Contact between mother, child and partner and attitudes towards breastfeeding in relation to mode of delivery.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate contact between mothers and their newborn child and study if there are differences between those who requested an elective caesarean section compared to women who had a vaginal birth and those who underwent an elective caesarean section due to obstetrical indication. The psychometric properties of a scale that measure the contact between mother and child were also investigated.


METHODS
A prospective cohort study.


METHODS
Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.


METHODS
510 primiparas from three groups: women undergoing caesarean section on maternal request (n=96), women undergoing caesarean section on obstetrical indication (n=116) and women planning a vaginal delivery (n=198). The later were further divided into subgroups; women who underwent assisted vaginal delivery (n=35) and women who had an emergency caesarean section (n=65).


METHODS
The instrument used was the Alliance Scale.


METHODS
The contact between mother and child in relation to mode of delivery.


RESULTS
The contact with the child was rated as positive on all occasions: there were no significant differences between the groups. The relation to the partner was rated as positive at all occasions. Mothers with a vaginal delivery experienced breastfeeding less stressful than the mothers with a caesarean delivery. Three and nine months after delivery the mothers with a caesarean delivery on request reported more breastfeeding problems than mothers in the other groups. Mothers with a vaginal delivery rated less sadness at every occasion.


CONCLUSIONS
Mode of delivery does not seem to affect how mothers experience their contact towards the newborn child.
Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. anna-karin.klint@ki.se
Anna-Karin Klint
AK
Carlander
Gunnar
G
Edman
Kyllike
K
Christensson
Ellika
E
Andolf
Ingela
I
Wiklund
D001290:Attitude; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology*; D001946:Breech Presentation; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000523:psychology; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000523:psychology*; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D011247:Pregnancy; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden