Influence of social support and self-esteem on maternal-fetal attachment in unmarried pregnant women

The present study aimed to identify factors affecting maternal–fetal attachment behaviors among unmarried pregnant women. The research participants included 105 unmarried pregnant women from 15 shelters for unmarried mothers around the country. The data were collected from January to February 2015 through a survey and descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVAs, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical regression analysis were analyzed using SPSS 20. The results suggest that current childcare plans and support from friends were significant factors affecting maternal–fetal attachment behaviors. The overall explanatory power of these variables for maternal–fetal attachment behaviors was 30.5%, with friend support being more influential than current childcare plans. This study indicates that prenatal care aimed at enhancing the maternal–fetal attachment of unmarried pregnant women would benefit from taking childcare plans and support from friends into consideration.