THE EFFECT OF FATHERS' PARTICIPATION IN PRENATAL CARE ON ANXIETY AND MATERNAL-FETAL ATTACHMENT IN UNWANTED FIRST PREGNANT WOMEN DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The participation of men in prenatal care has always been the focus of international organizations to promote the health of mothers and children. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of fathers' participation in prenatal care on anxiety and maternal-fetal attachment in unwanted first pregnant women during Covid-19 Pandemic.

The population of the present study was all the unwanted first pregnant women who referred to the gynecology clinic of Amiralmo'menin Hospital in Semnan. According to the research criteria, 60 people were purposefully selected and by simple random sampling (cards shuffling) divided into experimental and control groups. The fathers and mothers of the experimental group underwent prenatal care training by midwives during 8 sessions of 20 - 30 minutes, and the women in the control group underwent the same training without the presence of their husbands. One day before and one day after the end of the research, anxiety and maternal-fetal attachment were measured by Spielberger and Cranley questionnaires, respectively.

The results of the multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that after the intervention, women in the experimental group had a significant decrease in anxiety and a significant increase in fetal attachment compared to the control group (p≤0.007).

According to the present results, it can be said that the participation of father in prenatal care can be an effective and low-cost way to reduce anxiety and improve maternal-fetal attachment in first-time pregnant women in unwanted pregnancies and Covid-19 Pandemic Increases pregnancy anxiety, is used.