FETAL TOUCHING! DOES IT IMPROVE MATERNAL FETAL, OR METERNAL NEWBORN ATTACHMENT?

Abstract

Background: The attachment between mother and child is one of the most beautiful relationship which is establishes long before birth. A mother who is attached to her fetus is ready to have a good relationship with her newborn. Objective: To determine the effect of touching fetus during pregnancy on maternal fetal and maternal newborn attachment. Design: The study was a single blind controlled clinical trial. Maternal total attachment was measured 2 weeks after abdominal touch in case group and compared with that of control group. Mother's attachment with her newborn was measured at first breast feeding in both groups. Samples : 100 primigravida mother, 32-35 week pregnant randomly divided in two groups, 50 mothers in case group (with fetal touch) and 50 in control group (without fetal touch) Results: There was no significant difference between two group regarding fetal attachment behaviors, but maternal newborn attachment behaviors were significantly improved in case group (p=0.000). Conclusion: Regarding findings, it is suggested that by providing simple interferences, such as touching the fetus on can try to strengthen the relation between mother and her newborn

Keywords

• fetal touch
• fetal attachment
• newborn attachment
• maternal attachment behaviors