The mediation role of resilience and postpartum traumatic stress disorder on parental attachment and the maternal-infant bonding

AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between parental attachment, resilience, postpartum traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and maternal-infant bonding at 1 to 3 months postpartum. The mediation effect of resilience and PTSD on the postpartum parental attachment and maternal-infant bond was also evaluated. DESIGN: A cross-sectional research design was used. METHODS: A total of 400 postpartum women examined at a tertiary hospital in Wuhan from January 2021 to June 2021 were enrolled in the study. At about 1 to 3 months after giving birth, the women were asked to complete the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ), Connor-Davidson Resilience scale(CD-RISC), PTSD CheckList-Civilian version (PCL-C), and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). The data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Mediation analyse and the Spearman correlation (r) were used to correlate the resilience and PTSD questionnaire scores. RESULTS: The care attachment dimension was significantly associated with resilience (r = 0.24, p < 0.01), PTSD (r = − 0.27, p < 0.01), and maternal-infant bonding (r = 0.10, p < 0.01), and the overprotection attachment dimension was significantly associated with resilience (r = − 0.11, p < 0.01), PTSD (r = 0.33, p < 0.01), and maternal-infant bonding (r = 0.16, p < 0.01). Resilience and PTSD can mediate the relationship between attachment and maternal-infant bonding. CONCLUSION: Parental attachment, resilience, and PTSD significantly affect maternal-infant bonding at 1 to 3 months postpartum. IMPACT: This study demonstrated that new interventions aimed at addressing PTSD symptoms and improving resilience might increase parental attachment and maternal-infant bonding after birth. However, further research is required to evaluate the success of these interventions.