The marital satisfaction status and its related factors in pregnant women in semnan, Iran: A cross-sectional study

Background: Pregnancy brings significant changes in the marital relationship of couples, especially new first-time parent. Marital relationships change during pregnancy under the influence of psychological and physiological changes of pregnancy. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the marital satisfaction status and its related factors in pregnant women in Semnan, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 281 pregnant women referred to the health centers of Semnan (Iran) were examined in 2019 using a cluster sampling method. ENRICH Marital Satisfaction (EMS) questionnaire was used to collect data which higher score indicated higher marital satisfaction. Data were analyzed by SPSS26 using independent sample t-test and ANOVA. Results: The mean (SD) of age was 28.96 (4.75) years. Only 11.4% of them had academic education and 31.7% were employed. The mean (SD) total score of marital satisfaction was 59.98 (25.9). Among the factors related to marital satisfaction, the items of personality issues, communication and conflict resolution received the highest mean scores with 48.6, 38.7 and 38.4 respectively. Also, 14.9% of women had very low marital satisfaction, 8.9% low, 24.2% moderate, 19.2% high, and 32.7% very high marital satisfaction. There is no statistically significant relationship between age, education and employment status with marital satisfaction (P-Value 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that the status of marital satisfaction in half of the pregnant women was moderate or low. Therefore, it seems necessary to carry out psychiatric interventions along with holding classes on marital communication skills, conflict resolution and sexual relations.