Maternity blues and attachment to children in mothers of full‐term normal infants

Abstract

This study was conducted for evaluating incidence of maternity blues in Japan, in addition to clarifying the relationship between maternity blues and maternal attachment, and the factors involved. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 417 mothers having given birth at the Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital. The questionnaire consisted of Zung's self-rating depression scale, and a 'postpartum maternal attachment' scale, consisting of subscales on 'core maternal attachment' and 'anxiety regarding children'. The survey was conducted 5.2 days +/-1.46 postpartum. ZSDS scores over 40 amounted to 66.8% of the responses. Analysis of the two scales revealed significant correlation/inverse correlation between 'maternity blues' and 'anxiety regarding children'/ 'core maternal attachment'. Path analysis revealed 'maternity blues' to be influencing 'core maternal attachment' and 'anxiety regarding children'. It was found that the incidence of maternity blues may be higher in Japan than was believed previously, and that an intimate association exists between 'maternity blues' and 'postpartum maternal attachment'.