The relationship between prenatal attachment and postnatal adaptation, maternal anxiety and breast milk sodium level

To investigate the relationship between maternal-fetal attachment and breast milk sodium (BMS) levels.

This prospective case-control study was conducted at Baskent University. Third-trimester low-risk pregnancies were included in the study. After obtaining informed consent, the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory 1 (STAI 1) and STAI 2 were administered. After delivery, BMS values were measured at regular intervals.

The mean age of the mothers and the mean gestational age were 29.6 ± 3.4 years and 38.4 ± 0.9 weeks, respectively. The mean STAI -1, STAI-2, and PAI scores were 38.2 ± 7.1, 38.8 ± 6.9, and 41.6 ± 10, respectively. When the study group was classified according to BMS levels, no differences were observed between the groups in terms of pregnancy STAI-1, pregnancy STAI-2, Muller PAI, and STAI-1 scores of the 5^th, 15^th, and 30^th days. There was no correlation between the BMS levels on the 5^th -15^th days and pregnancy STAI-1, Pregnancy STAI-2, Muller PAI, and the STAI-1 scores of the 5^th-10^th-30^th days. However, the BMS level on the 30^th day had a positive significant correlation with the STAI-1 score on the 15^th day (r = 0.473, p= .006). Additionally, the STAI-1 scores on the 30^th day showed that there was a significant correlation with STAI-1 on the 5^th day (r = 0.416, p= .015), STAI-1 on the 15^th day (r = 0.497, p= .003), and breast milk sodium levels on the 30^th day (r = 0.615, p< .001).

We found no relationship between PAI scores and BMS levels on the 5^th-10^th-30^th day but STAI scores on the 15^th day and 30^th day had a positive correlation with BMS levels on the 30^th day. STAI-1 and STAI-2 scores during pregnancy were positively correlated with STAI scores in the postnatal period.