Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Psychological changes over the course of pregnancy: a study of attitudes toward the fetus/neonate.
Pregnant women's attitudes towards their fetus over the course of the pregnancy were studied in relation to physiological events of pregnancy, namely seeing the fetus via ultrasound and experiencing fetal movement. A consecutive series of primiparae (n = 129) was randomly assigned, at recruitment between 10 and 14 weeks menstrual age, to conditions of high (n = 67) or low (n = 62) feedback real time ultrasound. Thereafter, women were assessed at 16 and 32 weeks gestation, within 24 hours of delivery and by questionnaire at 3 months postpartum. ⋯ At delivery, ratings of attachment to the neonate were related to drug requirements in labor and attachment ratings at 32 weeks. Reactions to the neonate at delivery and ratings of postpartum mood emerged as significant predictors of maternal attachment at 3 months postpartum. These results are discussed in the context of research attempting to establish the importance of postpartum bonding.