Mother-Infant Bonding in Patients with Bipolar Disorder.

ABSTRACT

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.