of findings related to prenatal attachment scale scores, it was seen that there was no difference between pregnant women in total scores and sub-dimensions according to trimesters. When the participants were evaluated according to their self-confidence scale scores, it was determined that there was a significant difference in social relations, appearance and satisfaction sub-dimensions according to trimesters. As a result of the research, it was observed that as the gestational months of pregnant women progressed, body image concerns increased, and as this concern increased, prenatal attachment levels decreased and this situation decreased the level of self-confidence. In this context, training of health professionals about the physiological and psychological changes that change during pregnancy will cause pregnant women to perceive their body image better, and in this case, it will have a positive reflection on their prenatal attachment and self-confidence levels. Keywords: pregnancy, body image, self-confidence, attachment, prenatal