Do taegyo practices, self-esteem, and social support affect maternal-fetal attachment in high-risk pregnant women? A cross-sectional survey.

Purpose: The incidence of high-risk pregnancies is increasing in Korea as the birth age increasesdue to late marriage. Maternal-fetal attachment is an important factor that affects children even afterchildbirth, but it is difficult for high-risk pregnant women to form maternal-fetal attachment. Thecurrent study aimed to explore whether taegyo practice (i.e., pregnant women's efforts for fetal goodgrowth and development), self-esteem, and social support influenced the degree of maternal-fetalattachment in women with high-risk pregnancies.

Methods: The participants included 226 pregnant Korean women at ≥20 gestational weeks, hospitalized with 15 high-risk pregnancy conditions as defined by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.Recruitment via convenience sampling was done at four sites in Busan, Korea. Surveys were distributed and collected from February 1 to 28, 2022. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, the t-test, one-factor analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchicalmultiple regression.

Results: On average, participants were 33.97±4.23 years of age and at 31.65±6.23 gestational weeks.Preterm labor (35.4%) and gestational diabetes (21.0%) were the most common high-risk conditions. Maternal-fetal attachment was positively correlated with taegyo practice (r=.70, p<.001),self-esteem (r=.53, p<.001), and social support (r=.53, p<.001), all with statistical significance. Taegyo practice (β=.50, p<.001) and social support (β=.17, p=.030) explained 53% of variance in maternal-fetal attachment in women with high-risk pregnancies.

Conclusion: Nurses caring for women with high-risk pregnancies during hospitalization can usethese findings by promoting taegyo practice and enhancing social support to increase maternal-fetalattachment.