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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Affective Disorder | Research article

Risk factors for impaired maternal bonding when infants are 3 months old: a longitudinal population based study from Japan

Authors: Mami Nakano, Subina Upadhyaya, Roshan Chudal, Norbert Skokauskas, Terhi Luntamo, Andre Sourander, Hitoshi Kaneko

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Background

Impaired maternal bonding has been associated with antenatal and postnatal factors, especially postpartum depression. Only a few population-based, longitudinal studies have examined the association between maternal depression and bonding in outside western countries. In addition, little is known about the association between psychosocial factors during pregnancy and impaired maternal bonding. The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors associated with impaired maternal bonding 3 months after delivery using Japanese population-based, longitudinal study from pregnancy period to 3 months after delivery.

Methods

This study was performed at the public health care center in Hekinan city, Aichi prefecture, Japan. Mothers who participated the infant’s health check-up 3 months after delivery from July 2013 to Jun 2015 completed the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) 1 month after delivery. Information was also provided from home visit at 1 month after delivery, birth registration form, and pregnancy notification form. The study included 1060 mothers with a mean age of 29.90 years, who had given birth at a mean of 38.95 weeks.

Results

Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the association between antenatal and postnatal factors and impaired maternal bonding. The main findings were that maternal negative feelings about pregnancy (OR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.02–4.56) and postpartum depression at 1 month after delivery (OR = 7.85, 95% CI = 3.44–17.90) were associated with higher levels of impaired maternal bonding 1 months after delivery. Mothers who had delivered their first child had increased odds of a moderate level of impaired maternal bonding 3 months after delivery (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.22–2.81).

Conclusions

The findings emphasize the importance of identifying mothers with depression and those with maternal negative feelings towards pregnancy to assess possible impaired maternal bonding.
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Metadata
Title
Risk factors for impaired maternal bonding when infants are 3 months old: a longitudinal population based study from Japan
Authors
Mami Nakano
Subina Upadhyaya
Roshan Chudal
Norbert Skokauskas
Terhi Luntamo
Andre Sourander
Hitoshi Kaneko
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2068-9

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