Maternal Care for Spiritual Health of Unborn Child During Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study With Content Analysis Approach

摘要

Unborn child spirituality is a subject that has little regard in research. The purpose of this study is to explain the experiences of mothers regarding the spiritual well-being of their child during pregnancy. In a qualitative study, with purposive and easy sampling, 48 semistructured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 39 women who were pregnant or had recent experience of successful pregnancy. Data analysis was done using a conventional content analysis approach. The results showed that Iranian mothers were trying to protect the spiritual health of their unborn child during pregnancy by interacting with God, avoiding sin and forbidden food, and improving their behavior and verbal and nonverbal communication with the fetus. According to the findings, the health of unborn child, like its mother may be affected by physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects. Much more research is needed.