Although evidence exists pointing to the impact of maternal depression in puerperium upon mother-child interaction, longitudinal studies on this perspective are rare. Hence, this study was designed to examine the association between maternity blues and maternal attachment in the puerperium with depression in the mother and attachment after 1 year together with the factors involved. A questionnaire survey consisting of Zung’s Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS) and a ‘maternal attachment’ scale, comprised of subscales on ‘core maternal attachment’ and ‘anxiety regarding children’, was conducted on mothers who had participated in a previous puerperium survey. The mean ZSDS score of 42.1 ± 7.45 after 1 year did not differ significantly from puerperium results. ‘Maternity blues’ was found to influence the maternal depression after 1 year, which was in turn associated with ‘core maternal attachment’ and ‘anxiety regarding children’, supporting the need for early intervention in maternity blues starting in the perinatal period for the mental health of mother and child.

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Depression in early puerperium was evaluated in terms of maternal attachment in mothers of children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in comparison to a control group of mothers of full-term infants. A survey including Zung's self-rating depression scale (ZSDS), a postpartum maternal attachment scale and items addressing the mother's feelings and peripheral conditions was conducted on mothers of children admitted to the NICU. Among the 153 mothers who gave valid responses, positive ZSDS scores of over 40 were seen in 61.8%. In terms of the children's disorder, strong depressive tendency was noted among mothers of low birth weight infants. Significant correlation was noted between the ZSDS and the 'core maternal attachment' (negative correlation) and 'anxiety regarding children' (positive correlation) subscales of postpartum maternal attachment. Path analysis revealed the father's positive reaction in learning of the pregnancy resulted in elevation of the 'core maternal attachment' score, in contrast to the control group mothers.