Interoceptive sensibility and body satisfaction in pregnant and non-pregnant women with and without children

Pregnancy is a time of great physical and psychological change. As well as prominent changes in the
external appearance of the body, such as the baby bump, there are also substantial changes taking
place within the body. Our awareness of, and attention towards, internal bodily signals (interoception)
is thought to have a direct impact on how we feel about our bodies. Therefore, understanding how
our experience of these interoceptive signals might change during pregnancy may have important
implications for maternal wellbeing. This study examined body satisfaction and interoceptive
sensibility (subjective experience of interoception) in pregnant and nonpregnant women with and
without children. Feelings towards pregnancyspecifc changes in body satisfaction and interoceptive
sensibility were also examined in women in their frst pregnancy (primigravida) and subsequent
pregnancies (multigravida). It was found that pregnancy did not directly impact levels of body
satisfaction, instead pregnant and nonpregnant women with children reported less satisfaction with
their bodies compared to those without children. Primigravida women were more satisfed with the
appearance of pregnancy specifc bodily changes compared to multigravida women. Interestingly,
these diferences in body satisfaction in those with children (pregnant and nonpregnant) were
mediated by the extent to which women trusted their bodies (measure of interoceptive sensibility).
All other pregnancy related changes in interoceptive sensibility and body satisfaction were either non
signifcant or had small efect sizes. These results may suggest body trust as an important factor to
support during the transition to parenthood in order to improve body satisfaction in mothers.

妊娠是一段伴随剧烈生理与心理变化的时期。除了腹部膨隆（baby bump）这类显著的体表外观变化外，人体内部也会发生诸多实质性改变。学界普遍认为，个体对内部躯体信号的觉知与关注（内感受，interoception），会直接影响其对自身躯体的主观感受。因此，探明妊娠期间个体对这类内感受信号的体验变化规律，对孕产妇的身心健康具有重要意义。
本研究针对育有子女与未育子女的妊娠及非妊娠女性，考察了其躯体满意度与内感受敏感性（interoceptive sensibility，即内感受的主观体验）。同时，本研究还针对初产妇（primigravida，首次妊娠女性）与经产妇（multigravida，经多次妊娠女性），考察了其针对妊娠特异性躯体变化的躯体满意度与内感受敏感性主观体验。
研究结果显示，妊娠本身并未直接影响躯体满意度水平；相较未育女性，育有子女的妊娠与非妊娠女性的躯体满意度均更低。相较于经产妇，初产妇对妊娠特异性躯体外观变化的满意度更高。
值得注意的是，育有子女者（无论是否妊娠）的躯体满意度差异，可通过女性对自身躯体的信任程度（内感受敏感性的评估指标）得到中介解释。其余与妊娠相关的内感受敏感性与躯体满意度变化，要么不具有统计学显著性，要么效应量较小。
上述研究结果表明，躯体信任可作为孕产妇向父母角色转型过程中需重点支持的因素，以提升母亲群体的躯体满意度。