Table 2 Summary of included studies (n = 14)
From: Women’s experiences of social support during pregnancy: a qualitative systematic review
Author(s), year, & country | Discipline | Aims/theoretical definition of social support | Sample & study population | Design | Methods | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giblin et al. (1990) [42], US | Health research | Aim: To address the construct of social support Definition: A multidimensional model of social support (instrumental, information and empathy and understanding) [52, 53] | 300 women who were previously delivered, average age 23, two to five days postpartum. Asked about the construct of social support during pregnancy | Cross-sectional | Content analysis and structured interviews with open-ended and fixed-choice questions | Three social support factors emerged: - Intimacy - Comfort - Security |
Clark (2001) [38], US | Medicine research | Aim: To explore the questions of who and what kinds of social support Mexicanas have during the perinatal period Definition: Support that is health-affirming in psychological and physical ways [54] | 28 urban Mexican-origin women aged over 18 years in the last trimester | Longitudinal | Standard ethnographic methods and unstructured interviews | Four themes of social support: - Helping with daily hassles - Showing love and understanding - Being there for me - My family is failing me |
Edmonds et al. (2011) [10], Bangladesh | Health research | Aim: To identify and characterise the functions of social support during pregnancy as women perceive it | 25 women aged 18–49 of multiple religions (23 Muslim, 2 Hindu) during the two months postpartum | Cross-sectional | A retrospective, cross-sectional design and in-depth semi-structured interviews | Four main types of support were mentioned: - Practical help with routines - Information - Emotional support and assurance - The provision of resources and material goods |
Puspitasari and Sulistyorini (2021) [45], Indonesia | Nursing research | Aim: To identify the quality-of-life factors in pregnant women in East Java province Definition: not mentioned | 13 pregnant women aged 20–39 years in the second or third trimesters Religion is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Qualitative content analysis and semi-structured in-depth interviews | The social support factors of quality of life: - Husband’s support - Family support - Support of neighbours and friends - Sexual relations - Health service support |
Charvat et al. (2021) [36], US | Psychology research | Aim: To explore how women who were pregnant during the Covid-19 pandemic communicatively made sense of their experience during pregnancy in light of their received social support Definition: Multiple types of social support (information, emotional, appraisal, and instrumental) [57,58,59] | 21 women aged over 18 years, 10 of whom had given birth and 11 of whom were pregnant at the time of the interview Religion is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Thematic analysis with an inductive and deductive approach and semi-structured interviews | Four themes related to social support emerged: - Connecting to give and receive emotional support to mitigate stress - Drawing on others’ knowledge for informational support - Receiving socially distant instrumental support - Lacking medical professional support |
Reszel et al. (2014) [47], Canada | Health research | Aim: To explore the experiences of young pregnant and parenting women regarding behavioural expectations and behavioural changes during pregnancy, focusing on the individual and social context of their health behaviour experiences Definition: not mentioned | 9 women with an average age of 19 who were pregnant or mothers of children under the age of 6 months Religion is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Qualitative content analysis and semi-structured photo-elicitation interviews | The theme was: the influence of emotional support, with the subthemes: - A lack of emotional support and oppressive experience - Emotional support from partners and family offering empowering experiences |
Raman et al. (2014) [46], India | Nursing research | Aim: To explore the wide-ranging sources of support that the infant dyad needs or expects throughout the perinatal period in urban India Definition: Psychosocial and cultural factors [46] | 36 mothers aged 17–40 years who had experience pregnancy and childbirth within the last 2 years Religion is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Ethnographic approach with in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews | The themes: - The importance of women’s mothers - Women’s place or natal home - Female support network - The husband’s role - The variable role of the family |
Shakeri et al. (2021) [48], Iran | Health research | Aim: To analyse the concept of social support for pregnant mothers Definition: A complex and multidimensional concept that refers to a person’s voluntary support for others, resulting in a positive response [60] | 15 pregnant mothers aged over 18 years Religion is not mentioned Trimester is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Qualitative phenomenological methods and in-depth semi-structured interviews | Three themes: - Information support (a lack of advice and counselling, lack of purposeful training courses, and the weakness of media education) - Need for satisfaction of medical and living needs - Spiritual support (religious and existential) |
Naz et al. (2021) [44], Pakistan | Medicine research | Aim: To explore women’s perceptions regarding their husbands’ and in-laws’ support during pregnancy Definition: not mentioned | 10 pregnant women in the third trimester Age and religion are not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Qualitative exploratory design, thematic analysis, and in-depth semi-structured interviews | Three themes: - Lack of comprehensive support mechanisms for emotional, physical, psychological, housekeeping, and financial support - Physical and mental strain (fatigue, natural mood swings, violence, and abuse) - Barriers to maternal services (through socio-economic status and inappropriate behaviour from husbands and in-laws) |
John-Akinola et al. (2022) [43], Nigeria | Psychology research | Aim: To investigate women’s perspective on the social support that men provide during pregnancy (What support do pregnant women expect from their partners? What experiences do women have with partner support during pregnancy? How can men support their pregnant partners during pregnancy?) and factors that could influence or promote this support (What factors prevent men from fully supporting their partners?) Definition: not mentioned | 41 women (mean age 36.3 + 4.90 years) with babies between 0 and 6 months Religion is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Thematic analysis and focus group discussions | - Expected support: psychological and sexual satisfaction support - Way to provide support: Helping with house chores and taking care of other children - Women’s experiences with men supporting their loss of appetite and irritation suggest that men should be tolerant to provide support, encouragement, and patience during pregnancy - Factors that influence men’s support: a bad attitude towards the husband and nagging about a lack of support |
Eapen et al. (2019) [40], US | Psychology research | Aim: To explore the perceptions and experiences of social support during pregnancy among low-income women who had recently given birth to an LBW infant Definition: not mentioned | 15 women aged 18 years or older who had given birth within the past 9 months Religion is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Qualitative descriptive design and in-depth semi-structured interviews | Three themes emerged: - Women’s experience of pregnancy - Challenges faced by women during pregnancy - Availability of essential support (emotional, physical, and informational) and the father and female relatives as major sources of support |
Chongo and Ngoma (2014) [37], Zambia | Nursing research | Aim: To explore and describe pregnant women’s perceptions of husbands’ provision of support during pregnancy and labour to encourage men’s participation in maternal health services to improve maternal health Definition: not mentioned | 34 pregnant women aged 20 to 49 years Religion and stage of pregnancy are not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Descriptive exploratory design and content analysis and focus group discussions | Support during pregnancy with household chores and preparing for the baby: - Need emotional support from the husband - The husband should give financial support to provide for basic needs, transportation and supplies for the new baby - The husband should accompany the pregnant person to the health facility during labour |
Darvill et al. (2010) [39], UK | Midwife research | Aim: To explore the maternal transition from women’s perspectives and identify any unmet support needs Definition: not mentioned | 13 women with an average age of 31 who had delivered within 6 to 15 weeks Religion is not mentioned | Cross-sectional | Grounded theory, constant comparative methods, and semi-structured interviews | The supporting theme: - Mothers, partners, and peers offered support - Mothers provided emotional, practical, and informational support - The practical support from mothers was related to helping with shopping, housework, or cooking - There was a lack of emotional support from the husband |
Eddy and Fife (2021) [41], US | Psychology research | Aim: To build a theory describing how husband’s involvement during pregnancy impacts the couple relationship | 11 married couples (husbands aged 25–36 years, wives aged 24–34 years), 7 nonreligious and 15 religious, who had had a baby within 2 to 6 months | Cross-sectional | Grounded theory and semi-structured interviews | Developed a theory of active husband involvement, consisting of four components: - Helping with a positive attitude - Instrumental support - Emotional support - Strong couple relationship postpartum |