Mother-infant relationship and its Predictors

OBJECTIVE: Creating attachment between mother and infant is an extremely sensitive process in the postpartum period. In this regard, understanding the predictive features of the mother-infant relationship (MIR) can help health care providers in designing and implementing MIR enhancement interventions. Therefore, we ran this study to determine the degree of attachment between mother and infant and its predictors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study on 406 mothers referred to comprehensive healthcare centers in Rasht. We used the multi-stage cluster random sampling. Our data collection tools included: a data collection form to determine the predictors of maternal and infant attachment, which was designed by researchers and the standard MIRscale. The significance level of the test was considered less than 5%. RESULTS: The mean MIR score was 12.7±8.1. The highest score of attachment between mother and infant was in the area of risk of infant harassment and the lowest score was in the field of the mother-infant bond. The results of the logistic regression test showed that the MIR scores were statistically significant with spouse age, spouse education, number of deliveries, and breastfeeding problems (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed that there was a significant relationship between MIR and spouse age, spouse education, number of deliveries, and breastfeeding problems. Therefore, attention to these issues should be considered in planning to improve the MIR.