Korean J Women Health Nurs.  2010 Jun;16(2):177-185. 10.4069/kjwhn.2010.16.2.177.

Effects of Early Contact on Maternal Infant Attachment

• Sung MH
• Choi MR
• Um OB

• KMID: 2308179
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2010.16.2.177

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of early contact between mothers and infants on attachment behaviors.
METHODS
The participants were purposely allocated to an experimental group (n=20) and a control group (n=20). For the experimental group, early contact between mothers and newborns took place for 10 minutes. Mother-infant attachment was assessed in the nursery. Data analysis was done using frequency, percentage, chi2 test, mean, standard deviation, and t-test with the SPSS/WIN program.
RESULTS
The experimental group practicing early mother-infant contact, showed a higher degree of identifying behaviors (p<.05), modalities of interaction (p<.05), and caretaking behaviors (p<.05) than the control group.
CONCLUSION
The early mother-infant contact at 2 hours post-delivery had positive effects on mother-infant attachment. Therefore an early contact can be recommended for all mothers-to-be as a way of improving mother-infant relationships.

Keyword

Attachment; Contact

MeSH Terms

Humans
Hypogonadism
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Mitochondrial Diseases
Mothers
Nurseries
Ophthalmoplegia
Statistics as Topic
Hypogonadism
Mitochondrial Diseases
Ophthalmoplegia

Figure

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  Figure 1 Research design. X=verbal, visual, and tactile-kinaesthetic contact (10 minutes); Y=identifying behaviors, modalities of interaction, and caretaking behaviors (observation during 20 minutes)

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