Binding-in: still a relevant concept?

Abstract

Development of the maternal-fetal relationship was described by Rubin as an intimate "binding-in process." Recent technological advances enabled health care providers to observe, study, diagnose, and treat unborn children and led some to reconsider the relevance of the binding-in concept. Research has focused on prenatal attachment or bonding, maternal characteristics that influence prenatal attachment/bonding, and interventions to promote it. Before binding-in is dismissed as irrelevant, assessment of the prenatal attachment research, consideration of the impact of these ideas on pregnant women and their families, and the implications for maternity nurses must be examined.