An examination of the impact of maternal fetal attachment, postpartum depressive symptoms and parenting stress on maternal sensitivity

Dáu, Ana Luísa B T; Callinan, Laura S.; Smith, Megan V.

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2019.01.001

Cited by 40 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The limited existing studies investigating the association between MFA and maternal caregiving in first years of life support a positive association of MFA with maternal sensitivity and a mother’s responsiveness to her infant [ 16 ]. However, when maternal caregiving through direct observations of mother–infant free play interactions were assessed, no significant association between MFA and maternal care were found [ 17 ], suggesting that the extant research on MFA and maternal caregiving provide findings limited by parent-reported assessment of caregiving quality and leaves the role of MFA in observable caregiving practices as an open question.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal–fetal attachment in pregnant Italian women: multidimensional influences and the association with maternal caregiving in the infant’s first year of life

Sacchi

Miscioscia

Visentin

et al. 2021

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background Maternal–Fetal Attachment (MFA) describes the cognitive-representational, emotional, and behavioral aspects of the mother–fetus relationship that develops during pregnancy. We present two studies conducted on pregnant Italian women. In Study I, we aimed to explore multifaceted associations of MFA with variables important for a healthy pregnancy (e.g., maternal mental health, the couple’s relationship). In Study II, we investigated the predictive role of MFA on observed maternal caregiving during the first months of the infant’s life. Methods In Study I, 113 pregnant Italian women were assessed on MFA (Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale, MAAS), maternal depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II, BDI-II), maternal anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory – State version, STAI), adjustment of the couple (Dyadic Adjustment Scale, DAS), and perceived parental care (The Parental Bonding Instrument, PBI). In Study II, 29 mother–infant pairs were followed up at 4 months to assess observational variables of maternal caregiving through the Emotional Availability Scale (EAS) and to test for an association with MFA in pregnancy. Results Study I showed a significant association between MFA and the quality of the couple relationship (β = .49, P < .001) and between MFA and the recall of memories of care received in childhood (β = .22, P = .025). Study II showed a predictive effect of MFA on maternal structuring observed during mother–infant interactions at 4 months of age (β = 0.36, P = .046). Conclusion The study points out relevant relationship contexts that might receive care and support throughout pregnancy to protect MFA. The findings also provide thoughtful insights on the role of MFA in early maternal caregiving, suggesting that MFA might be a candidate as one putative antecedent of mother–infant interaction processes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal–fetal attachment in pregnant Italian women: multidimensional influences and the association with maternal caregiving in the infant’s first year of life

Sacchi

Miscioscia

Visentin

et al. 2021

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In addition, South Korean women are usually anxious about employment and housing, and in the case of women who are working, it has been reported that the stress of parenting after childbirth is increased due to the notion that they could not continue to work and fulfill parenting responsibilities at the same time [38]. This parenting stress is also reportedly correlated with postpartum depression, postpartum evasion, and maternal attachment disorder in women [39]. To alleviate the parenting stress of women after childbirth, various measures should be taken at the national and social levels, and the effect of mobile VR intervention on parenting stress should be clarified in further studies using representative samples.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Management Mobile Virtual Reality Program for Women with Gestational Diabetes

Kim

Shin

2021

IJERPH

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The incidence of type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes shows an increasing trend worldwide, and women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years of delivery. This is closely related to lifestyle habits such as dietary intake and physical activity; hence, self-management should be continuously practiced. However, after childbirth, women find it challenging to practice self-management due to physical discomfort and child rearing. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an intervention program that is tailored to the characteristics of each participant and allows them to practice self-health management efficiently without time and space restrictions. This study aimed to develop a self-management mobile virtual reality program and investigate its efficacy in preventing type 2 diabetes after childbirth among women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Intervention with the self-management mobile virtual reality program was performed for 12 weeks. The data of 57 participants in the experimental group and 62 participants in the control group were analyzed. After 12 weeks, the body weight, body fat, hemoglobin A1c, and fasting glucose were decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group. In addition, the dietary habits and health-promoting lifestyle profile were improved in the experimental group compared with the control group. These findings demonstrated that a self-managed mobile virtual reality program could be used as an intervention method for health promotion. To verify the effectiveness of intervention with the self-management mobile virtual reality program, a follow-up study with a larger number of research subjects should be conducted in the future.

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“…Moreover, literature shows that more of these factors are related between them and with cortisol levels. For example, prenatal mother emotional states are related to postnatal depression and mother-infant attachment, and these relations would affect infant cortisol levels (Dau, Callinan, & Smith, 2019). It is for this reason that we also carried out a mediation analysis between the regression significant variables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of maternal emotional states during pregnancy and early infancy on infant cortisol levels: A prospective study

Hernández‐Martínez

Voltas

Arija

et al. 2019

Infant and Child Development

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Cortisol plays an important role in human body functioning, stress response, and reactivity, and altered cortisol levels have been related to psychopathology throughout life. This study investigates several types of clinical and psychosocial prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal factors related to morning cortisol levels in 71 12‐month‐old infants. Several sociodemographic, obstetrical, environmental, and psychological predictors were taken into account. Regression models show that prenatal anxiety, type of birth, depressive symptoms at 6 months, and the mothers' feelings about the relationship with their child explain 32.9% of the variance in morning cortisol levels in 12‐month old infants. When sociodemographic, obstetrical, environmental, and psychological variables are taken into account, maternal emotional status and feelings about the mother–infant bonding are the most important factors that explain infant cortisol levels, which suggests that they should be included in obstetric and paediatric care routines to improve infant health. Highlights Cortisol has an important effect on human homeostasis, growth, neurodevelopment, stress response and reactivity; however, altered cortisol levels have been related to psychopathology throughout life. This study aims to investigate, prospectively from pregnancy, several types of clinical and psychosocial prenatal, perinatal and postnatal factors related to infant morning cortisol levels at 12 months. When several kind of factors are taken into account (prenatal life events, prenatal and postnatal nicotine exposure, gender, gestational age at birth, infant birth weight, parity, socioeconomic status, maternal psychopathology, breastfeeding status and anthropometry), prenatal anxiety, type of birth, postnatal depression and mothers' feelings about the relationship with their infant are the are the variables that better predict infant morning cortisol levels. Maternal emotional characteristics are the central axis for influencing the development of HPA axis. Healthcare professionals may pay more attention to the mother feelings and emotions along prenatal and postnatal infant development to promote infant mental health.

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An examination of the impact of maternal fetal attachment, postpartum depressive symptoms and parenting stress on maternal sensitivity

Cited by 40 publications

References 32 publications

Maternal–fetal attachment in pregnant Italian women: multidimensional influences and the association with maternal caregiving in the infant’s first year of life

Maternal–fetal attachment in pregnant Italian women: multidimensional influences and the association with maternal caregiving in the infant’s first year of life

Self-Management Mobile Virtual Reality Program for Women with Gestational Diabetes

The role of maternal emotional states during pregnancy and early infancy on infant cortisol levels: A prospective study

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