Effects of Type of Delivery Mode and Gestational Age on Maternal Bonding

Effects of Type of Delivery Mode and Gestational Age on Maternal Bonding

To evaluate the effects of gestational age and other factors on maternal attachment relationship. There are different results in studies examining the effects of birth type on postpartum depression and mother-infant interaction. The aim of this study was to evaluate factors which affected mother-infant bond (MIB) using maternal attachment inventory (MAI).

The Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) measure maternal love attachment (9). Muller tested the MAI questions in two phases; maternal adaptation and maternal attachmentEach item is evaluated by a 4-way to 26-point Likert-type scale ranging from "always" to "never". Always is calculated as (a) = 4 points, often (b) = 3 points, sometimes (c) = 2 points and never (d) = 1 point. The lowest score which could be obtained from the scale that measures maternal emotions and behaviors indicating love is 26, the high score is 104, and a high score indicates a high maternal attachment (12).

Inclusion Criteria:

• natural pregnancy (without any Assisted reproductive technology (ART) method)
• aged 18 to 45 years
• no adverse obstetric history

Exclusion Criteria:

• psychiatric diagnosis
• history of psychiatric drug use
• postpartum blues
• known complications during pregnancy