中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: In this study the author investigated predictors of and changes in women’s postpartum blues/depression and mother-infant bonding from 3 days to 6 months after delivery. Methods: A valid sample of 291 Taiwanese women who gave birth between Dec. 2011 and June 2012 provided personal information at 3 days postpartum and completed questionnaires regarding 4 mother-infant bonding aspects, depression, and various sources of social support at 3 days and 6 months postpartum. Results: The t-test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis and regression analysis showed that most women followed a trend of decreasing depression as they increased on most bonding factors over the 6 months. Predictors of 6-month postpartum depression were depression in the early postpartum days and during the pregnancy. The predictors of 6-month mother-infant bonding were specific bonding factors in the early postpartum days and social support from their parents. Social support from the partner and the partners’ family, perinatal anxiety predicted some bonding factors. Conclusions: Mental health support for perinatal women should be initiated prenatally, or at least in the early postpartum period. Postpartum depression and mother-infant bonding may be distinct phenomena that are predicted by different variables. Practitioners should monitor postpartum depression, mother-infant bonding, and their predictors in order to prevent postpartum depression and negative mother-infant bonding.