Maternal-infant attachment:
Associations with sensory patterns,
maternal-foetal attachment,
adult attachment, and mental health
Grace Branjerdporn (PhD Candidate)
[email protected]
Dr Pamela Meredith, Trish Wilson, Prof Jenny Strong
Learning objectives
To understand links between maternal-infant
attachment and a range of prenatal and
postnatal maternal characteristics,
including sensory patterns.
To introduce potential treatment and
assessment avenues through greater
understanding of the factors that are associated
with maternal-infant attachment.
Maternal-infant attachment
 Affective, cognitive, behavioural experience of
relationship between mother - child
 Links with infant outcomes – behaviour, executive fx, colic
 Understanding the prenatal and postnatal maternal
factors associated  assessment and intervention
 Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale
 Quality of postnatal attachment
 Absence of hostility
 Pleasure in interaction
Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale
 Quality of postnatal attachment
 Over the last two weeks, I would describe my feelings for the baby
as…dislike – intense affection
 When I interact with the baby I feel…incompetent/lacking confident vs
very confident and competent
 Absence of hostility
 When I am caring for the baby, I get feelings of annoyance or irritation
 When I am caring for the baby I get feelings that the child is deliberately
being difficult or trying to upset me
 Pleasure in interaction
 Regarding my overall level of interaction with the baby, I…feel very
guilty that I am not more involved - I don’t have any guilty feelings
regarding this
 When I am not with the baby, I find myself thinking about the
baby...almost all the time – not at all
Research Question
Prenatal
Postnatal
Adult
attachment
Maternal-foetal
attachment
Maternal-infant
attachment
Mental health
Sensory patterns
Research Question
Prenatal
Postnatal
Adult
attachment
Maternal-foetal
attachment
Maternal-infant
attachment
Mental health
Sensory patterns
ADULT ATTACHMENT
 Develop internal working models during early caregiving
relationships  perception of self & others in adult relationships
 Using the Attachment Styles Questionnaires, individual
differences vary along spectrums of:
 Attachment security: high self-worth and confidence in others
 Attachment insecurity:
Attachment avoidance – maintains emotional distance from
others, emphasises independence
Attachment anxiety – worry about emotional unavailability of
others, high need for approval from others
Maternal-foetal attachment
Relationship: pregnant woman - unborn child
Displayed through thoughts, feelings and
behaviours to demonstrate love
Accompanies development of maternal role
 Measured using Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale:
Quality of prenatal attachment
Time spent in attachment
Research Question
Prenatal
Postnatal
Adult
attachment
Maternal-foetal
attachment
Maternal-infant
attachment
Mental health
Sensory patterns
Sensory patterns
 Receive,
modulate, and
respond to sensory
information
 Across various
modalities
 Sensory Profile
 Associated with
mental health
among adult
population
Mental health
 Measured using the Mental Health Inventory-38
 Psychological distress:
 Anxiety
 Depression
 Loss of behavioural/emotional control
 Psychological well-being
 General positive affect
 Emotional ties
 Life satisfaction
Methodology
Longitudinal study (n=59)
Mater Mothers’ Public Hospital antenatal clinics:
standard, pregnancy-after-loss
Surveys mailed and follow-up completed
Prenatal questionnaires - latter trimesters
Postnatal questionnaires - within first year
Multivariate regression (subscales of maternal-infant
attachment as dependent variable, controlling for age)
Results
In a relationship (98.2%)
First child (76.4%)
Caucasian (80.4%)
Never had a mental health diagnosis (79.6%)
Infant age: M = 20.8 weeks, SD = 13.0
Socio-economic: M = 74.02, SD = 20.2
Results
Prenatal
Postnatal
↑ Attachment
anxiety*
↓ Quality of prenatal
attachment**
↑ Psychological
distress***
↑ Sensory sensitivity*
*p=0.05; ** p=0.01; *** p= 0.001
↓ Quality of
postnatal
attachment
Results
Prenatal
Postnatal
↑ Att Avoidance*
↓ Security**
↓ Quality of prenatal
attachment**
↑ Psychological
distress***
↑ Low registration**
↑ Sensory sensitivity***
*p=0.05; ** p=0.01; *** p= 0.001
↑ Hostility in
postnatal
attachment
Results
Prenatal
Postnatal
↓ Age**
↓ Psychological
distress*
*p=0.05; ** p=0.01; *** p= 0.001
↑ Pleasure in
interaction
Conclusions
Consideration of:
Quality of prenatal attachment
Insecure attachment and secure attachment
Sensory patterns with passive regulation strategies
Psychological distress
Potential benefit of considering attachmentand sensory- informed perinatal interventions
and assessments
Any questions?
Grace Branjerdporn (PhD Candidate)
[email protected]