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Abstract
Objective
We aimed to determine if and to what extent a woman’s exposure to stressful life events were associated with impaired maternal bonding by using a sample of high-income Italian women.
Methods
In the second day postpartum, 425 healthy puerperae responded to Life Experiences Survey (LES), Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MBS), and to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).
Results
Analysis revealed that the stressful life events scored by LES were a significantly predictor of impaired bonding as measured by MIBS (β = 0.04; t = 3.45; p < .001) and of postpartum depression symptoms as measured by EPDS total score (β = 0.32; t = 4.86; p < .001) as well as its subscales Anhedonia (β = 0.059; t = 4.99; p < .001), Anxiety (β = 0.03; t = 5.72; p < .001), and Depression (β = 0.05; t = 6.53; p < .001). Moreover, the partial correlation between EPDS total score and MIBS accounting for LES positive and negative scores was statistically significant (r = 0.208; n = 332; p < .001).
Conclusion
The findings emphasize the importance of identifying mothers with negative experiences toward pregnancy and delivery to address possible interventions beyond hospital-based antenatal care to improve bonding and maternal mental outcomes.
Ethical approval
Institutional Review Board (Policlinico Abano Terme) approval was obtained.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).