MOTHER‐TO‐INFANT ‘BONDING’

Abstract

The concept of maternal 'bonding', i.e. rapid mother-to-neonate attachment, appears frequently in psychiatric, paediatric and social work discussions of childhood psychopathology and child abuse. 'Bonding' is used as a diagnostic concept, and one which has to bear the weight of important explanatory, descriptive and predictive statements. In turn, it is related aetiologically to post-partum contact and separations of mother and infant. The authors present a critical review of the concept, exploring its empirical basis, and the implications (logical and illogical) that flow from its application in practice. They conclude that the usage of the term 'bonding' is often misleading, because of a tendency to reify and simplify attachment phenomena; in addition, there are no indications from animal investigations and no evidence from human studies which directly support the notion of a 'sensitive period' in the formation of mother-to-infant attachments. They also describe the negative and pessimistic implications of using this concept in social work and clinical practice. Alternative ways of conceptualising these early parent-child events are suggested.

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