Mother–infant bonding disorders in patients with postnatal depression: The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire in clinical practice

Summary

Mother–infant bonding disorders include a distressing lack of maternal feeling, irritability, hostility and aggressive impulses, pathological ideas and outright rejection. They are quite common in mothers referred for psychiatric help and are present in 29% of mothers diagnosed with postnatal depression (Brockington et al, 2001). In cases of postpartum depression The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) is best used together with The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to evaluate the treatment process for both variables: depression and difficulties of the mother to relate to her child (Klier & Muzik, 2004). Two cases vignettes from clinical practice are presented to illustrate this procedure.

The use of the PBQ allows the clinician to screen for mother–infant relationship disorders and to assess the severity of the disorder. In the case of high scores on the PBQ it is crucial to attend to the relationship problems and assess if they are still present beyond the recovery from depression.