The rewards of motherhood: Neural response to reward in pregnancy prospectively predicts maternal bonding with the infant in the postpartum period

Abstract

Mother-to-infant attachment is critical to the health of mothers and offspring. While reward circuitry is implicated in maternal attachment, no studies have yet examined whether antenatal (i.e., in pregnancy) reward responsiveness predicts mother-to-infant bonding in the postnatal period. In a sample of 63 women, we examined whether the Reward Positivity (RewP), an event-related potential elicited to feedback indicating monetary reward, measured in pregnancy prospectively predicts self-reported mother-to-infant attachment at approximately one year postpartum. An increased antenatal RewP was associated with increased postnatal pleasure in proximity with the infant. Furthermore, this association was independent of associations with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. This is the first study to find a prospective association between reward responsiveness in pregnancy and postnatal bonding with the infant. Future directions for attachment research are discussed.