title: Attachment theory.
abstract: Maternal-infant attachment theory is another example of a theory borrowed from one discipline and adapted to another. Ethological observations of species-specific behavior exhibited by animals at the time of birth generated the hypothesis that perhaps humans also had species-specific behaviors which could have lasting effects on the relationship between mother and baby. While one cannot generalize the attachment theory, it has opened the way for a more humanistic approach to birthing.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003423:Critical Period, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D009773:Obstetric Nursing; D013045:Species Specificity