Mother –Infant Bonding and Emotional Availability at 12-Months of Age: The Role of Early Postnatal Bonding, Maternal Substance Use and Mental Health

In this study we examined the extent to which postnatal bonding, maternal mental health, and substance use at 8-weeks postpartum predicted mother –infant bonding (self-report) and mother emotional availability (observational) at 12-months of age.MethodsData were obtained from an Australian longitudinal cohort study of pregnancy (n  = 308). Data were collected during pregnancy, at birth, and postnatally at 8-weeks and 12-months.ResultsThe results show strong continuity between postnatal bonding at 8-weeks and 12-months. Early postpartum stress and depression were associated with bonding at 12-months; however, the effect did not persist after adjustment for bonding at 8-weeks. Tobacco use at 8-weeks, but no other indicators of mental health, predicted lower emotional availability scores at 12-months.DiscussionResults suggest that the mother ’s felt bond to her child is stable across the first year of life and that early bonding is a more robust indicator of bonding at 12-months than a mother’s mental health or substance use. These findings point to the importance of clinical and public health investments in establishing a strong bo nd between mother and child in the early postpartum period.
Source: Maternal and Child Health Journal - Category: Health Management Source Type: research