Maternal-fetal attachment protects against postpartum anxiety: the mediating role of postpartum bonding and partnership satisfaction
Maternal mental disorders develop frequently during the perinatal period, and can have detrimental effects on the developing bond between a mother and her child. While depression has already been widely associated with bonding disorders, the link between anxiety disorders and maternal-fetal attachme...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2020
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| In: |
Archives of gynecology and obstetrics
Year: 2019, Volume: 301, Issue: 1, Pages: 107-117 |
| ISSN: | 1432-0711 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00404-019-05402-7 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-019-05402-7 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00404-019-05402-7 
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| Author Notes: | Lina Maria Matthies, Mitho Müller, Anne Doster, Christof Sohn, Markus Wallwiener, Corinna Reck, Stephanie Wallwiener |
| Summary: | Maternal mental disorders develop frequently during the perinatal period, and can have detrimental effects on the developing bond between a mother and her child. While depression has already been widely associated with bonding disorders, the link between anxiety disorders and maternal-fetal attachment has received only limited attention. This study aimed to explore the link between maternal-fetal attachment in the third trimester and postpartum anxiety, as previous research has suggested a potentially protective association. Additionally, we hypothesized a mediating influence of postpartum bonding and partnership satisfaction as additional measurements of attachment capacity. Self-report questionnaires assessing maternal-fetal attachment, postpartum bonding, anxiety, depression, and partnership quality were completed at three time points: third trimester (T1, N = 324), first week postpartum (T2, N = 249), and 4 months postpartum (T3, N = 166). Conditional process analyses were used to test for mediation. A statistically significant negative correlation of maternal-fetal attachment was found with maternal anxiety postpartum. Overall, the analyses supported the mediation hypothesis. There was a significant, indirect effect of maternal-fetal attachment during pregnancy on state anxiety in the first week postpartum, mediated through postpartum bonding quality and partnership satisfaction. All three variables together accounted for 18.25% (state anxiety) or 30.35% (trait anxiety) of the variance in postpartum anxiety. Our results showed that a close maternal-fetal attachment buffers postpartum symptoms of anxiety, partially mediated through postpartum bonding and partnership satisfaction. Therefore, strengthening the maternal-fetal attachment and the partnership during pregnancy has the potential to reduce maternal postpartum symptoms of anxiety. |
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| Item Description: | Published online: 24 December 2019 Gesehen am 26.03.2020 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1432-0711 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00404-019-05402-7 |