Maternal-fetal Attachment Scores Research Articles

Maternal-fetal attachment: influence of mother-daughter and husband-wife relationships.

Intergenerational attachment relationships between the pregnant woman and her mother, her husband, and her fetus were examined. Self-completed instruments were used to measure the attachment variables for a convenience sample of 115 middle-class mothers who attended urban prenatal classes. Results supported the hypothesis that mother-daughter and husband-wife attachment were correlated positively. Contrary to study predictions, maternal-fetal attachment scores were not related to mother-daughter and husband-wife attachment scores. Maternal-fetal attachment was related to length of gestation. Results provide only partial support for the intergenerational model of attachment relationships.

The development of maternal-fetal attachment during pregnancy

This study is to examine the degree to which women engage in attachment behaviors toward their unborn children. Cranley's Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS) was modified to Japanese version (MFAS-J2), which consists of 20 items with .87 reliability. MFAS-J2 was administered to both normal and high-risk pregnant women (n = 275) during gestation. All subjects were restricted to women who were having their first child, and they were between 5 and 40 weeks gestation at the time they completed the instrument. Demographic data were also gathered. (1) Maternal-fatal attachment increased significantly from 5 to 40 weeks of gestation. Especially feeling fetal movement had positive effect on maternal-fetal attachment. (2) Women who reported negative perception or ambivalent feeling about their pregnancy showed low attachment score. And women whose husband reported negative feeling about their pregnancy responded lower in the scale. (3) Some negative relationships were observed between maternal-fetal attachment score and the histories of abortion and sterility. (4) Maternal-fetal attachment showed no significant correlations to factors of threatened abortion, premature labor, and IUGR. (5) Maternal-fetal attachment showed negative correlations to State-Trait anxiety during early pregnancies.

Effect of Fetal Movement, Ultrasound Scans, and Amniocentesis On Maternal-Fetal Attachment

The effects of fetal movement, ultrasound scans, and amniocentesis on maternal-fetal attachment and perception of fetal development in normal pregnancy were examined in 91 women during the second trimester. Women who reported feeling fetal movement early in pregnancy had higher maternal-fetal attachment scores and higher perception of fetal development scores. Ultrasound scans had no effect on either variable. Women who had genetic amniocentesis had lower attachment scores before the procedure, but one month later the attachment scores were not significantly different from those of other women. Both maternal-fetal attachment and perceptions of fetal development increased significantly from 16 to 20 weeks of gestation. There was a small but significant correlation between attachment scores and perception of fetal development.

The relationship between social support, self-esteem, and maternal-fetal attachment in adolescents.

Limited information is available about factors related to prenatal attachment in adolescents. In this study, relationships among self-esteem, social support, and maternal-fetal attachment were examined. A culturally diverse sample of 90 adolescents between 14 and 19 years of age was recruited from two of the three licensed residential maternity homes in Los Angeles County. The four research instruments administered included: a background questionnaire, Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory, Norbeck's Social Support Questionnaire, and Cranley's Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale. Although nonsignificant correlations were found between total maternal-fetal attachment scores and measures of self-esteem and social support, four key variables were identified through regression analyses. These significant predictors of prenatal attachment were total functional support, total size of network, planning of pregnancy, and intent to keep the infant. Implications for clinical practice are discussed related to these findings.