Effects of negative and positive affect on antenatal maternal attachment: The mediational role of resilience and self-esteem

Parental antenatal attachment refers to the bond developed from parents to their unborn child. This attachment is established based on parents’ emotions, perceptions, and behaviors towards their unborn baby. The present research is exploratory and aims to assess the underlying mechanisms linking positive and negative affect to antenatal attachment in first-time mothers, and whether resilience and self-esteem can mediate these relations. Participants were contacted before their prenatal consultation and invited to answer the survey remotely. We performed one study, considering a sample of 265 women (Mage = 29.49; SDage = 5.95) in different stages of their first pregnancy. Our results showed that all variables were significantly related. We then created a mediational model, considering 5000 bootstrap simulations. Results indicated that antenatal attachment is predicted by positive and negative affect, with resilience and self-esteem mediating these relations. Such findings might help better understand the underlying mechanisms that enhance the bonding between mother and child. Environments that promote positive affect, resilience and self-esteem in soon-to-be-mothers might help to enhance the antenatal attachment between mother and the unborn child.