Relationships of mother-to-infant bonding from pregnancy to three months postpartum with mother’s attachment style during pregnancy and other factors

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the relationships of mother’s bonding with her child during the period from pregnancy to three months postpartum with the factors including the mother’s attachment style during pregnancy and others. A longitudinal survey was conducted by first asking primiparous women in the 26th week or more of pregnancy to respond the self-administered questionnaires, and then sending the questionnaires to the same women individually at one month and three months postpartum. The number of questionnaires first distributed to the pregnant women was 376, out of which 334 were returned. Finally, 252 valid responses were received from the women at three months postpartum with a valid-response rate of 67.0%. The score of preoccupied attachment style assessed during pregnancy, mother’s breast-feeding condition at one and three months postpartum, and the presence or absence of mother’s health problem at three months postpartum were found to be factors significantly predicting lower mother-to-infant bonding at three months postpartum. The survey suggested that the pregnant woman’s preoccupied attachment style score could offer effective clues to the preventive support for mother-to-infant bonding at three months postpartum.