Investigating the effect of attachment behaviors on various dimensions of paternal-fetal attachment.

Abstract

Introduction The paternal-fetal attachment behaviors are a kind of sense of love and deep affection of the father towards the unborn child during the pregnancy of the spouse. This re- search was performed to examine the effect of attachment behaviors on various dimensions of paternal-fetal attachment. Material and Methods This semi-randomized controlled field clinical trial was performed on the spouses of 68 primigravida women re- ferring to urban healthcare centers of Birjand University of medical sciences who met the inclusion criteria. The sampling was available sampling with random allocation. To assess the extent of paternal-fetal attachment, Cranelly paternal-fetal attachment questionnaire has been used. For the intervention group, 4 sessions once per week were held for training the attachment behaviors, and then one month after the intervention, the paternal-fetal attach- ment was reevaluated. The results obtained from the re- search were evaluated by SPSS 19 along with descriptive statistic tests including mean and standard deviation plus independent and paired t-test. Results The results showed that in the intervention group, the mean score of attachment showed a significant increase across all dimensions postintervention compared to the preintervention (p<0.05). However, in the control group, this difference was significant (p=0.001) only in the area of interaction with the fetus. Conclusion Since training attachment behaviors has had effects on different dimensions of paternal-fetal attachment, thus through training and its associated counseling, the neces- sary grounds can be provided for enhancing the attach- ment and in turn increasing the paternal role for the cares of their spouse's pregnancy.

Keywords

• paternal-fetal attachment
• attachment behaviors