TITLE:
Typology of Pregnant Women’s Bonding Emotions towards Their Foetus: A Study of Japanese Women in the First Trimester
AUTHORS:
Ayako Hada, Yuriko Usui, Yukiko Ohashi, Satoru Takeda, Toshinori Kitamura
KEYWORDS:
Maternal-Foetal Bonding1 Disorder, Cluster Analysis, Psychiatric Symptoms
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.15 No.3,
March
18,
2024
ABSTRACT: Background: Maternal emotions towards the foetus are an
essential part of maternal-foetal bonding, and predict its quality and
quantity. It is necessary to identify a
cluster of pregnant women with maternal-foetal
bonding difficulty. Objectives: To identify a
cluster of pregnant women with maternal-foetal bonding difficulty and
describe the character of the cluster. Methods: An online questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate
psychological issues among pregnant women at 12-15 weeks’ gestational age. Maternal-foetal
bonding emotions, demographic and obstetric variables, attitudes towards the
current pregnancy, emesis, adult attachment, depression, fear of childbirth, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, borderline personality traits, substance use, avoiding taking part
in childcare, and consideration of pregnancy termination were measured. A two-step cluster analysis
was performed to classify participating
women according to maternal-foetal bonding subscale scores. Emerging clusters were compared in terms of the variables
used in this study. Results: Two
clusters emerged, one of which was the Foetal Bonding Disorder Cluster,
characterised by significantly lower scores (p Happiness,
Alpha Pride, and Beta Pride, and significantly (p scores in Anger, Fear, Sadness, Disgust, Shame, and Guilt. Individuals in this cluster
were also characterised by unhappiness with and not wanting the current pregnancy, depression, tokophobia, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and borderline
personality traits. They were more likely to avoid caring for the baby after
childbirth and consider termination of the pregnancy during the study period. Limitations: Our study did
not follow the participants up to childbirth. Further research should clarify
confounders or mediators associated with maternal-foetal bonding disorder. Conclusion: Our findings
suggest that some pregnant women suffered from potentially pathological maternal-foetal bonding emotions, and this was linked to many
mental health problems.