Orem's self-care deficit theory: research with pregnant women.

A causal model of relationships among self-care agency, basic prenatal care actions, foundations for dependent-care agency, and selected pregnancy outcomes was investigated. This cross-sectional correlation study was conducted on a random sample of 127 women at least 30 weeks pregnant. Path analysis was used to analyze the data. Self-care agency was significantly and directly related to basic prenatal care actions and foundations for dependent-care agency, which in turn were directly related to infant birth weight. Findings lend support to Orem's theory and offer implications for maternity nursing practice and research.