EMOTIONAL CONTENT OF TALK TO THE FETUS AND HEALTHY COPING BEHAVIORS DURING PREGNANCY

This study examined whether the emotional content of talk to the self and to the fetus were related to health behaviors and psychosocial fac tors during pregnancy. One hundred fifty-two third-trimester pregnant women attending childbirth preparation classes completed a survey cont aining the Intrapersonal Communication Questionnaire, which sampled sp ontaneous talk to the self (self-talk) and to the fetus (baby-talk), a nd which yielded ratings of emotional valence of talk quotations into positive, negative, neutral, and mixed categories; the Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale; and indices for life stress, social support, and consump tion behaviors. Baby-talk was more positive whereas self-talk was more negative, or emotionally distressed. More mixed baby-talk occurred wi th more medicine consumption, and medicine consumption was also relate d to lower self-esteem and more life stress. More negative baby-talk o ccurred when cigarette and caffeine consumption was higher. Emotional content of maternal talk to the fetus might indicate development of ma ternal bonding, and specific emotional contents might be related to he alth-relevant coping behaviors, for example, consumption of cigarettes and caffeine. Clinical implications for maternal behaviors after birt h are discussed.