Marital satisfaction as predictor of general wellbeing of Pregnant Women

The general wellbeing of pregnant women which is being influenced by several factors is a variable of interest to health researchers and health providers. This study examined marital satisfaction as a predictor of general wellbeing of pregnant women in Benue state. An ex-post facto design was used to carry out the study. Three hundred and seventy (370) pregnant women, Otukop (123 (33.2%), Markudi 157 (42.42%) and Katsina- Ala 90 (24.3%) were purposely sampled respectively. Their mean age is 1.63 and their standard deviation is 0.48. Two instruments were used for the study; marital satisfaction, inventory and general wellbeing questionnaire. The hypothesis which states that marital satisfaction will predict the general wellbeing of pregnant women was tested using regression analysis. The result revealed that marital satisfaction predicts all the dimensions of general wellbeing; general health, anxiety, self-control, depression, vitality and positive wellbeing among pregnant women in Benue state {F 93.327) = 4872.778, P <.01}.On the specific dimensions of general wellbeing, marital satisfaction predicted general health. [F (1,369) = 676.883, P<.01]. It also predicted anxiety [F (1,369) = 805.346, P<.01], predicted self-control [F (1,369) = 807.974, P<.01, depression [F (1,369) = 531.723, P<.01], vitality [F (1,369) = 609.053, P<.01, positive wellbeing [F (1,369) = 846.903, P<.01. It is therefore recommended that disharmony among couples should be strongly discouraged during pregnancy to make the women’s life’s healthy and in turn save the unborn child from negative mishap.