Mother-Infant Bonding in Patients with Bipolar Disorder.

INTRODUCTION

The quality of mother-infant bonding might play a role in future psychopathologies of the infant. The present study aims to compare the mother-infant bonding in mothers with remitted bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy mothers.

METHODS

We included 51 mothers who have bipolar disorder in remission and 53 healthy mothers during postpartum one-year period. All participants were interviewed with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV). Young Mania Rating Scale and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were given to the patient group to evaluate depressive and manic symptoms. Mother-infant bonding in both groups were evaluated with the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ).

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in PBQ scores between the bipolar group and the control group. Age was negatively correlated with PBQ scores in the patient group.

CONCLUSION

Women with bipolar disorder can develop healthy bonding patterns with their babies, during remission.