Physiological and psychological changes in pregnancy have a considerable effect on mother’s wellbeing. Hence, in this period pregnant women are vulnerable to develop mental health difficulties due to hormonal alterations and other external factors. Mental health problems during pregnancy may impact to child’s growth and psychological development. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) education on the scores of mental health disorders among pregnant women. This study was quasy-experimental. The sample were 55 pregnant women (28=control group, 27=experimental group) who registered in Community Health Centers. Participants were selected by consecutive sampling technique. Data collection tools were EPDS, SRQ, SSQ-6, and demographic questionnaire. These questionnaires were filled out by both groups as pre-test and two weeks later. The data were analyzed by paired and independent t-test in SPSS/20 with significant levels p0,05). This study indicated that maternal-fetal attachment education might contribute in improving pregnant women’s mental health. The future study should be tested in larger sample sizes with more than two weeks follow up to confirm these results.

Objectives: To investigate correlation between maternal and child health (MCH) handbook utilization and healthy behavior of trimester III pregnant women.Materials and Methods: This study used Spearman-Rho non-parametric correlation test with 95% of the Power of Test.Results: The correlation between MCH utilization and the healthy behavior of trimester III pregnant women showed correlation coefficient (r) of 0.530 and CI 95% 0.163-0.638, indicating middle level of correlation with p-value of 0.01 (p<0.05), showing statistical significance.Conclusion: MCH (maternal and child health) handbook utilization improves healthy behavior of trimester III pregnant women. The higher the utilization of MCH, the healthier the behavior of trimester III pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Many studies support the hypothesis that pregnancy-related anxiety (PRA) is strongly linked to postpartum depression, preterm births, low birth weight, fetal growth restriction, pregnancy complications, and negative infant outcomes. PRA has also been associated with mother-fetal bond during pregnancy that a special relationship between the mother and infant and growth beyond before the infant is born. Although extensive studies on PRA and maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) have been carried out, little attention on these issues is done in the Indonesian context. AIM: To fill such a gap, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal PRA and MFA. METHODS: Expectant mothers who visit their antenatal care in the primary health community services at Yogyakarta participated in this study. They were recruited using a purposive sampling technique based on the criteria: (a) The 1st time pregnancy, (b) in the late stage of pregnancy, (c) have no complication, (d) mother at any age range, and (e) mother at any education level. G-power 3.1.9.2 with effect size 0.15 has used to determine the number of samples, 84 people. Statistical analysis Pearson correlation has been applied and calculates the t relationship between two variables. General linier model analysis conducted the contribution of demographic variables to PRA and MFA. RESULTS: There is a significant relationship between maternal anxiety during pregnancy and MFA (p < 0.001) and a significant correlation between PRA and maternal age. However, there were no correlation between MFA and demographic variables. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Findings study provides the crucial information as the new approach to enhance the quality of care of mother’s and infant’s health during pregnancy as well as to promote maternal mental health.