Bonding before birth: Maternal-fetal attachment and maternal cortical connectivity in late pregnancy

Emerging research suggests that pregnancy and motherhood are associated with neural adaptations that support caregiving. Maternal-fetal attachment (MFA), representing the emotional bond between a pregnant woman and their fetus, is thought to be an early precursor to maternal-infant bonding and sensitive caregiving, yet its neural underpinnings remain largely unexplored. Resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) coherence is a well-established measure of regional cortical connectivity and has been implicated in cognitive, attentional, and emotional processes related to parenting and might be implicated in MFA. Thirty-five pregnant women in their third trimester (mean 36.8 gestational weeks) participated. Resting-state EEG was collected, and alpha band coherence was computed for intra-frontal, intra-parietal, and frontoparietal regions. MFA was assessed using the Prenatal Attachment Inventory-Revised (PAI-R). Increased left frontoparietal and intra-frontal alpha coherence was associated with higher scores on the anticipation and interaction subscales of the PAI-R. These associations remained after controlling for parity and gestational age. No significant associations were observed between alpha coherence and the differentiation PAI-R subscale. These findings suggest that individual differences in cortical connectivity are associated with MFA, particularly anticipatory and interactional aspects of psychological engagement with the fetus. Identifying neural correlates of MFA suggests that maternal attachment-related processes toward the fetus are reflected in brain connectivity during pregnancy and offers insight into the neurobiological basis of early bonding.