Attitude to pregnancy and attachment formation in women of older reproductive age

Abstract

In modern society, there is a clear tendency to postpone childbirth to a later age, which necessitates an in-depth study of the psychological characteristics of pregnancy in women of older reproductive age (35 years and older), in particular, their attitude to pregnancy and the formation of attachment to the unborn child. Objective: to study the characteristics of attitude to pregnancy and the formation of attachment to the unborn child in women of older reproductive age. Materials and methods: 91 pregnant women aged 18 to 42 years, who were at a pregnancy term of 20 to 36 weeks, took part in the study. The following methods were used: pregnant women's attitudes test (PAT) (I.V. Dobryakov), perinatal anxiety screening scale (PASS-R) (Somerville et al., adapted by M.A. Korgozha, A.O. Evmenenko), maternal attachment scale (MAAS) (Condon J., adapted by M.E. Bloch). For statistical processing of the obtained empirical data, the methods of descriptive statistics, the nonparametric Mann-Whitney criterion (U), and the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (r) were used. Results: women of older reproductive age tend to have a more realistic, less euphoric attitude towards pregnancy, as well as a lower level of prenatal anxiety in all its components, in addition, women of older reproductive age demonstrate a higher quality of attachment to the unborn child; In women aged 35 and older, a closer relationship was found between the attitude towards pregnancy and the formation of attachment to the future child, which may indicate a greater integration of these psychological aspects of motherhood. Conclusions: the study convincingly demonstrates that the age of a mature mother is not so much a risk factor as a resource for the formation of high-quality maternal attachment and a responsible attitude towards motherhood.