Maternal bond and mother-child interaction in severe postpartum psychiatric disorders: is there a link?

Mothers in the puerperium are vulnerable to a wide spectrum of postpartum psychiatric disorders. One of the central psychological processes of the puerperium is the development of an emotional relationship with the baby. The bond to the infant as well as the interaction with the baby are two aspects of the mother-infant relationship that can be disturbed by mothers with postpartum psychiatric disorders. Dysfunctional maternal cognitions may also influence the development of an emotional bonding and the establishment of a positive interaction with the child. The aim of this study is to investigate differences in the self-perceived experience of bonding and the observed mother-child interaction of severely ill postpartum depressive and psychotic mothers. In addition the association between subjective experience of bonding and objective measurement of mother-child interaction will be described. Results show that depressive mothers perceived their bonding to the baby more negatively than psychotic mothers. No differences could be found in the objective interactional behaviour of the mothers in both groups, with the exception that the infants of psychotic mothers showed more eye contact avoidance towards their mothers. The subjective experience of motherhood clearly influences the maternal interactional behaviour with depressive mothers as well as with psychotic mothers.