Prenatal Risk Factors for the Mother-Newborn Attachment Process

Abstract

Neurobiological and clinical evidence shows that safe attachment correlates with health development. The attachment process consists of a series of relational parameters that can be found during pregnancy, and puerperium and can be interfered by psychological, psychopathological and stressful events. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of relational risk factors and prenatal stress to anticipate the search for altered postnatal attachment development. The sample corresponded to 100% of the consultations from the Maternity unit to the

perinatal psychiatry unit between april 2011 and november 2013. The results showed that risk factors have a higher prevalence when the mother's basic education is incomplete. Of all the relational and stress risk factors studied, eight of them, increase when the mother's schooling years decrease. These are pregnancy not accepted, lack of imaginary baby, uncontrolled pregnancy, no dyadic interaction, ongoing mourning, lack of family support, previous maternal psychopathology and psychopathology of pregnancy. The conclusions were that low education should be considered a socio-demographic indicator of vulnerability for the presence of risk factors regardless the age of the pregnant women.