Puerperae bonding with their children and labor experiences

• Published in: Investigación y Educación en Enfermería Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 364 - 371
• Main Authors: Souza, Lara, Sperli, Zaida, Santos, Maria, Sasaki, Natália
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Medellín Universidad de Antioquía 2017; Universidad de Antioquia
• Subjects: atención de enfermería; child relations; cuidados de enfermagem; filho; hijo; infant; mother; mother-child relations; newborn; Newborn babies; nursing care; Parent-child relations; parto; periodo posparto; período pós; postpartum period; recién nacido; recémnascido; relaciones madre; relações mãe; vínculo
• ISSN: 0120-5307; 2216-0280; 2216-0280
• DOI: 10.17533/udea.iee.v35n3a13

Objective. To analyze the degree of bonding of puerperae with their babies, both in isolation and associated with experiences during and after labor. Methods. A crosssectional study carried out among 200 puerperae in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil. To evaluate the motherchild bond, we used the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS). Results. The mean age of puerperae was 26.4 years; most women were white (60.0%), were married (87.5%), and had an elementary education (51.5%). Most deliveries were cesarean (80.0% of cases); 68.0% of women had no pain during labor, and only 54% had skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery. Type of labor and pain did not significantly change the maternal bond, and the lack of skin-to-skin contact negatively influenced the bond. Conclusion. Pueperae participants had a high degree of bonding with their babies that is mainly related to history of skin-to-skin contact. Nurses must promote strategies that encourage skin-to-skin contact between mother and newborn in the delivery room.