TY - JOUR
T1 - Fear of childbirth during pregnancy
T2 - associations with observed mother-infant interactions and perceived bonding
AU - Challacombe, Fiona L
AU - Nath, Selina
AU - Trevillion, Kylee
AU - Pawlby, Susan
AU - Howard, Louise M
PY - 2020/12/17
Y1 - 2020/12/17
N2 - Fear of childbirth (FOC) is a common phenomenon that can impair functioning in pregnancy but potential longer term implications for the mother-infant relationship are little understood. This study was aimed at investigating postpartum implications of FOC on the mother-infant relationship. A UK sample of 341 women in a community setting provided data on anxiety, mood and FOC in mid-pregnancy and subsequently completed self-report measures of postnatal bonding in a longitudinal cohort study. Postnatal observations of mother-infant interactions were collected and rated for a subset of 141 women. FOC was associated with maternal perception of impaired bonding, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors, concurrent depression and the presence of anxiety disorders (Coef = 0.10, 95% CI 0.07-0.14, p < 0.001). Observed mother-infant interactions were not associated with FOC (Coef = -0.01-0.03 CI - 0.02 to 0.02, p = 0.46), weakly with concurrent depression (Coef = - 0.10, CI - 0.19 to 0.00, p = 0.06) and not associated with anxiety disorders. The self-efficacy component of FOC was most strongly associated with lower reported bonding (Coef 0.37, 95% CI 0.25-0.49, p < 0.001) FOC makes a distinct contribution to perceived postpartum bonding difficulties but observed mother-infant interaction quality was not affected. This may be due to low self-efficacy impacting psychological adjustment during pregnancy. Targeted interventions during pregnancy focusing both on treatment of key childbirth fears and bonding could help women adjust earlier.
AB - Fear of childbirth (FOC) is a common phenomenon that can impair functioning in pregnancy but potential longer term implications for the mother-infant relationship are little understood. This study was aimed at investigating postpartum implications of FOC on the mother-infant relationship. A UK sample of 341 women in a community setting provided data on anxiety, mood and FOC in mid-pregnancy and subsequently completed self-report measures of postnatal bonding in a longitudinal cohort study. Postnatal observations of mother-infant interactions were collected and rated for a subset of 141 women. FOC was associated with maternal perception of impaired bonding, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors, concurrent depression and the presence of anxiety disorders (Coef = 0.10, 95% CI 0.07-0.14, p < 0.001). Observed mother-infant interactions were not associated with FOC (Coef = -0.01-0.03 CI - 0.02 to 0.02, p = 0.46), weakly with concurrent depression (Coef = - 0.10, CI - 0.19 to 0.00, p = 0.06) and not associated with anxiety disorders. The self-efficacy component of FOC was most strongly associated with lower reported bonding (Coef 0.37, 95% CI 0.25-0.49, p < 0.001) FOC makes a distinct contribution to perceived postpartum bonding difficulties but observed mother-infant interaction quality was not affected. This may be due to low self-efficacy impacting psychological adjustment during pregnancy. Targeted interventions during pregnancy focusing both on treatment of key childbirth fears and bonding could help women adjust earlier.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Fear of childbirth
KW - Parent-child relations
KW - Postpartum
KW - Pregnancy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097676501&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00737-020-01098-w
DO - 10.1007/s00737-020-01098-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 33336315
AN - SCOPUS:85097676501
SN - 1434-1816
JO - Archives of Women's Mental Health
JF - Archives of Women's Mental Health
ER -