PREDICTORS OF MATERNAL-INFANT ATTACHMENT: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Attachment is one of the basic human needs or emotional bonds between the
growing baby and mother, which is a two-way interactive relationship that is influenced by many factors
and many of these factors determine the unknown attachment. Since limited studies have been conducted
on maternal-infant attachment behaviors and it seems that the attachment behaviors are different in
various cultures, the present study was conducted to determine the predictors of maternal-infant
attachment.
Materials & Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study that was performed on 300
primiparous women at 8 weeks postpartum who were referred to comprehensive health centers in Zabol
from June to October 2019. Inclusion criteriaincluded: being Iranian, women 18 years and older, no
baby with abnormalities, ability to read and write, being term at childbirth, no physical (diabetes,
hypertension, etc.) and mental illness. Sampling was done as a quota from comprehensive health centers.
Data collection tools included the Individual Characteristics Questionnaire (two sections of
demographic information and obstetrics), Beck Disappointment Scale (BHS), and Mother-infant
Attachment Scale (MAS). Data analysis was performed using descriptive and analytical statistics such
as ANOVA test, t-test, and Pearson in SPSS software version 23 and the significance level was p < 0.05.
Results: The results of the present study showed that there was a statistically significant relationship
between maternal age and attachment (r = - 0.126, p₌0.03) while there was no statistically significant
relationship between other demographic variables and attachment. There was also a statistically negative
correlation between disappointment and attachment (p = 0.001, r = - 0.29), so that by decreasing the
frustration score, the score of mother-to-baby attachment increases.
Conclusion: According to the results of the study, among the studied variables, only maternal age and
hopelessness were significantly associated with attachment. There was an inverse relationship between
hopelessness and age with maternal attachment to the infant after delivery. Maternal mental health is
an important factor in the development of attachment style between mother and baby, and
disappointment can lead to depression, and postpartum depression can also reduce maternal and infant
attachment, so addressing maternal mental health is especially important in the postpartum period.