Does maternal prenatal attachment predict postnatal mother-infant interaction?

The current study examined whether maternal prenatal attachment is associat ed with the mother-infant relationship. One hundred pregnant women and thei r infants at 12 weeks participated in the study. The sample was part of the Umea Child and Family Development project and was randomly recruited by mi dwives or health visitors. The expectant women completed a self-administere d questionnaire, the PAI (the Prenatal Attachment Inventory) measuring pren atal attachment towards their unborn baby. At about 12 weeks postpartum, mo thers and their infants were observed and videotaped during an en face inte raction. The results revealed that maternal prenatal attachment towards the unborn baby is a good predictor of the early mother-infant relationship. M others who were high on the PAI-factor fantasy, for example, in general sho wed more involvement while interacting with their babies. Mothers rated hig hly on PAI-factors such as interaction and affection stimulated their infan ts by using more proximal stimulation, while those rated highly on differen tiation of self with the unborn baby used more distal stimulation. Maternal responsive behaviour was only predicted by infant attentive behaviour. Thi s study demonstrated that maternal prenatal attachment during the third tri mester of pregnancy is associated with the postnatal maternal involvement, and can serve as an important diagnostic aid in identifying those women for whom the mother-child interaction is likely to be sub-optimal. (C) 2000 El sevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.