Maternal prenatal attachment in normal and high-risk pregnancies

The purposes of this study were to compare maternal-fetal attachment in normal and high-risk pregnancies and to identify variables affecting the maternal attachment process during pregnancy. Fifty-three women experiencing normal pregnancies and thirty-two women with high-risk pregnancies completed Cranley's prenatal attachment tool and a questionnaire providing data specific to the current pregnancy during the third trimester. The results of a two-tailed, pooled t-test indicated no significant differences (at p less than or equal to .05) in the scores of the normal and high-risk groups on prenatal attachment. No significant correlations (at p less than or equal to .05) were found between the attachment scores and educational level, age, race, whether the pregnancy was planned, whether the women had a sonogram, or the ordinal position of the infant.