Poster #84 - Attitudes about the Importance of Motherhood for the Development of the Early Maternal-Infant Bonding Relationship

• In Event: Poster Session 14

Abstract

Motherhood is a salient identity for the majority of women (Katz-Wise et al., 2010). The importance of motherhood has been associated with a variety of maternal outcomes, such as childbearing intentions (Fletcher-Hildebrand et al., 2021; McQuillan et al., 2015), plans to adopt (Park & Wonch Hill, 2014), and distress about childlessness (Inhorn et al., 2017; McQuillan et al., 2012) and pregnancy loss (Shreffler et al., 2011). There is wide variation in how important women rate motherhood to be (McQuillan et al., 2008; Tichenor et al., 2014), and not all women have positive expectations for motherhood (Copeland & Harbough, 2019). Although prior studies have determined that lower expectations or attitudes about motherhood are associated with early attachment relationships (Hart & McMahon, 2006; Rizzo & Watsford, 2020), to date, no studies have examined how the importance of motherhood is associated with the early maternal-infant bonding relationship or parenting behaviors. In this study, we use longitudinal data to examine how women’s attitudes about the importance of motherhood during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy were associated with maternal-fetal bonding during the second trimester, daily infant engagement at two months postpartum, and maternal-infant bonding at six months postpartum.
Data for the current study came from a longitudinal, urban, clinic-based cohort study involving 177 pregnant women (ages 16-38) recruited in 2017-2018 from their first prenatal appointment. The university-affiliated participating clinics serve a racially diverse and underserved patient population. The sample for the current study was restricted to the 116 participants who responded to six survey waves, occurring from the first trimester of pregnancy through six months postpartum. Demographic variables were measured at the first assessment. The importance of motherhood scale (McQuillan et al., 2008) and the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (Müller & Mercer, 1993; Siddiqui et al., 1999) were measured at the 2nd trimester survey. Daily engagement in caregiving activities (e.g., activities such as feeding, diapering, bathing, and reading to the baby) was measured at two months postpartum. Postpartum bonding (Brockington et al., 2006) was measured at the six-month postpartum assessment.
A series of linear regression analyses were computed in which maternal fetal bonding, daily infant engagement, and maternal infant bonding were predicted by importance of motherhood and mother age, ethnicity, economic hardship, and cohabitating union . Findings indicated that high levels of importance of motherhood were significantly associated with high levels of maternal-fetal bonding in the second trimester, daily infant engagement at one month postpartum, and maternal-infant bonding at six months postpartum (see Table 2). For instance, mothers that did not think about or expect to be a mother may develop a maladaptive relationship with their infant in pregnancy and after birth. Recent evidence suggests that importance of motherhood is not static but rather can change due to experiences or reflection (Erato et al., 2022). Future research should consider whether approaches designed to enhance the salience of motherhood among pregnant women might strengthen the early maternal-infant relationship .

Authors

• Kayleigh Anne Evans, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater
  Presenting Author

• Karina M. Shreffler, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

• Ashley N Quigley, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

• Lucia Ciciolla, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

• Michael M Criss, Oklahoma State University - Stillwater