Exploring Maternal Representations During Pregnancy in Normal and At‐Risk Samples: The Use of the Interview of Maternal Representations During Pregnancy

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potentiality of the Interview of Maternal Representations during Pregnancy-Revised Version (IRMAG-R; M. Ammaniti & R. Tambelli, 2010) in exploring maternal representations in at-risk and nonrisk conditions. Maternal representations were assessed during the last trimester of pregnancy in 411 nonrisk women and in 255 depressed and/or psychosocially at-risk women. The results showed a prevalence of Integrated/Balanced representations in nonrisk women and a higher frequency of Not Integrated/Ambivalent representations in at-risk women. Data obtained confirm that the IRMAG-R is a valid instrument for exploring maternal representation during the last trimester of pregnancy in both the absence and presence of risk conditions.

Difficulties in the Treatment of Depression During Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression

“…A mother must attain a new maternal identity, one that encompasses representations of the future baby and of herself as a mother (Ammaniti, Tambelli, & Odorsio, 2013). Changes in a woman's self image, body and responsibilities (Blum, 2007) to altered relationships with her own body, significant others, her culture and society, and in her self-concept.…”

Maternal-Fetal Attachment: What We Know and What We Need to Know

“…Also longitudinal studies are required to evaluate the effect of attachment during pregnancy on mothers' mental health, parental behaviors and the consequences of infancy. This information could not be obtained through crosssectional studies and through one episode of data collection [31] and more studies are needed to provide us a perspective of the mother-infant relation over time [44].…”

“…Most of the studies have evaluated attachment in the form of mother-infant postpartum interactions [29][30][31][32], but a few has been dedicated to studying the subjective world of parents about their fetus during pregnancy [33] and mother's attachment to her fetus is not well recognized [34]; so that most of the studies about attachment during pregnancy are cross-sectional and related to the third trimester [1,6,11,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. Studying attachment during a limited time period would not be able to provide comprehensible information about its related factors and outcomes [40]; while, according to evidences, this relationship could be affected by different factors like nationality, cultural, mental and social conditions and individual's past; namely women who have not experienced a secured attachment during their childhood might encounter problems in developing an attachment to their infant [13,40].…”

“…Studying attachment during a limited time period would not be able to provide comprehensible information about its related factors and outcomes [40]; while, according to evidences, this relationship could be affected by different factors like nationality, cultural, mental and social conditions and individual's past; namely women who have not experienced a secured attachment during their childhood might encounter problems in developing an attachment to their infant [13,40]. Muller also believed that pregnant mother's experience of attachment to her own mother during childhood, would affect her future attachments to the family, spouse and friends and this process is effective on accepting the pregnancy and attachment to the fetus [31]. In the other words, the current living condition of people is rooted in their past and attachment as a unique process is affected by personal factors, individual's believes and past, environmental and cultural factors; attachment could also be affected by different issues like mental condition, social support, mother's age, gravida and etc.…”

Development of a Pre- and Postnatal Bonding Scale (PPBS)

“…Prenatal attachment is defined by Condon and Corkindale [7] as 'the emotional tie or the bond which normally develops between the pregnant parent and her unborn child' . During the second half of pregnancy in particular, the fetus becomes more human to the mother [2] and in the third trimester of pregnancy, mothers are able to picture their maternal identity and their baby [8]. They have stronger feelings of attachment to their child when their realization of actual life inside them increases [9].…”