Effect of Attachment Training on Paternal-fetal Attachment

Abstract

Background & aim: Paternal-fetal attachment develops an emotional relationship between father and his infant which can affect their future interactions. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effect of attachment training on paternal-fetal attachment. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted in Karmandan and 22 Bahman health centers in Mashhad in 2015. The participants of the study consisted of 60 randomly-selected fathers whose wives `gestational age was 28 to 32 weeks. The intervention group received three 120-min sessions of attachment training once a week in the forms of group discussion, lectures, question and answer, film screenings, and educational booklet. Data collection was performed by means of two questionnaires, named personal and fertility characteristics questionnaire and Weaver Cranley paternal-fetalattachment questionnaire. Two groups were assessed before, immediately after, and 3 weeks after intervention (follow-up) by paternal-fetal attachment questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS (version 22) using the Chi-square, independent t-test, Fisher, Mann-Whitney U test, and repeated measure tests. P Results: The results of repeated measures showed that mean scores of paternal-fetal attachment was not significantly different between the control and intervention groups before training (P=0.527) However, paternal-fetal attachment significantly increased at post-test (P=0.069) and follow-up (P=0.006) in the experimental group. Conclusion: Attachment training increases paternal-fetal attachment; therefore, pregnancy care programs should include training sessions for fathers.