title: Antenatal depression and maternal-fetal attachment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years, attention has been turned to maternal mental health in relation to the mother-child relationship accompanying a widening in focus, i.e. taking into account not only the puerperium, but also the stage of pregnancy. This applies to studies that have revealed a connection between depression and maternal attachment in the postpartum period and late pregnancy. This study, however, was designed to evaluate the maternal-fetal relationship in the first and second trimesters, being the first one to address this issue in these early stages.
  
  
  METHODS
  Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS), the original Antenatal Maternal Attachment Scale (AMAS), and a questionnaire addressing peripheral factors were given to 216 pregnant women (3-6 months of gestation) who visited the Nagoya University Hospital between September 1998 and June 2001.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Contrary to reports on the latter stages of pregnancy, no direct association was observed between depression in mothers and maternal-fetal attachment before fetal movement was perceived.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  However, education, form of employment, planning of pregnancy, and premenstrual mood changes were found to be associated with the ZSDS score (mean: 41.9), while form of employment, feelings regarding pregnancy, and sources of support were extracted as factors associated with the AMAS, which are of interest in terms of the subsequent association between depression and maternal-fetal attachment in the peri- and postnatal periods.
authors.affiliation: Nagoya University Center for Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Nagoya, Japan. e43195a@nucc.cc.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Honjo
authors.forename: Shiori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ujiie
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.forename: Haya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sechiyama
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Chie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hatagaki
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.forename: Motoko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Usui
authors.forename: Kikuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miwa
authors.forename: Michie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Ohiko
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Atsuo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Itakura
authors.forename: Kayo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inoko
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033261:Maternal-Fetal Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires