The effect of post-traumatic stress on premature infant attachment of premature mothers

The Effect of Post-Traumatic Stress on Premature Infant Attachment of Premature Mothers Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of posttraumatic stress on mothers and infants attachment in premature mothers. Material and Method: The study was carried out cross-sectionally with 107 mothers who had premature birth in June 2018-January 2020 in İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center. "Information Form", ''Maternal Attachment Scale'' and ''Posttraumatic Stress Scale'' were used to collect the research data. Percentage, ANOVA, correlation, Manny Whitney test and chi-square test were used to evaluate the data. Results: The mean age of the mothers was 28.53 ± 5.9 and 72% were housewives. Posttraumatic stress scores increased as the age of the mothers decreased and the baby's birth weight and week decreased. The mean Maternal Attachment score of the sample was 100.65 ± 4.22. The mean posttraumatic stress score was 42.14 ± 16.34. Posttraumatic stress and maternal attachment scores of mothers were found to be high. There was a statistically significant relationship between posttraumatic stress and mother infant attachment (p = 0.017). Conclusion: In this study, it was found that posttraumatic stress levels of mothers who had premature births were high and posttraumatic stress increased maternal infant attachment. Key Words: Nurse, premature, posttraumatic stress, mother infant attachment