Frequency and correlates of mother-infant bonding disorders among postpartum women in India.

PURPOSE

Disorders of mother-infant bonding have been described since early 20th Century. Previous studies have looked at the prevalence of bonding disorders among mothers with postpartum psychiatric disorders. However, its frequency among healthy postpartum mothers is less studied.

METHODS

Two hundred and fifty mother-infant dyads were studied using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Stafford Interview, Bangalore Maternal Behaviour Scale (BMBS) and Tamil versions of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ). The mothers were interviewed between 4 weeks to six months postpartum. In addition, thirty one mothers with a lifetime history of psychiatric disorders were interviewed using the above scales.

RESULTS

The frequency of bonding disorders was found to be 24% among healthy postpartum mothers as against 45.2% in mothers with psychiatric disorder. However, the frequency of mild disorders of bonding was relatively lower at 5.6% among healthy mothers and 6.5% among mothers with psychiatric disorders. We found that mothers in India had a clinging / over-involved subtype of anxiety that prevented them from leaving their baby under care of another competent adult. While infant-related anxiety was seen in 10% of healthy mothers, about 20% of mothers with psychiatric diagnoses had anxiety. The presence of bonding disorders was not correlated with any maternal or infant related factors except difficulty in breastfeeding.

CONCLUSIONS

Disorders of mother infant bonding are seen in healthy postpartum mothers. The frequency of mild disorders of bonding appears to be similar across countries and this condition warrants further attention.