The relationship between prenatal attachment and postnatal adaptation, maternal anxiety and breast milk sodium level.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between maternal-fetal attachment and breast milk sodium (BMS) levels.

Methods: This prospective case-control study was conducted at Baskent University. Third-trimester low-risk pregnancies were included in the study. After obtaining informed consent, the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory 1 (STAI 1) and STAI 2 were administered. After delivery, BMS values were measured at regular intervals.

Results: The mean age of the mothers and the mean gestational age were 29.6 ± 3.4 years and 38.4 ± 0.9 weeks, respectively. The mean STAI -1, STAI-2, and PAI scores were 38.2 ± 7.1, 38.8 ± 6.9, and 41.6 ± 10, respectively. When the study group was classified according to BMS levels, no differences were observed between the groups in terms of pregnancy STAI-1, pregnancy STAI-2, Muller PAI, and STAI-1 scores of the 5, 15, and 30 days. There was no correlation between the BMS levels on the 5 -15 days and pregnancy STAI-1, Pregnancy STAI-2, Muller PAI, and the STAI-1 scores of the 5-10-30 days. However, the BMS level on the 30 day had a positive significant correlation with the STAI-1 score on the 15 day (r = 0.473, p= .006). Additionally, the STAI-1 scores on the 30 day showed that there was a significant correlation with STAI-1 on the 5 day (r = 0.416, p= .015), STAI-1 on the 15 day (r = 0.497, p= .003), and breast milk sodium levels on the 30 day (r = 0.615, p< .001).

Conclusion: We found no relationship between PAI scores and BMS levels on the 5-10-30 day but STAI scores on the 15 day and 30 day had a positive correlation with BMS levels on the 30 day. STAI-1 and STAI-2 scores during pregnancy were positively correlated with STAI scores in the postnatal period.