Attachment disturbances in infants born subsequent to perinatal loss: A pilot study

Abstract

Mothers who have lost a baby in the perinatal period may experience relationship disturbances with infants born subsequently. This study involved mothers who had delivered a child within 19 months of losing a baby in the perinatal period. Mothers were assessed 2 months after the loss with a clinical interview. When the child born subsequent to the loss was 12 months old, the mother-child attachment relationship was assessed, and 45% of the infants had disorganized attachments to their mothers. This was significantly higher than the expected rate of 15% disorganized attachments in other middle-class samples. Based on narrative descriptions of the loss experience, measures of mothers' resolution of loss and experience of support were not related to infant attachment. Mothers who accepted more responsibility for their own grief were more likely to have subsequent infants with secure attachments to them.