United Kingdom: A survey has revealed that over 10 percent of women face difficulties in developing a bond with their baby, and a majority of them report receiving no support from healthcare professionals.

The survey, conducted by the Parent-Infant Foundation and involving more than 1,000 mothers, highlighted that 73 percent of women did not receive any information or guidance on bonding with their newborn during the initial weeks after childbirth. This is despite guidelines recommending healthcare staff provide assistance for emotional attachment, as it plays a crucial role in promoting healthy child development.

According to the respondents, societal expectations to enjoy pregnancy and the assumption that bonding would occur naturally made them feel guilty and anxious when they experienced difficulties in forming that connection. The survey findings also indicate that several factors can influence bonding during pregnancy, including the mother’s physical and mental health as well as past traumas such as the loss of a baby.

The survey found that 71 percent of respondents would have liked more support during pregnancy to bond with their baby, while 64 percent said nobody talked to them about bonding during their antenatal care.

Mr. Tamora Langley, head of policy at the Parent-Infant Foundation, commented that “we understand staff are under huge time pressures, but checking on emotional wellbeing as well as physical wellbeing needs to become the norm.

“With training, a wider range of professionals and practitioners should be able to have conversations about emotional attachment and bonding. Parents who are struggling may need specialist parent-infant relationship support, but they can only get that if they are confident enough to speak up in the first place. We must challenge the myth of the ‘perfect parent” so that pregnant women feel able to ask for help when they need it,” Mr. Langley added.

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