Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study
Background: Mother-infant bonding provides the foundation for secure attachment through the lifespan and organizes many facets of infant social-emotional development, including later parenting. Aims: To describe maternal bonding to offspring across the pregnancy and postnatal periods, and to examine...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50460 |
| _version_ | 1848758479062302720 |
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| author | Rossen, L. Hutchinson, D. Wilson, J. Burns, L. Allsop, Steve Elliott, E. Jacobs, S. Macdonald, J. Olsson, C. Mattick, R. |
| author_facet | Rossen, L. Hutchinson, D. Wilson, J. Burns, L. Allsop, Steve Elliott, E. Jacobs, S. Macdonald, J. Olsson, C. Mattick, R. |
| author_sort | Rossen, L. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: Mother-infant bonding provides the foundation for secure attachment through the lifespan and organizes many facets of infant social-emotional development, including later parenting. Aims: To describe maternal bonding to offspring across the pregnancy and postnatal periods, and to examine a broad range of sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of the maternal-offspring bond. Methods: Data were drawn from a sample of 372 pregnant women participating in an Australian population-based longitudinal study of postnatal health and development. Participants completed maternal bonding questionnaires at each trimester and 8 weeks postnatal. Data were collected on a range of sociodemographic and psychosocial factors. Results: Bonding increased significantly through pregnancy, in quality and intensity. Regression analyses indicated that stronger antenatal bonding at all time points (trimesters 1 through 3) predicted stronger postnatal bonding. Older maternal age, birth mother being born in a non-English speaking country, mother not working full time, being a first-time mother, breast-feeding problems, and baby's crying behavior all predicted poorer bonding at 8 weeks postpartum. Conclusion: These novel findings have important implications for pregnant women and their infant offspring, and for health care professionals working in perinatal services. Importantly, interventions to strengthen maternal-fetal bonding would be beneficial during pregnancy to enhance postnatal bonding and infant health outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:44:38Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-50460 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:44:38Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-504602017-09-13T15:49:10Z Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study Rossen, L. Hutchinson, D. Wilson, J. Burns, L. Allsop, Steve Elliott, E. Jacobs, S. Macdonald, J. Olsson, C. Mattick, R. Background: Mother-infant bonding provides the foundation for secure attachment through the lifespan and organizes many facets of infant social-emotional development, including later parenting. Aims: To describe maternal bonding to offspring across the pregnancy and postnatal periods, and to examine a broad range of sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of the maternal-offspring bond. Methods: Data were drawn from a sample of 372 pregnant women participating in an Australian population-based longitudinal study of postnatal health and development. Participants completed maternal bonding questionnaires at each trimester and 8 weeks postnatal. Data were collected on a range of sociodemographic and psychosocial factors. Results: Bonding increased significantly through pregnancy, in quality and intensity. Regression analyses indicated that stronger antenatal bonding at all time points (trimesters 1 through 3) predicted stronger postnatal bonding. Older maternal age, birth mother being born in a non-English speaking country, mother not working full time, being a first-time mother, breast-feeding problems, and baby's crying behavior all predicted poorer bonding at 8 weeks postpartum. Conclusion: These novel findings have important implications for pregnant women and their infant offspring, and for health care professionals working in perinatal services. Importantly, interventions to strengthen maternal-fetal bonding would be beneficial during pregnancy to enhance postnatal bonding and infant health outcomes. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50460 10.1055/s-0037-1599052 restricted |
| spellingShingle | Rossen, L. Hutchinson, D. Wilson, J. Burns, L. Allsop, Steve Elliott, E. Jacobs, S. Macdonald, J. Olsson, C. Mattick, R. Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study |
| title | Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study |
| title_full | Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study |
| title_fullStr | Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study |
| title_short | Maternal Bonding through Pregnancy and Postnatal: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Study |
| title_sort | maternal bonding through pregnancy and postnatal: findings from an australian longitudinal study |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/50460 |