Regular Article Depression in the Early Postpartum Period and Attachment to Children – in Mothers of NICU Infants

Depression in early puerperium was evaluated in terms of maternal attachment in mothers of children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in comparison to a control group of mothers of full-term infants. A survey including Zung’s self-rating depression scale (ZSDS), a postpartum maternal attachment scale and items addressing the mother’s feelings and peripheral conditions was conducted on mothers of children admitted to the NICU. Among the 153 mothers who gave valid responses, positive ZSDS scores of over 40 were seen in 61.8%. In terms of the children’s disorder strong depressive tendency was noted among mothers of low birth weight infants. Significant correlation was noted between the ZSDS and the ‘core maternal attachment’ (negative correlation) and ‘anxiety regarding children’ (positive correlation) subscales of postpartum maternal attachment. Path analysis revealed the father’s positive reaction in learning of the pregnancy resulted in elevation of the ‘core maternal attachment’ score, in contrast to the control group mothers.