The present study investigated the role of multiple sources of social support—partner support, family support, coworker support, and supervisor/immediate officer support—in predicting maternal and neonatal outcomes among pregnant working women. Specifically, the study examined the influence of these psychosocial support variables on birth weight, length of gestation, and clinical conditions of low birth weight, and preterm delivery after controlling for socio-demographic and occupational variables. The sample consisted of 113 pregnant working women. Hierarchical regression and multiple logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the independent contribution of different forms of social support to pregnancy outcomes.

The findings revealed differential effects of social support sources across maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Comparatively, family support emerged as the strongest and only significant psychosocial predictor of birth weight among the four types of social support examined. While partner support, coworker support, and supervisor support demonstrated positive relationships with birth weight, their independent contributions were not statistically significant. Regarding predictive effects on length of gestation, the results further indicated that supervisor support emerged as the most influential psychosocial predictor, followed by coworker support, whereas partner and family support did not show significant independent contributions. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis associated with the likelihood of delivering a low-birth-weight infant after controlling for socio-demographic variables among pregnant working women revealed that lack of supervisor support maximally increased the risk of low birth weight followed by family support then coworker support. Thus, family support, coworker support, and supervisor support were significant predictors of low birth weight, whereas partner support was not found to be statistically significant. Thus, higher supervisor and coworker support were associated with longer gestational duration, while inadequate supervisor support substantially increased the likelihood of delivering low-birth-weight infants. Supervisor support emerged as the most influential workplace-related protective factor. In contrast, partner support emerged as the only significant predictor of preterm delivery. Women reporting low partner support were significantly more likely to experience preterm delivery, highlighting the critical role of intimate emotional and practical support during pregnancy. While family support demonstrated a moderate positive association with preterm delivery risk, its effect did not reach statistical significance. Coworker and supervisor support showed negligible and non-significant effects. These findings suggest that intimate emotional and practical support from partners may be particularly important for preventing preterm delivery among pregnant working women, possibly because partners provide direct emotional reassurance, caregiving assistance, and stress reduction during pregnancy. These differences suggest that the effectiveness of social support may depend upon the nature, proximity, and functional relevance of the support source during pregnancy.

The study concludes that social support constitutes an important psychosocial protective factor for maternal and fetal health among pregnant working women; however, the impact varies according to the source of support and the specific pregnancy outcome examined. The findings have important implications for maternal healthcare policies, organizational practices, and family-based interventions. Healthcare professionals should encourage greater involvement of partners and family members during pregnancy, while organizations should implement supportive workplace policies, flexible work arrangements, and supervisor sensitization programs for pregnant women employees. Strengthening both familial and workplace support systems may help reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes and improve maternal well-being. Future research may explore the underlying psychosocial and physiological mechanisms linking social support with maternal and neonatal health across diverse occupational and cultural contexts.

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