The Effect of Mother–Infant Interaction Promoting Program on Maternal-Infant Attachment Among Adolescent Mothers

Abstract

Purpose: To study the effect of Mother–Infant Interaction Promoting Program on maternal-infant attachment.

Design: Quasi-experimental study

Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit mother-infant dyads to the experimental and control groups               (n = 30/group). The data were collected using the demographic data and the maternal-infant attachment evaluation form tested for content validity by three experts. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the maternal-infant attachment evaluation form was 0.97. Mother-infant dyads in the control group received standard care whereas those in the experimental group received standard care and the Mother–Infant Interaction Promoting Program at least 60 minutes in 24 hours postpartum and follow up in 48 hours. Maternal-infant attachment was measured before (pre-test) and after (post-test) in both groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and t-test.

Results and Implications: The means of maternal-infant attachment after experiment in the control and experimental groups were significantly higher than those of before experiment (p < .001). The mean of maternal-infant attachment before experiment in the control group was significantly higher than that of the experimental group (p < .05) whereas the mean of maternal-infant attachment after experiment in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < .001). The mean difference of maternal-infant attachment after experiment in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p < .001). Thus, nurses should provide the Mother–Infant Interaction Promoting Program for enhancing maternal-infant attachment to adolescent mothers.