A nationwide survey by a research group from Tokyo University of Science, Aomori Prefectural University of Health Sciences, and Toyama University has revealed that feelings at the time of discovering pregnancy may be related to the child's development.
Unwanted or unexpected pregnancies have been shown to potentially have negative impacts not only on the mother's mental health but also on the mother-child relationship and the child's development. However, how feelings about pregnancy actually relate to the child's development has not been fully clarified until now.
Therefore, this research group examined the relationship between feelings at the time of pregnancy discovery and the development of children at age 3, using data from 73,518 mother-child pairs who participated in the "National Survey on Children's Health and Environment (EcoChild Study)." Furthermore, since social support for mothers improves the mother's own mental health and also functions as a protective factor that promotes the child's development, the mediating effect of this support was also examined.
When asked how they felt upon finding out they were pregnant, 49,395 people (67.2%) said they were "very happy," 17,899 people (24.3%) said they were "unexpected but happy," 4,704 people (6.4%) said they were "unexpected and confused," 358 people (0.5%) said they were "troubled," 344 people (0.5%) said they "didn't feel anything in particular," and 818 people (1.1%) said "other."
The analysis revealed that children who felt anything other than "very happy" were more likely to have developmental delays, as reported by their parents at age 3. In particular, children of mothers who answered "I didn't feel anything in particular" had the highest risk of suspected developmental delays.
Furthermore, social support was suggested to mediate the connection between feelings at the time of pregnancy discovery and the child's development, and that support from those around the mother may weaken that connection.
This study demonstrated that mothers who exhibit not only clear negative emotions but also apathy or suppressed emotions should be considered as potential recipients of support. Furthermore, it suggested that social support may have a positive impact on child development through improvements in the mother's own mental health.
Going forward, it is important to use the feelings of women when they find out they are pregnant as a clue to identify those who need support early on and connect them with appropriate social support.
