Mothers’ perceptions of bonding with their newborns in different care settings: a descriptive qualitative study

Pregnancy and birth prepare the mother to enter into a relationship with and care for her baby, both through expectation of the child and the intense physiological hormonal changes associated with these processes. The birth environment likely plays a role in establishing the mother’s bond with the newborn. The aim of this study is to document the bonding process in ordinary birth situations (without medical complications) by describing the representations and experiences of primiparous mothers regarding the development of the bond with their newborn within a continuum of temporality from birth to the first two postnatal months, according to type of birth (natural or epidural) and context of care (medical-nursing team or midwives). In this interpretative descriptive qualitative study, interviews were held with 26 primiparous Quebec women, divided into three groups according to purposive sampling: (1) birth with epidural and medical-nursing team in hospital (n = 10); (2) natural birth with medical-nursing team in hospital (n = 6); and (3) natural birth with midwife team in a birth center, home or hospital (n = 10). A vertical, horizontal and cross-sectional analysis was conducted. The results were divided into two parts. The first examined how mothers described the bond with their babies within a temporal continuum: (1) pregnancy: love and connection; (2) birth: spontaneous love; (3) first moments: discovery and sense of belonging; (4) first 24 h: feeling of responsibility; (5) first week: love that develops over time. The second part addressed when the bond emerged and how it evolved according to the context of care and type of birth, within the same temporal continuum until two months after birth. A delay was observed in bonding. The bond developed during pregnancy and birth for women who gave birth naturally, and later for those who gave birth with an epidural. “Felt experience” appeared to contribute to bonding. The delay seemed to disappear after the first few weeks. Encouraging mother-centered practices that enhance self-efficacy and self-confidence, with a focus on “felt experience,” regardless of the birth context, may help mothers establish a bond with their child from birth.