Trait mindfulness during pregnancy and maternal-infant bonding: Longitudinal associations with infant temperament and social-emotional development
Maternal love and caregiving are pillars for optimal child development and may affect infant outcomes from pregnancy onwards. The present study aimed to examine whether maternal trait mindfulness during pregnancy and pre- and postnatal maternal-infant bonding were associated with maternal perception...
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Published in | Early human development Vol. 196; p. 106082 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Ireland
Elsevier B.V
01.09.2024
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Maternal love and caregiving are pillars for optimal child development and may affect infant outcomes from pregnancy onwards. The present study aimed to examine whether maternal trait mindfulness during pregnancy and pre- and postnatal maternal-infant bonding were associated with maternal perceptions of infant temperament and social-emotional development. In total, 408 Dutch women (Mage = 31.33, SD = 3.59) participated in a prospective perinatal cohort study and completed questionnaires on trait mindfulness, prenatal bonding, postnatal bonding, infant temperament, and infant social-emotional development at 20 and 28 weeks of gestation, and 10 weeks, 6 and 12 months postpartum, respectively. Path analyses demonstrated that higher levels of the trait mindfulness facet non-judging (i.e., refraining from judgments about own feelings and thoughts) were associated with more pre- and postnatal maternal bonding and fewer social-emotional problems as perceived by the mother. Adopting an accepting and non-judgmental attitude may promote positive feelings of bonding and benefit the infant in terms of having fewer social-emotional problems in the first year of life. Mindfulness interventions may be offered to pregnant women in order to enhance maternal bonding and improve infant outcomes after birth.
•Path analysis was used to evaluate predictors of social-emotional development.•The mindfulness facet non-judging was positively associated with maternal bonding.•Non-judging was also negatively associated with infant social-emotional problems. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0378-3782 1872-6232 1872-6232 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2024.106082 |