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Postpartum bonding: the impact of maternal depression and adult attachment style

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Abstract

Maternal depression poses a risk for the developing mother-infant relationship. Similarly, maternal insecure attachment styles may limit the ability to adequately connect with the newborn during the postpartum period. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal depression and insecure attachment (insecure and dual/disorganized) on maternal bonding in a sample of n = 34 women with depression according to DSM-IV and n = 59 healthy women. Maternal depression was assessed 3 to 4 months postpartum with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), bonding with the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire, and maternal attachment style with the Attachment Style Interview. Women with current and lifetime depression as well as women with dual/disorganized attachment style reported lower bonding. Explorative analysis revealed that depression partially mediated the link between dual/disorganized attachment style and bonding with a medium-sized mediation effect. The combination of maternal depression and dual/disorganized attachment style may pose a special risk constellation for the developing mother–infant bond that should be addressed in prevention and early intervention programs.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the mothers and children participating in the study. Furthermore, we would like to thank the maternity clinics in Heidelberg (Salem Hospital and the Gynecological Clinic at Heidelberg University Hospital) for their willingness to cooperate and their support in recruiting patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University Hospital, Voßstraße 2, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany

    N. Nonnenmacher & D. Noe

  2. Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Thibautstr. 1, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany

    J. C. Ehrenthal

  3. Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802, Munich, Germany

    C. Reck

Authors
  1. N. Nonnenmacher
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  2. D. Noe
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  3. J. C. Ehrenthal
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  4. C. Reck
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Correspondence to N. Nonnenmacher.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

The study was supported by the Volkswagen Foundation (funding period 2009–2012) under Grant “Az II/ 83278.”

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the standards of the Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty, Heidelberg University Hospital, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Nonnenmacher, N., Noe, D., Ehrenthal, J.C. et al. Postpartum bonding: the impact of maternal depression and adult attachment style. Arch Womens Ment Health 19, 927–935 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0648-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-016-0648-y

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