Assessment of mother-i̇nfant bonding and postpartum depression level in women who conceive naturally and with assisted reproductive techniques

This study has been conducted as descriptive and cross-sectional in order to compare mother-infant bonding and postpartum depression levels in women who have conceived using natural and assisted reproductive techniques (ART). The sample of the study consisted of 52 women who have conceived by means of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) and 104 women who have conceived naturally in Hacettepe University Adult Hospital (n=156). The data of the study were collected using Personal Information Form-1, Personal Information Form-2, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS), Mother Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS). The data obtained from the research were analyzed with the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality. Non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskall Wallis test) were used to evaluate numerical and scale data. The relationship between the scales was analyzed using Spearman's Correlation analysis. The statistical significance level in the research data was determined as p <0.05. In our study, the median MIBS score was 1.50±1.29 in women who conceived with ART, while this median was found as 3.73±2.9 in women who conceived naturally (p<0.05), and this finding showed that mother-infant bonding was higher in women who received ART treatment than women conceived naturally. In our study, while the median risk of postpartum depression was 13.45±6.31 in women who conceived naturally, this median was determined as 12.01±3.39 in women who conceived with ART (p0.05). In addition, it was determined that 45.2% of women who conceived naturally and 51.9% of women who conceived with ART had the risk of postpartum depression and that there was no statistically significant difference between the postpartum average risk scores of women in both groups (p0.05). At the same time, a positive correlation was found between EPDS and MIBS total scores in women who conceived naturally (r=0.354; p<0.001). According to this result, as the level of mother-infant bonding decreases, the risk of postpartum depression increases in women who conceive naturally. In line with the research results, it is especially recommended that women's health nurse practitioners plan consultancy services for infertile women for their physical and psychosocial needs before, during and after pregnancy. At the same time, it is recommended to conduct in larger groups more evidence-based studies examining the relationship between postpartum depression and mother-infant bonding in women who conceive naturally and with ART. Key Words: infertility, postpartum period, mother-infant bonding, postpartum depression