A Qualitative Investigation of Prenatal Attachment

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Exploring Maternal Experience of Bonding, Pre and Post Labour: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

  • IRAS ID

    220330

  • Contact name

    Christina Morley

  • Contact email

    q5164661@live.tees.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Teesside University

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 1 months, 20 days

  • Research summary

    The concept of attachment between mother and baby is well established, however the conceptualisation of prenatal attachment lacks clarity. Links between prenatal and postnatal attachment, health behaviours and psychosocial functioning have been suggested but debate continues as to the nature of ‘prenatal attachment’. The present study aims to investigate the lived experiences of mothers bonding with their babies before and after birth and will use Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the bond across two time points. Between six and ten mothers will be recruited from community midwives departments during the eighth month of pregnancy and will be interviewed once at around this point and again at around three months postpartum. Transcripts will be coded and analysed to identify emerging themes relating to mothers’ experiences of bonding with their baby, pre and post labour.

  • REC name

    East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    17/EM/0177

  • Date of REC Opinion

    9 Jun 2017

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion