Acceso usuarios
Marina Fuertes, Anabela Faria, Nadine Fink, Miguel Barbosa
This longitudinal study investigated the relation between: maternal representations at birth;
maternal representations of their infants’ temperament (at 9 months); and mother-infant attachment in 57 dyads with infants prematurely born and 60 dyads with infants born at term. Forty eight hours after birth, an interview was preformed to collect mothers’ representations of their pregnancy, labor, and about their newborns. Our findings indicate that mothers that delivered prematurely had more negative perceptions about their pregnancy and labor. These mothers were more concerned about their infant’s health and development. Nonetheless, they were as confident as mothers of at term infants in their ability to engage in a positive relationship with their infant. At nine months, maternal positive representations of prematurely born infants’ temperament were associated with positive expectations about their babies’ development and family social support at birth. At 12 months, secure attachment was related with maternal representations at nine months.
