The Relationship Between Bonding Impairment and Maternal Postpartum Smoking.

OBJECTIVES: Maternal postpartum smoking is associated with several negative outcomes for mother and child. The relationship between bonding impairment (BI) and maternal postpartum smoking is less known. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between BI and maternal postpartum smoking at 6 to 8 months after childbirth in a primary care sample of low-income mothers who had depression during the previous pregnancy. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional, secondary analysis from a community trial with 356 postpartum women from public primary care clinics in São Paulo, Brazil. The main outcome measure was maternal postpartum smoking. The main exposure variable was BI assessed with the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire. A socio-demographic questionnaire evaluated maternal and obstetric characteristics. Postpartum depression was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) of the association between BI and maternal postpartum smoking, with 95% confidence intervals (CI), were calculated using Poisson regression. Multivariate analysis was performed using three models (Model 1 adjusted for randomization during pregnancy, Model 2 adjusted for Model 1 plus mother's socioeconomic and obstetric characteristics, and Model 3 adjusted for Model 2 plus postpartum depression). RESULTS: Maternal postpartum smoking occurred in 16.7% of our sample. In the multivariable analysis, BI was associated with maternal postpartum smoking (PR:2.04; CI 95% 1.08:3.84). CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: Women presenting bonding problems are at higher risk of smoking after childbirth. Intervention to enhance mother-child bonding may have the potential to decrease maternal postpartum smoking.

The Relationship Between Mother-Child Bonding Impairment and Suicidal Ideation in São Paulo, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between mother-child bonding at 6-9 months after birth and suicidal ideation METHODS: A cross-sectional study embedded in a clinical trial with 358 low-income postpartum women who had antenatal depression in São Paulo, Brazil. The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were used RESULTS: The percentage of the main outcome, suicidal ideation (SI) was 10.3%. Using logistic regression models, bonding impairment (BI) was associated with SI even after controlling for postpartum depression and other covariates. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: SI affects 10% of vulnerable postpartum women. BI is independently associated with SI. Treating BI may prevent SI.

Postpartum bonding at the beginning of the second year of child's life: the role of postpartum depression and early bonding impairment.

Background: We evaluated the association between mother-child bonding and maternal depression at 6-8 months after birth with bonding impairment at 12-15 months in a sample of mothers at high risk of postnatal depression.Methods: A prospective cohort study with 346 low-income postpartum women with antenatal depression. The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used, at 6-8 and 12-15 months after delivery, to assess the mother-infant bonding and postnatal depression (PPD), respectively.Results: The percentage of the main outcome, bonding impairment (BI) at 12-15 months, was 9.9% (95% CI 6.6-13.7). Using logistic regression models, BI was associated with: having an occupation (OR = 2.82; 95% CI 1.00-7.94, p = .049), unplanned pregnancy (OR = 3.46; 95% CI 1.01-11.8, p = .047), and presence of BI at 6-8 months (OR= 13.0; 95% CI 3.76-45.4, p ≤ .001). Maternal depression was marginally associated with BI at 12-15 months.Conclusions: BI affects 1 in 10 mothers, and although BI and PPD are strongly associated at 6-8 and 12-15 months after delivery, BI at 6-8 months is the main predictor of later BI. Based on the study findings, PPD screening in combination with BI assessment is highly recommended during the first year of child's life.