De prenatale moeder-kind relatie in onderzoek

Abstract

The prenatal mother-child relationship in research The importance of the maternal-fetal relationship has been recognized during the last decades. It has been suggested that the realization of this relationship reflects a successful psychological adaptation to the pregnancy and may lower the offspring’s vulnerability to develop psychopathology in later life, but empirical research demonstrating these suggestions is only scantly available. The development of psychometric sound scales to measure this relationship can be a first step in filling this gap. In this article we define the concept of motherfetus relationship and give an overview of scales measuring this concept. The construction and reliability of frequently used scales – the Maternal Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI), the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS), the Antenatal Maternal Attachment Scale (AMAS) - are described. We summarize findings of studies that used these scales to investigate the influence of several factors on the mother-fetus relationship. Psychosocial support, the experience of quickening of the fetus and the age of gestation seem to positively affect the prenatal mother-fetus relationship. No consistent results were found for demographic variables (age, education, socioeconomic status, race), anxiety, stress or depression during pregnancy, self-respect, choice of food, pregnancy at risk, planning of pregnancy and earlier perinatal loss of a baby. The studies are critically reviewed and some suggestions for further research are provided.