Pregnancy intendedness, maternal–fetal bonding, and postnatal maternal–infant bonding

Abstract

This study models associations between pregnancy intendedness and prenatal maternal-fetal bonding with postnatal maternal-infant bonding. Unintended pregnancies are associated with disruptions in maternal-infant bonding, which has long-term adverse implications for maternal and child well-being. Given the high proportion of births that are unintended in the United States, identifying protective factors is critical. Pregnant women (ages 16-38) were recruited from two prenatal clinics in a metropolitan city in the South Central United States at their first prenatal visit and followed throughout pregnancy and postbirth. Multiple regression analyses examined associations, mediation, and moderation. Results indicate that the more unintended/unwanted women reported their pregnancies to be, the lower they reported their maternal-infant bonding postbirth, and higher maternal-fetal bonding scores are associated with higher postnatal maternal-infant bonding. An interaction revealed that a higher level of prenatal bonding is protective for postnatal bonding among those with unintended/unwanted pregnancies. Because prenatal bonding can be enhanced through intervention, it is a promising target to reduce the risks associated with unintended pregnancy.

Mother-infant bonding and its predictors among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia

“…The purpose of the study is to identify the predictors that improve the strength of motherinfant bonding among pregnant women in a city in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia. The results of this study support other studies' findings that pregnant women are generally geared toward a high level of bonding with their expected baby (Souza et al, 2017;Shreffler et al, 2021;Hassan and Hassan, 2017). Mother-infant bonding in pregnant women can be explained within the context of Mercer's (1981) theory.…”

Determining Factors in the Establishment of the Mother-Child Bonding and Its Repercussions During Development in Early Childhood

“…This way, it reduces the presence of bad oral habits and various speech pathologies. (SHREFFLER et al, 2021) Regarding motor development, a longterm survey of 130 mothers with children aged 3 to 12 months in a maternity hospital in Fortaleza showed interesting results, as shown in figure 1…”

The role of midwives in supporting the development of the mother-infant relationship: a scoping review

“…During pregnancy, the maternal-fetal bond develops through activities where the mother communicates with the unborn baby, engages with fantasies, has mental images and develops future plans with the baby [7]. The quality of the maternal-fetal bond plays an important role in the mother-infant relationship and can be an indicator of postnatal maternal sensitivity and the mother-infant bond [8]. In the first few hours after birth, the motherinfant bond is influenced by hormones that enhance maternal sensitivity, reactivity, and receptiveness to their baby [4].…”