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Published:
Jun 26, 2026DOI:
10.4314/ahs.v26i2.15Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Perinatal depression and maternal-infant bonding disorders in mothers of full-term normal infants
Abstract
Background: The period during pregnancy to postnatal is vital for developing of mother–infant bond. A mother suffering from depression may have issues with forming effective bonding. An evaluation of whether perinatal depression influences mother-infant bonding has scarcely been studied in Kenya.
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between perinatal depression and impaired maternal bonding among postpartum mothers.
Methodology: A total of 225 postpartum mothers aged between 18-49 years at 6-12 weeks postpartum at a ratio of 1:2 (cases: controls) were selected. Women who had MIBD were enrolled as cases while mothers without MIBD were controls. Two self-report scale tools; the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire scale and the Edinburg Postnatal Depression scale were used at 6-12 weeks postpartum to obtain data on depression and bonding. A semi-structured questionnaire collected information on specific risk factors.
Results: The proportion of women with perinatal depression was 40% in the case group and 9.3% in the control group. The odds of having perinatal depression were 6.48 more in the cases than the controls (OR: 6.48, (95% C.I: 3.16, 13.28) and P-value <0.001.
Conclusion: Perinatal depression is associated with impaired maternal bonding at 6-12 weeks postpartum
Keywords: Perinatal depression; maternal–infant bonding; postpartum mothers.
