Fetal attachment and infant temperament: The mediating role of perinatal mental health

Abstract

Maternal bond with the offspring is established prior to childbirth, with fetal attachment becoming particularly salient in the third trimester of pregnancy. There is limited research addressing links between prenatal bonding and infant temperament in the context of perinatal anxiety and depression. The present study addressed this gap, examining relations between prenatal attachment (measured in the third trimester via the Prenatal Attachment Inventory-Revised), perinatal maternal mental health assessed in the third trimester and 2 months postpartum using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and infant temperament at 2 months-of-age with mothers (N = 138) completing the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. It was hypothesized that more established prenatal bonding (i.e., greater anticipation of the baby's arrival, differentiation from the offspring, and a sense of interaction with the fetus) would be associated with decreased anxiety and depression (prenatally and postpartum), along with higher infant surgency, higher regulation, and lower negative emotionality. While we anticipated mediation by maternal mental health, prenatal bonding was hypothesized to directly affect infant temperament, and results were largely consistent with these expectations. Differentiation from offspring had the most consistent set of direct effects on surgency and was also prominent in predicting regulation. Only mediation effects of prenatal bonding were observed for negative emotionality, as anticipation and interaction aspects of fetal attachment were associated with perinatal maternal mental health and infant temperament in turn. These findings underscore the possibility for intervention during the third trimester that targets maternal-fetal bonding, with potential positive impacts on maternal symptoms and temperament development.

Keywords: Fetal attachment; Infant temperament; Perinatal mood/anxiety.