Can a traumatic childbirth experience affect maternal psychopathology and postnatal attachment bond?

The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between the experience of childbirth as a traumatic event and the quality of postnatal attachment to child, analyzing the role of depressive symptomatology on this relationship. A sample of 103 women, aged from 26 to 46 years (M = 35.05, SD = 4.51) filled in questionnaires to assess postpartum stress symptoms related to the childbirth experience, postnatal attachment toward their newborns, and level of depressive symptomatology. A mediation analysis was carried out. The level of postpartum stress symptoms positively affects maternal depressive symptomatology and negatively affects the quality of postnatal attachment. Moreover, the relationship between a traumatic childbirth experience and postnatal attachment is both direct and indirect. In fact, a traumatic childbirth experience also affects the level of postnatal depression that, in turn, negatively affects the quality of postnatal attachment bond. The presence of postpartum distress symptoms affects the well-being of mothers, and these conditions interfere with the ability of women to develop good attachment bonds with their children. These results showed the relevance of paying attention to pregnant women, to help them to live childbirth in a positive and non-stressful way.

Automated summary

This study explores the relationship between childbirth as a traumatic event and the quality of postnatal attachment, as well as the role of depressive symptomatology in this relationship. The findings indicate that postpartum stress symptoms have a positive impact on maternal depressive symptomatology and a negative impact on the quality of postnatal attachment. Additionally, a traumatic childbirth experience has both a direct and indirect effect on postnatal attachment, as it also influences the level of postnatal depression which, in turn, negatively affects the quality of the postnatal attachment bond.