Effects of Early Contact on Maternal Infant Attachment

Sung, Mi Hae; Choi, Myung Ran; Um, Ok Bong

doi:2010.16.2.177

Korean J Women Health Nurs > Volume 16(2); 2010 > Article

Original Article

Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing 2010;16(2):177-185.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2010.16.2.177

Effects of Early Contact on Maternal Infant Attachment

Mi Hae Sung, Myung Ran Choi, Ok Bong Um

¹Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Inje University, Korea. nursmh@inje.ac.kr
²Sanggye-Paik Hospital, Korea.

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.

Key Words: Attachment; Contact