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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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Postpartum-specific anxiety and maternal bonding: Further evidence to support the use of childbearing specific mood

Victoria Fallon1, Sergio Alessandro Silverio2, Jason Christian Grovenor Halford1

  • 1Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool , Liverpool, UK.

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
|October 24, 2019
PubMed

Background: Research examining the relationship between postpartum anxiety and maternal bonding is limited by the use of general measures of anxiety which may predict perinatal outcomes less effectively than childbearing specific tools. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the predictive validity of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale [PSAS] and examine whether it is a more effective predictor of maternal bonding than general measures of anxiety. Methods: Two hundred and sixty one mothers (≤6-months postpartum) completed the PSAS alongside general anxiety and depression measures. Maternal bonding was examined via the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire [PBQ] two-weeks later. Results: Hierarchical regression models demonstrated that higher levels of postpartum specific anxiety were associated with impaired overall bonding scores, and subscales of impaired general bond, rejection and anger, and infant focused anxieties. As hypothesised, the PSAS predicted unique variance in maternal bonding in these domains after controlling for general measures of anxiety and depression. Conclusion: These findings provide further evidence to support the predictive utility of the PSAS and the use of childbearing-specific measures of mood when predicting perinatal outcomes.

Keywords:
Attachmentemotionalinfancypostnatal carequantitative methods

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