Landi G., Facondini F., Cena L., Minghetti M., Landini A., Crittenden P., Baldoni F.(2012) Attachment forerunners in mothers of preterm babies, Third Biennial Conference , IASA, University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, September 14-16, 2012

When the birth of a baby occurs before the due date, there is not only a preterm baby admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at risk of survival, but also a mother and a father with a preterm baby. To study the characteristics of the early bond between the mother and the preterm baby, a sample of 110 mother-child dyads, 55 with preterm babies (birth weight < 1500 g), and 55 with full-term babies were assessed from the first 6 months of corrected age. All dyads were subjected to CARE-Index, a video-recorded procedure of mother-child interaction assessing parental sensitivity and attachment forerunners. Mothers were also subjected to CES-D, for the assessment of depression, and STAI Y-2, for the assessment of trait anxiety. The child’s psychomotor development was assessed by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID III). Mothers of preterm children, compared to controls, evinced higher levels of anxiety (p < .05), lower scores on dyadic sensitivity as assessed by the CARE-Index (p < .05) (40% fell into the high risk category requiring psychological and/or pharmacological treatment), and expressed more frequently insecure attachment forerunners (p < .01). In turn, preterm babies, compared to controls, showed insecure attachment forerunners at 3 months of corrected age (p < .05) and lower psychomotor development scores at 6 months of corrected age (p < .01). Risk factors for mothers of preterm babies were conflicted relationships with their families of origin and a strong fear for the death of the baby. The results underline the need for longitudinal studies conducted on large samples assessing the Internal Working Models of parents with preterm babies. This would clarify whether the particular behavior observed in the mothers of preterm children is transient and adaptive or a stable pattern influencing negatively the child-mother interaction in the future.