Risk and protective factors for pre‐ and postnatal bonding

Abstract

Since disturbances in the mother-child bond increase the risk of negative consequences for child development, it is important to identify risk and protective factors for bonding as well as longitudinal associations. Previous research has used different bonding instruments during pregnancy and the postnatal phase, leading to inconsistent results. In the current study, the same instrument was used during the various phases. In a large, community-based sample (N = 793), general information, feelings of pre-and postnatal bonding (Pre-and Postnatal Bonding Scale), depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), and partner support (subscale Tilburg Pregnancy/Postnatal Distress Scale) were measured at both 32 weeks of pregnancy and 8 months postnatally. Partner support was found to be a protective factor for suboptimal pre-and postnatal bonding, as was the engagement with fetal movements for prenatal bonding. High maternal educational level was a risk factor for suboptimal prenatal bonding, as were depressive symptoms for suboptimal postnatal bonding. The associations between most prenatal determinants and postnatal bonding were mediated by prenatal bonding, which underlines the importance of promoting prenatal bonding. Professionals in clinical practice should be aware of partner support, engagement with fetal movements, and postnatal depressive symptoms: All these factors offer opportunities for improving the bonding processes. K E Y W O R D S mediation, postnatal bonding, Pre-and Postnatal Bonding Scale (PPBS), prenatal bonding, risk factors, protective factors RESUMENDado que las perturbaciones en la unión afectiva entre madre y niño aumentan el riesgo de consecuencias negativas para el desarrollo del niño, es importante identificar los factores de riesgo y de protección de la unión afectiva, así como también las asociaciones longitudinales. La investigación anterior ha utilizado diferentes instrumentos para la unión afectiva durante el embarazo y la fase postnatal, lo que ha llevado a resultados inconsistentes. En el presente estudio, el mismo instrumento se usó durante las diferentes fases. En un grupo muestra grande con base comunitaria (N = 793), se midieron, tanto a las 32 semanas del embarazo como a los ocho meses después del nacimiento, la información general, los sentimientos sobre la 768 © 2019 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Infant Ment Health J. 2019;40:768-785. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imhj menant à des résultats n'étant pas uniformes. Dans cette étude, le même instrument a été utilisé durant les phases multiples. Chez un grand échantillon représentatif de la communauté (N = 793), les renseignements généraux, les sentiments de lien pré-et postnatal (Echelle Pré-et Postnatale) les symptômes dépressifs (Echelle de Dépression Postnatale d'Edinbourg) et le soutien du conjoint (sous-échelle de grossesse Tilburg/Echelle de Détresse Postnatale) ont été mesurés à la fois à 32 semaines de grossesse et à huit mois postnatalement. Le soutien du conjoint s'est avéré être une facteur ...

Pre-natal Attachment and Parent-To-Infant Attachment: A Systematic Review

“…Most of the included studies were conducted in Europe: two in Italy (Petri et al, 2018;Smorti et al, 2020), two in Germany (Dubber et al, 2015;Matthies et al, 2020), two in the Netherlands (de Cock et al, 2016;Cuijlits et al, 2019), two in Poland (Fijałkowska and Bielawska-Batorowicz, 2019;Zdolska-Wawrzkiewicz et al, 2020), one in France (Luz et al, 2017), and one in Sweden (Hjelmstedt and Collins, 2008). Three studies were carried out in Australia (Condon et al, 2013;Rossen et al, 2016Rossen et al, , 2017 and four in the US (Mercer and Ferketich, 1994;Ferketich and Mercer, 1995;Müller, 1996;Damato, 2004).…”

“…All of the studies included in the current systematic review adopted a quantitative approach based on the administration of self-report instruments (Mercer and Ferketich, 1994;Ferketich and Mercer, 1995;Müller, 1996;Damato, 2004;Hjelmstedt and Collins, 2008;Condon et al, 2013;Dubber et al, 2015;de Cock et al, 2016;Rossen et al, 2016Rossen et al, , 2017Luz et al, 2017;Daglar and Nur, 2018;Petri et al, 2018;Cuijlits et al, 2019;Fijałkowska and Bielawska-Batorowicz, 2019;Matthies et al, 2020;Smorti et al, 2020;Zdolska-Wawrzkiewicz et al, FIGURE 1 | Flowchart of the selection procedure adapted from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) (Moher et al, 2009). 2020).…”

“…Considering the included participants, the majority of the papers focused on pregnant women (16 studies; Mercer and Ferketich, 1994;Müller, 1996;Damato, 2004;Dubber et al, 2015;Taffazoli et al, 2015;de Cock et al, 2016;Rossen et al, 2016Rossen et al, , 2017Luz et al, 2017;Daglar and Nur, 2018;Petri et al, 2018;Cuijlits et al, 2019;Fijałkowska and Bielawska-Batorowicz, 2019;Matthies et al, 2020;Smorti et al, 2020;Zdolska-Wawrzkiewicz et al, 2020), while only six studies assessed the two variables among fathers (Ferketich and Mercer, 1995;Hjelmstedt and Collins, 2008;Condon et al, 2013;de Cock et al, 2016;Luz et al, 2017;Fijałkowska and Bielawska-Batorowicz, 2019).…”

“…Only two studies, conducted in Iran and in Turkey, considered unemployed women or housewives and women with a diploma degree (Taffazoli et al, 2015;Daglar and Nur, 2018). The majority of the studies included both primiparous and multiparous parents (Mercer and Ferketich, 1994;Ferketich and Mercer, 1995;Damato, 2004;Dubber et al, 2015;Rossen et al, 2016Rossen et al, , 2017Luz et al, 2017;Daglar and Nur, 2018;Cuijlits et al, 2019;Matthies et al, 2020;Smorti et al, 2020;Zdolska-Wawrzkiewicz et al, 2020).…”

Mindfulness During Pregnancy and Parental Stress in Mothers Raising Toddlers

“…This is not surprising, given the fact that already during pregnancy, women are making the transition to parenthood (Glover and Capron 2017), and healthy adjustment to this transition is important for developing parental self-efficacy (Mihelic et al 2016). Also, maternal bonding to the baby develops during pregnancy and is predictive of bonding in the first year after the birth of the baby (Cuijlits et al 2019). Emotional investment in the pregnancy and the unborn baby results in the development of a new intrapsychic organization, the Motherhood Constellation (Stern 2018).…”