The Role of Childhood Trauma on Prenatal Attachment: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Although the quality of prenatal attachment is a strong predictor of the quality of postnatal mother-infant attachment and mother-child interaction, little is known about the specific impacts of maternal exposure to childhood traumas, and it deserves more attention. This study was conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between childhood traumas and pren1atal attachment levels. Prenatal attachment and childhood trauma were evaluated in 104 pregnant women using the Prenatal Attachment Scale and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Our results showed that all kinds of childhood traumatic experiences were associated with lower prenatal attachment scores. Also, more severe childhood traumas were strongly associated with weaker prenatal attachment. This study contributes to the very limited literature on the prenatal attachment of expectant mothers with childhood traumas by emphasizing the importance of pregnant women's exposure to childhood traumas as a risk factor for low prenatal attachment.