Though mothers' development of positive feelings about their newborns is the first step in maternal attachment, little research has described factors which may influence the process. This descriptive study reports normative data for primiparous mothers with normal newborns. The authors interviewed 100 primiparous mothers on the postpartum ward within 72 hours after delivery at a community hospital to ascertain factors associated with the development of positive feelings.
Over one third (39%) of mothers studied reported their first positive feeling during the prenatal period, 42 percent during birthing or the first day and 19 percent on the second or third day. A majority of mothers (70%) described their strong positive feelings toward their newborns (i.e., "love") as a sense of caring, commitment and concern.
Several demographic, biological and environmental factors were associated with the development of first positive feelings in primiparous mothers. One half of mothers who planned to become pregnant developed positive feelings prenatally, while 57 percent of mothers who did not plan to become pregnant reported their first positive feelings during birth or the first day. Delay in first positive feelings until after the first day was associated with labor longer than 8 hours, disappointment with the "bonding" experience, breast-feeding, and high depressive symptoms.
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