Antenatal predictors of postnatal maternal attachment and competence after assisted conception-a prospective cohort study in South India.

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of antenatal factors such as anxiety, depression, perceived stress, marital satisfaction, maternal antenatal attachment, and social support on postnatal maternal attachment and competence in women who received assisted reproductive treatment. A prospective longitudinal cohort design was adopted with two groups-50 women who received assisted reproductive treatment and 50 women who had natural conception. Both the groups were assessed using self-report measures over three time points: T1, 7th month of pregnancy; T2, 2 weeks postpartum; and T3, 3 months postpartum.