The beginning of life is an intense experience for both mother and baby and sets the foundation for future interactions. Researchers have theorized that maternal infant bonding begins prenatally and continues on through the postnatal period. Mṻller (1996) examined that process to determine if prenatal bonding was related to postnatal bonding and found only a modest correlation. 

Objective:   The objective of this study was threefold: 1. Examine the relationship between a woman‘s perceived birth experience and maternal infant bonding; 2. Examine the relationship between spirituality and maternal infant bonding; 3. Examine the relationship between perceived birth experience, spirituality, and maternal infant bonding.

Design: This was a mixed design using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Setting:   The setting included women who were recruited for an internet survey through various childbirth websites, nurses‘ associations, and perinatal listserv communications.

Patients/Participants:  A total of 402 women responded to the online survey.

Methods:  Sixty-seven items in three instruments: Perception of Birth Scale; Spirituality; and Maternal Attachment Inventory were to be completed and comments could be left as desired.  Of these respondents approximately 300 finished the survey completely and were used in the analyses.

Results:   The results involved slightly more than 190 who left extensive comments regarding their experiences. Predictive Analytical Software (PASW 18) was used to analyze data and correlations were run on the measurements of the three instruments as well as a regression analysis. The perceived birth experience had the strongest correlation to maternal infant bonding and was found to have a stronger influence on bonding as well.

Conclusion/Implications for nursing practice:   Since the perceived birth experience was found to have the strongest correlation to bonding, we need to examine the myriad of interventions that are currently being used.  Implications for nursing practice include being more of an advocate for the laboring woman; facilitate bonding immediately after birth; discuss need for interventions honestly and openly with the laboring woman and her partner.

Keywords:  Maternal Infant Bonding, Perceived Birth Experience, Patient Advocacy, Spirituality