Introduction: Pregnancy and childbirth are one of the most special events in a woman's life. They bring great changes, both physical, psychological and social. Pregnancy presents an interesting challenge for establishing theories of self body image, which is defined as an internal representation of one's external appearance. Pregnancy can pose a challenge to body image, especially in terms of weight gain, but it can also indirectly affect the possibility of developing depressive disorders and sexuality itself. Purpose: The purpose of our diploma work was to investigate body image during pregnancy. For this purpose we collected scientific studies and with them we wanted to find out what connections exist between body image during pregnancy and body weight and how body image affects sexuality. Methods: In our diploma work a descriptive method of work was used with a help of a theoretical review of professional and scientific literature in Slovenian and English language. For the meta-synthesis, which was used to verify 3 research questions, a set of scientific studies was used, evaluated according to the credibility of the evidence according to a four level study quality scale. Results: Analysis of studies has shown that body image during pregnancy depends, among other things, on weight gain, that other people, important to the pregnant woman, have a great influence on body image of a pregnant woman and that poor body image can also be reflected in sexuality and intimate relationships. Discussion and conclusion: Research on the topic of the body image during pregnancy mostly agrees that pregnancy affects on the evaluation of her own body. When treating pregnant women, healthcare professionals should also pay attention to poor body image.
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