Background: Unplanned pregnancy is a potential danger for women’s lives in the reproduction ages. Objective: The present study aimed to compare planned and unplanned pregnancies regarding the maternal-infant attachment behaviors in emotional, proximity-seeking, and caretaking dimensions. Methods: The present analytical case-control study was conducted on 140 women who had given birth to their children in the hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2017. The participants were divided into planned and unplanned pregnancy groups. Within the first hour and 24 hours after birth, the babies were put naked in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers for 15 minutes and the study questionnaire was completed. The data were collected using Avant checklist. P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean score of attachment in the early hours was 84.22±12.59 in the planned pregnancy group and 74.28±15.81 in the unplanned pregnancy group, and the difference was statistically significant (p˂0.001). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in this regard after 24 hours (p=0.122). Additionally, the results revealed a significant difference between the two groups concerning emotional (p˂0.001) and caretaking (p=0.007) behaviors. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups regarding the three behaviors after 24 hours. Emotional (talking and smiling, p=0.001), proximity-seeking (circling one’s arms around the baby, p=0.001), and caretaking (paying attention to the baby, p=0.001) behaviors were significantly more observed in the two groups in the early hours and the first 24 hours. Conclusions: Mother’s skin-to-skin contact with her baby during lactation increased attachment in unplanned pregnancies after 24 hours.
Introduction: Women’s physical and mental health and their mortality at reproductive age depend on fertility behaviors, delivery, and its complications. Unintended pregnancy is a risk to the life of women at reproductive age. The present study aimed to compare maternal and neonatal attachment in intended and unintended pregnancies after the mother and baby skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery (first hour) and 24 hours after that. Methods: This analytical case-control study was performed on 140 women who gave birth in the hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The subjects were categorized into groups of intended and unintended pregnancy. Skin-to-skin contact of the mother and baby was done for 15 minutes in the recovery room at the first hour and 24 hours after birth. Then, the Avant’s questionnaire of mother-infant attachment behaviors was completed. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver.13. Results: The mean (SD) attachment score in the first hours in intended pregnancy was 84.22 (12.59), which was higher than that in unintended pregnancy 74.28 (15.81), indicating a significant difference. However, after 24 hours of delivery, there was no significant difference between the two groups. During the first hours after delivery, there was a significant difference in the total score of the emotional behaviors and care between the two groups. Conclusion: Maternal and infant skin contact during lactation increased attachment after 24 hours in unintended pregnancy, while in the first hours after delivery, attachment decreased in these pregnancies.
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