[Prenatal origin of parent-infant bonding: 2: Implications for obstetric care]

Modern Western obstetric care has concentrated mainly on the physical well-being of mother and fetus. In recent years, increasing awareness of psycho-social issues has led to changes in labour ward practices. It is suggested that changes in antenatal practice are now necessary in order to bring preventive measures to bear on many areas of potential developmental, marital and parenting difficulties. Building on the framework proposed in the preceding paper, we offer concrete systematic guidelines for extending the antenatal obstetric agenda to cover those additional and important aspects of pregnancy.