A Study on Infant Temperament and Mother-Infant Attachment of Breast-Feeding Mothers

Jang, Gun Ja; Chung, Kwi Ae

doi:2009.15.3.224

Korean J Women Health Nurs > Volume 15(3); 2009 > Article

Original Article

Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing 2009;15(3):224-230.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2009.15.3.224

A Study on Infant Temperament and Mother-Infant Attachment of Breast-Feeding Mothers

¹Department of Nursing, Daegu Haany University, Korea.
²Department of Nursing, Yeungnam College of Science & Technology, Korea. kchung@ync.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to investigate infant temperament and mother-infant attachment of breast-feeding mothers with a 5 ~ 7 month old infant. METHODS: This study was descriptive research. The subjects were 258 infants and their mothers participating in 'Year 2007 Healthy Breastfed BabyContest' on September 5, 2007 and visiting a community health service center from September 1 to December 30 in 2007. The data was gathered by structured questionnaires about the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) and What My baby is Like (WBL). RESULTS: The mean score of WBL was 6.75 and that of MAI was 3.88. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between the score of infant temperament and mother-infant attachment (r = .33, p < .01). CONCLUSION: Breast-feeding mothers perceived infant's temperament as more positive, therefore, breast-feeding should be encouraged.

Key Words: Breast-Feeding; Infant; Mother; Attachment; Temperament