Objective: This paper investigates the connections in pregnant women between their mother attachment style and their self-image as a mother, the image of their mother as a mother, and their bond with the unborn child.
Background: The relationship with one's mother plays a crucial role in the process of becoming a mother. It influences what a pregnant woman thinks about herself as a mother. This relationship is a predictor of the bond with the child during the pregnancy.
Methods: This research was participated in by 165 pregnant women. They completed the following: a modified version of the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) questionnaire, investigating a mother's attachment to her own mother; the Adjective Check List (ACL), developed by Gough and Heilbrun; the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS); and a sociodemographic survey.
Results: A mother's attachment style is connected with the need for autonomy, as measured by the ACL, and with 'assuming a parental role' in the MFAS questionnaire. The strongest connection was found between a mother's attachment style and the image of one's own mother as a mother. Statistically-significant correlations were found for 32 of 37 scales on the ACL.
Conclusion: Attachment style exerts influence upon a mother's self-image, the image of one's own mother as a mother and the bond with the unborn child.
Keywords: Maternal–fetal relationship; attachment style; pregnancy; self-concept; self-image.