Effect of counseling on maternal-fetal attachment in women with unplanned pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial

Fatemeh Ekrami1, Sakineh Mohammad-Alizadeh Charandabi2, Jalil Babapour Kheiroddin3

  • 1Students' Research Committee, Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Introduction: Since the maternal-fetal attachment level in unplanned pregnancies is weaker than their planned counterparts, this study aimed to determine the effect of counselling on maternal-fetal attachment in women with unplanned pregnancy.Methods: This was a randomised controlled clinical trial on pregnant women with unplanned pregnancy and weak-average maternal-fetal attachment scores. Participants were assigned to a control (n = 40) and an intervention (n = 40) group through randomised blocking. The intervention group attended 1-3 individual and 6 group counselling sessions and the control group received routine care. The participants completed the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale before and four weeks after the intervention.Results: The mean (standard deviation) maternal-fetal attachment score of the intervention group was increased from 73.6 (8.9) before the intervention to 96.6 (9.3) after the intervention. However, the mean (standard deviation) maternal-fetal attachment scores of the control group were 76.0 (9.4) and 76.5 (6.4) before and after the intervention, respectively. The mean maternal-fetal attachment score of the counselling group was significantly higher than that of the control group (adjusted mean difference: 21.7; 95% confidence interval: 18.6 to 24.9; P < 0.001).Conclusion: Counseling has a positive contribution to improving maternal-fetal attachment in women with unplanned pregnancies.

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