Relationship of Self-Esteem With Body Image and Attitudes TowardMotherhood and Pregnancy

The current study aimed to determine the relationship of self-esteem with attitudes toward motherhood and pregnancy and body image in Iranian pregnant women.Pregnancy is a critical period in women’s lives, as they experience rapid physical and psychological changes during the 40 weeks of gestation (Bhatia & Chhabra, 2018). Women have attitudes toward motherhood that diff er signifi cantly from their attitudes toward other roles (e.g., wife, employee, student) (Behboodi Moghadam et al., 2017). Adjustment to motherhood is challenging and stressful for most women. Transition into motherhood causes many changes in relationships and functions of couples and their families (Wan & Green, 2009; Wan et al., 2011). Adjustment to motherhood and pregnancy infl uences the quality of maternal–fetal relationships and bonding between mother and child (McNamara et al., 2019). Deave (2005) showed that children whose mothers possessed positive attitudes toward motherhood and pregnancy acquired higher cognitive development scores. Results of another study showed that awareness and positive attitudes toward the fetus are associated with better health-related behaviors during pregnancy, including smoking cessation and regular antenatal care (Cambridge, 2018). Women’s ability to adjust to physical changes during pregnancy infl uences their attitudes toward their infants as well as the maternal–infant relationship (Małus et al., 2014). Many women feel unattractive, and overweight during pregnancy, which reduces their selfesteem and has negative impacts on their body image (Kamysheva et al., 2008).