The role of maternal prenatal attachment in a woman's experience of pregnancy and implications for the process of care

This paper aims to review current knowledge concerning the development of prenatal attachment, the impact of demographic and pregnancy variables, and the implications for care and well-being of the foetus. The studies suggest that level of prenatal attachment, as assessed by questionnaires, typically increases throughout the course of pregnancy. It is likely that higher levels of social support are associated with increased levels of prenatal attachment but more research is needed into the association with this and other psychological variables. There is little evidence concerning the impact on prenatal attachment of procedures carried out as routine antenatal care or about the effects of high risk or surrogate pregnancies. An important area of emerging research involves investigating the implications of low levels of prenatal attachment and risk to the foetus. More research is needed into the relationship between prenatal attachment and how women care for themselves and their developing baby in terms of healthrelated behaviours. The current conceptual framework of the majority of prenatal attachment studies which focus on measuring levels rather than style can be considered over-simplistic. Greater integration with theoretical perspectives such as the development of maternal representations of care-giving would be beneficial.