Mother-infant attachment behaviors and related psychological factors in covid-19 pandemic:a review study

Covid-19 epidemic and the fear of its infection in infants as a global threat is a challenge for mother-infant attachment behaviors.

The present study was a review study conducted based on the information collected from searches in SID, PubMed, Science Direct, Elsevier, Scopus databases and Google Scholar search engine using the conjunctions of “AND” and “OR” between the keywords. The articles were searched using systematic search with the keywords of attachment behaviors, mother-infant bonding, maternal attachment, Covid-19, and neonates, with all possible combination of important words from December 2019 to April 2021. The initial search for relevant sources related to mother-infant attachment and Covid-19 led to 65 articles. Then, by applying the time filter, this number was reduced to 31 articles. In the final stage, by excluding duplicate articles and examining the relationship of articles with the subject of study, 7 articles were selected as relevant and final sources.

The results of reviewing of the studies showed low to moderate level of mother-infant attachment behaviors during Covid-19 crisis. Mothers with lower levels of attachment to their infants were more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and peritraumatic distress. Women who gave birth during quarantine had lower levels of attachment to their infants compared to other women.

Covid 19 epidemic caused a high prevalence and a wide range of psychological disorders and a reduction in the level of attachment in mothers of infants under 12 months. Providing timely psychological support is essential to improve the level of attachment of mothers to their infants.