Maternal-fetal attachment: influence of mother-daughter and husband-wife relationships.

Intergenerational attachment relationships between the pregnant woman and her mother, her husband, and her fetus were examined. Self-completed instruments were used to measure the attachment variables for a convenience sample of 115 middle-class mothers who attended urban prenatal classes. Results supported the hypothesis that mother-daughter and husband-wife attachment were correlated positively. Contrary to study predictions, maternal-fetal attachment scores were not related to mother-daughter and husband-wife attachment scores. Maternal-fetal attachment was related to length of gestation. Results provide only partial support for the intergenerational model of attachment relationships.