Attachment (bonding) in mothers of pre-term babies

Abstract

Thirty mothers whose pre-term babies had been cared for in a neonatal unit were interviewed when their babies were on average 5.5 months old. At this time all the babies were well and had been at home for at least 4 weeks. The mothers' feelings of attachment to their baby (bonding) during pregnancy; at birth; during the first few postnatal days; during the remainder of the babies' stay in hospital; and at interview were elicited and rated on a 10-point scale. Factors which had helped or hindered maternal attachment were discussed. The results of the study showed that the majority of mothers experienced difficulties in attachment throughout the babies' stay in hospital, especially in the immediate postnatal period. In 27 cases these difficulties were apparently completely resolved when the baby went home. The remaining three cases demonstrated lower levels of maternal attachment which the subjects attributed to a lack of support and the stressful consequences of IVF treatment. The babies of these mothers were younger and therefore less responsive than was the average for the babies in this study. There was no evidence of a total lack of attachment or ‘failure to bond’. Factors which were related to attachment difficulties included shock, fears about the babies' survival and previous reproductive problems. Subjects also articulated feelings of guilt and of loss and a sense that the baby was not really theirs.