Maternal attachment and preventive intervention methods in mothers under COVID-19 stress

The aim of this review study is to examine the effects of Covid-19, a global health crisis that paves the way for a great increase in the morbidity of psychological and psychosocial disorders, on mothers in the groups at risk and the role of these effects in the maternal attachment relationship and the methods of coping with it are discussed within the framework of the literature. In addition to the life change and anxiety that comes with being a parent, the fear of contagion and uncertainty can negatively affect women's emotional well-being and cause anxiety. Sometimes mothers find it difficult to relate to their babies due to environmental factors such as stress, and such failure can have long-term effects on the baby. Considering that the pandemic period is a major source of stress in itself, it is predicted that the bonding process of mothers with their babies will be affected by the epidemic. In light of this information, healthcare providers and policy makers should be aware of the possible long-term impact on women and children of the significant burden of psychological morbidity during the perinatal period among Turkish women. Implementation of effective screening and intervention programs can help improve perinatal mental health and improve the quality of postnatal care in Turkey. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Turkish) Bu derleme calismasinin amaci, psikolojik ve psikososyal bozukluklarin morbiditesinde buyuk bir artisa zemin hazirlayan kuresel bir saglik krizi olan Covid-19'un risk altinda olan gruplarin icinde yer alan anneler uzerindeki etkileri ve bu etkilerin maternal baglanma iliskisindeki rolunun incelenmesi ve bununla bas etme yontemlerinin literatur cercevesinde tartisilmasidir. Ebeveyn olmanin getirdigi yasam degisikligi ve endiseye ek olarak bulasma korkusu ve belirsizlik kadinlarin duygusal refahini olumsuz etkileyerek endiseye neden olabilir. Bazen anneler stres gibi cevresel faktorlerden dolayi bebekleriyle iliski kurmakta zorlanir ve bu tur bir basarisizligin bebek uzerinde uzun vadeli etkileri olabilir. Pandemi doneminin basli basina buyuk bir stres kaynagi oldugu dusunuldugunde annelerin bebekleriyle bag kurma surecinin salgindan etkilenecegi ongorulmektedir. Bu bilgiler isiginda saglik saglayicilari ve politika yapicilar, Turk kadinlari arasinda perinatal donemdeki onemli psikolojik morbidite yukunun kadinlar ve cocuklar uzerindeki olasi uzun vadeli etkisinin farkinda olmalidir. Etkili tarama ve mudahale programlarinin uygulanmasi Turkiye'de perinatal ruh sagliginin gelistirilmesinde ve dogum sonrasi bakimin kalitesinin iyilestirilmesine yardimci olabilir. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Maternal Attachment and Preventive Intervention Methods in Mothers Under Covid-19 Stress

The aim of this review study is to examine the effects of Covid-19, a global health crisis that paves the way for a great increase in the morbidity of psychological and psychosocial disorders, on mothers in the groups at risk and the role of these effects in the maternal attachment relationship and the methods of coping with it are discussed within the framework of the literature. In addition to the life change and anxiety that comes with being a parent, the fear of contagion and uncertainty can negatively affect women's emotional well-being and cause anxiety. Sometimes mothers find it difficult to relate to their babies due to environmental factors such as stress, and such failure can have long-term effects on the baby. Considering that the pandemic period is a major source of stress in itself, it is predicted that the bonding process of mothers with their babies will be affected by the epidemic. In light of this information, healthcare providers and policy makers should be aware of the possible long-term impact on women and children of the significant burden of psychological morbidity during the perinatal period among Turkish women. Implementation of effective screening and intervention programs can help improve perinatal mental health and improve the quality of postnatal care in Turkey. © 2021 The Author(s).

Maternal attachment representation, the risk of increased depressive symptoms and the influence on children's mental health during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic.

The social distancing measures and the related closure of education institutions have confronted young families, in particular, with various challenges. Additional risk factors such as an insecure or even unresolved maternal attachment representation may affect mental health of mothers and their children in times of increased stress such as during the ongoing pandemic. We aimed to analyze the interplay between maternal attachment representation and mother's and children's mental health before and during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic. 91 mothers completed a "SARS-CoV-2 pandemic survey" examining the pandemic-related stress of their families including their own depressive symptomology and their children's mental health. Our mediation analysis demonstrates that the mothers' depressive symptomology significantly and fully mediated the relationship between maternal attachment representations and children's mental health during the pandemic. In contrast, the indirect effect of the maternal attachment representation on children's mental health before the pandemic through the depressive symptoms experienced by the mothers before the pandemic did not reach significance alongside the total and direct effect. The quality of the maternal attachment representation, promoted by childhood maltreatment, seems to be one relevant risk factor for the mothers' and children's mental health during a stressful time like a pandemic. The risk for mothers to develop depressive symptoms in times of a pandemic is significantly influenced by their current representation of previous attachment experiences. In addition, the mental well-being of mothers showed a considerable influence on the children's mental health during a pandemic. The results underline the necessity to consider unique needs of family members and to offer specific support in the current crisis focusing on attachment issues.

[Enhancing Maternal-Infant Attachment in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit During the Pandemic Prevention Period].

BACKGROUND & PROBLEMS: Parent-infant attachment is affected by parent-infant interaction. The limitations on related visitations during the COVID-19 pandemic suspended the opportunity to engage in kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact) activities. These changes impacted parent-infant attachment in the neonatal intensive care unit. After investigation, the score of premature infant-parent attachment was found to be only 64.6 points during the period in which visitation limitations were in effect. PURPOSE: To enhance maternal-premature infant attachment during the pandemic period by 10% (from an average score of 64.6 to 71.1). RESOLUTION: This project involved nurses playing audio files provided by mothers to their premature infants, and recording a video and taking pictures of the infants during this process. This project used a cloud platform as bidirectional pipelines. Furthermore, emotional support and caring information were provided to the mothers via expressive arts therapy and phone interviews. RESULTS: After the intervention, the premature infant-parent attachment score rose to 74.4 from the pre-intervention score of 64.6. CONCLUSIONS: During pandemic control periods, traditional modes of care aimed at building infant-parent attachment are not applicable. The intervention project used was found to be an effective alternative approach to increasing maternal-premature infant attachment. Breaking the restrictions of time and place, this project applies family-centered care, and may provide a reference for developing software, hardware, and communication equipment for other care units related to newborns.