Many mothers struggle to bond with their newborn babies: UK study

Motherhood can take a woman to unknown and unfathomable emotional zones. But it has been found that more than one in ten women struggle to bond with their newborn.

The finding was based on responses from more than 1,000 mothers undertaken by the United Kingdom-based Parent-Infant Foundation as part of a survey across the UK.

The respondents reportedly said that there is societal pressure to enjoy pregnancy. There remains a general assumption that mother-babybonding would happen automatically. When it doesn’t happen, the new mothers are left feeling guilty for being unable to bond with the newborn child.

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Motherhood diluted?: Reasons and Factors

Factors that can affect bonding during pregnancy include the mother’s physical and mental health and past trauma, such as baby loss in previous years.

Tamora Langley, head of policy at the Parent-Infant Foundation, told The Guardian: "We understand staff are under huge time pressures, but checking on emotional wellbeing as well as physical wellbeing needs to become the norm."

Langley further said that with training, a wider range of professionals and practitioners should be able to have conversations about emotional attachment and bonding.

"Parents who are struggling may need specialist parent-infant relationship support, but they can only get that if they are confident to speak up in the first place. We must challenge the myth of the 'perfect parent' so that pregnant women feel able to ask for help when they need it."

The survey also found that 71 per cent of respondents would have liked more support during pregnancy to bond with their baby, while 64 per cent said nobody talked to them about bonding during their antenatal care.

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Experts cited in the media suggest that there are more effective ways to increase mother-child bonding. This includes putting the baby skin-to-skin naked between the mother’s breasts for an hour or so after delivery.

A UK National Health Service spokesperson said in an official statement: "We encourage services to keep up to date with the latest Nice guidance so they can provide the best level of care to women and their babies. Our recently announced delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services sets out commitments to provide personalised care and support plans, which can include advice on baby bonding."

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