A study of prenatal attachment with Swedish and Polish expectant mothers

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to investigate maternal prenatal attachment in Sweden and Poland, to analyse its diverse aspects, links to age, parity, planning and complications of pregnancy. Women in the third trimester of gestation filled in the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) and provided some demographic and medical data. Factor analyses were performed on PAI items for both samples and scores for samples' factors were compared using ANCOVA and two‐way ANOVA. Correlates of attachment were examined with Pearson r and multiple regression analysis. Five factors were extracted which explained 53.9% (Swedish data) and 51.9% (Polish data) of variance. Items with the highest loading were similar in both samples. Total PAI scores given by Polish women were higher. Polish mothers gave scores that indicated more intense interactions with unborn children, they also more often shared their opinions about the baby with others. Swedish mothers more often attributed traits and showed affection. Swedish and Polish mothers showed evidence of fantasising about their unborn babies to a similar degree. Total PAI scores and factor scores were similar in planned and unplanned pregnancies. Polish mothers had lower total scores in complicated pregnancies and Swedish mothers in uncomplicated pregnancies. When both samples were analysed together the best predictors of attachment intensity were age and nationality, but they explained only 5.2% of variance in total scores. Despite several differences the findings indicate similarities in the way relationships with an unborn child are conceptualised by Swedish and Polish mothers.