Apego materno-fetal e desenvolvimento infantil aos três meses de vida

Abstract

Introduction: In general, child neurodevelopment can be determined by genetic, social and environmental factors that interact in complex ways. In addition, the development of the fetus is considered the most vulnerable period in this process. Risk behaviors during pregnancy are often observed in women who are not affectively bonding with the fetus, and there is evidence that the relationship of the pregnant woman with the fetus during pregnancy tends to remain stable after birth. It is known that early mother-infant bonding may influence the child's future social, cognitive and emotional development. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between maternal-fetal attachment and child development in children at three months of age. Method: This is a longitudinal study nested in a cohort of pregnant women in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, with pregnant that were evaluated at up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, 60 days after the first assessment and at 90 days postpartum with the children. A questionnaire that contains sociodemographic variables, questions related to the health of the pregnant, the relationship with the child’s father and data on the pregnancy were used; the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale to evaluate the quality of the relationship between the pregnant and the fetus; and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development III to assess child development. Results: The main result indicated that, at each increment of 1 point in the Maternal-Fetal Attachment, there was an increase of 0.03 (95% CI 0.0; 0.5) in the mean of the social-emotional scale and 0.02 (95% CI 0.0; 0.5) in the adaptive behavior scale score. Discussion: Our results suggest the influence of the early bond in the socioemotional and adaptive behavior domains, highlighting the importance of prenatal aspects in child development.