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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
Published on: September 22, 2023
A meta-analytic study of predictors of maternal-fetal attachment
Adela Yarcheski1, Noreen E Mahon, Thomas J Yarcheski
1College of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. yarchesk@rutgers.edu
Objectives:
To identify predictors of maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) through a comprehensive review of the literature, and to use quantitative meta-analysis to determine the magnitude of the relationship between each predictor and MFA.
Design:
The literature reviewed included 183 studies of MFA, published and unpublished, between 1981 and 2006.
Methods:
Seventy-two studies met the inclusion criteria and yielded 14 predictors of MFA. A meta-analysis was performed on each of the 14 predictors in relation to MFA.
Results:
The results indicated that gestational age had a moderate to substantial effect size. Two predictors (social support and prenatal testing) had moderate effect sizes; 10 predictors (anxiety, self-esteem, depression, planned pregnancy, age, parity, ethnicity, marital status, income, and education) had low effect sizes. High-risk pregnancy had a trivial effect size.
Conclusions:
The most powerful predictors of MFA using meta-analysis were identified to direct future research and evidence-based practice.
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