Bravery of Giving Birth in the Homeland: Pregnant Women’s and New Mothers’ Decisions on Staying in Ukraine During the War

Bravery of Giving Birth in the Homeland: Pregnant Women’s and New Mothers’ Decisions on Staying in Ukraine During the War | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Bravery of Giving Birth in the Homeland: Pregnant Women’s and New Mothers’ Decisions on Staying in Ukraine During the War Liudmyla Krupelnytska, Nazar Yatsenko, Magdalena Chrzan-Dętkoś, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7165093/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 15 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has profoundly disrupted maternal care systems, exposing pregnant women and new mothers to extreme contextual adversity. While many relocated abroad, others remained to give birth in a war zone. The psychosocial and health-related factors shaping these decisions remain poorly understood. The purpose of the study is to identify the psychological, contextual, and dispositional factors associated with women’s wartime decisions to remain in Ukraine or relocate abroad. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected online between December 2022 and October 2023 from 734 Ukrainian women who were pregnant or postpartum during the full-scale invasion. Decision tree modelling, supported by random forest analysis, was used to explore predictors of relocation. Regression models and equivalence testing examined group differences in personality traits. Missing data were addressed using multiple imputation. Results: Perceived disruption of daily life and geographic proximity to hostilities were the strongest predictors of relocation decisions. These contextual factors consistently outperformed dispositional traits, including Big Five personality dimensions. Higher Extraversion was modestly associated with the decision to remain in Ukraine. Women who gave birth abroad exhibited higher rates of postnatal depression than those who remained. Conclusions: Relocation decisions among pregnant women and new mothers during war are driven primarily by acute contextual adversity rather than individual personality traits. These findings align with evidence from non-war migration contexts and highlight the need for trauma-informed, context-sensitive approaches in perinatal care and policy during armed conflict. Trial registration: NCT05654987 (2022-12-16). perinatal mental health women maternity displacement non-displaced 42 persons relocation decision war Ukraine Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 28 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 28 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 19 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 14 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 23 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 22 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7165093","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":488300137,"identity":"c0b218dc-a3b8-45af-bc61-bc609abfa514","order_by":0,"name":"Liudmyla Krupelnytska","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCTBZAMQHGBgPMFQkEKvFAKwFiM6QrIWxjQgtkrPPmD1gMDic2HftjMGBn/PS8gwO8Bh+wKdFmi/H3ACkZebtHIODvdtyioFajCXwaZHj4TGTAGnZANRygHdbReKGAzwGxGs5+HcOWIvxD7wOQ9ZymLchB6TFDK8tkj1s5UC/pBvPvJ1WcFjmWFrizMNsZRb4tEicYd72gKHCWrbvdvLGh29qkhP7jjdvvoFPCxCwMf9haAbSHAYQPjMB9SAtQFwHxOwPCKsdBaNgFIyCEQkAhsBOxm6vq4cAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liudmyla","middleName":"","lastName":"Krupelnytska","suffix":""},{"id":488300138,"identity":"25a89c0f-5e55-40f0-a8bf-a16acc32b56d","order_by":1,"name":"Nazar Yatsenko","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nazar","middleName":"","lastName":"Yatsenko","suffix":""},{"id":488300139,"identity":"5a0b3298-f338-402a-96a2-7053f5a18fed","order_by":2,"name":"Magdalena Chrzan-Dętkoś","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gdańsk","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Magdalena","middleName":"","lastName":"Chrzan-Dętkoś","suffix":""},{"id":488300140,"identity":"f223f194-98ef-4b71-b8ed-2313a90746a9","order_by":3,"name":"Natalia Murawska","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gdańsk","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Natalia","middleName":"","lastName":"Murawska","suffix":""},{"id":488300141,"identity":"f11c20b5-ee58-412a-a122-894fee3137d1","order_by":4,"name":"Alona Vavilova","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alona","middleName":"","lastName":"Vavilova","suffix":""},{"id":488300142,"identity":"8a0cf004-352b-4b0d-a6a4-ea445526e1a9","order_by":5,"name":"Olha Morozova-Larina","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Olha","middleName":"","lastName":"Morozova-Larina","suffix":""},{"id":488300143,"identity":"fef95fa6-39a9-4a6e-a7c5-9c738784127e","order_by":6,"name":"Helena S. 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While many relocated abroad, others remained to give birth in a war zone. The psychosocial and health-related factors shaping these decisions remain poorly understood. The purpose of the study is to identify the psychological, contextual, and dispositional factors associated with women’s wartime decisions to remain in Ukraine or relocate abroad.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods: \u003c/strong\u003eCross-sectional data were collected online between December 2022 and October 2023 from 734 Ukrainian women who were pregnant or postpartum during the full-scale invasion. Decision tree modelling, supported by random forest analysis, was used to explore predictors of relocation. Regression models and equivalence testing examined group differences in personality traits. 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