Abstract

In postpartum women, what is the effect of skin-to-skin holding in comparison to swaddle holding on the incidence of mother-infant bonding, postpartum depression, and anxiety? This question was chosen because postpartum depression and anxiety are so prevalent in women and new mothers. The rationale behind this question is to propose guidelines to prevent new mothers from developing postpartum depression, anxiety, and an impaired relationship with their infant through skin-to-skin holding or swaddled care. Patient education on skin-to-skin holding and swaddle holding can also be included in the conversation of how this can overall benefit the mothers' experience post-delivery and maternal bond to the child. Postpartum depression and anxiety affect 1 in 7 mothers within the first year of childbirth, and as a result, 57.1% of women reported impaired mother-infant bonding. Mental health issues impact the mother’s well-being and can complicate the mother-infant bonding process, an important component for the infant's emotional and psychological development. A better understanding of how bonding develops and how strong bonding relationships improve the quality of life and the child's care will lead to enhanced maternal education and early identification of potential future complications, such as poor adaptation to parenting. The goal of this study is to discover if nurses and other healthcare providers can help decrease the number of mothers with postpartum depression & anxiety symptoms and impaired maternal-infant bonding through the sampling of skin-to-skin holding in comparison to swaddle holding. By quantitatively looking at these results, the empirical data received could be used to determine which way of holding could potentially lower the risk of postpartum depression & anxiety developing and the risk of impaired mother-infant bonding.