Table 5 Study format, delivery, tools and cultural inclusion

Bellieni and colleagues (35)

The PEC design was influenced by Veldman’s (48) studies of haptonomy. This approach involved raising maternal awareness of fetal presence and development while learning how to interact with the fetus, through gentle stimulation and perceiving the responses. The prenatal sessions varied, with a combination of prenatal education and activities which included the basics of fetal physiology and development, singing, dancing and massage-through-the-womb sessions

Sessions occurred during pregnancy.

The authors did not provide any information on where the sessions took place

Number of sessions offered: 5

Length of session:1 h

Group sessions

The Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) was developed by Muller (46).

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

Chang, Park and Chung (39)

The sessions used a combination of approaches and drew on the Taegyo-focused program developed by Chang and colleagues (45) involving lectures, demonstrations, practice, training, discussion, and sharing of personal experiences. The prenatal sessions included standard prenatal class information but added information specific to Taegyo practices, including understanding the ability of the fetus to respond, sharing motivations, the purpose of pregnancy, preconceptions of experiencing childbirth, training in maternal-fetal interaction, writing letters and making a declaration of love to the unborn baby.

Sessions occurred during pregnancy (20 to 36 gestational weeks).

The sessions were offered in health education rooms in a public health centre

Number of sessions offered: 4 weeks

Length of session:2 h

Group sessions

The Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS) was developed by Cranley (50).

Yes, Taegyo-focused prenatal classes.

Gürol and Polat (30)

The researchers provided educational sessions and a demonstration on how to perform baby massage which was supplemented with educational brochures and compact disks (CDs). Mothers then performed a daily massage on their babies for the period of the study.

The session was conducted in the participant’s home week after the

birth (between 5 to 7 days postnatal).

The number of sessions offered: daily for 38 days.

Length of session: 15 min.

One to one

Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) developed by Müller (52)

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

Helk Souza and colleagues (40)

No specific educational intervention was implemented, and data was collected on the type of birth, pain during birth, and skin-to-skin contact due to the influence that these experiences may have on the maternal-infant bond.

None

Mother-To-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) developed by Taylor et al. (51).

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

Midtsund, Litland, and Hjalmhult (33)

The Mamma Mia programme taught mothers how to perform an infant massage to improve interactions with their babies. It involved two aspects, the first was focused on teaching mothers about infant massage and the second was teaching about topics such as interaction, attachment, and children’s behaviour.

Sessions were conducted in health service centres such as the Well Child Clinic (WCC). Babies from 1-month-old.

Number of sessions offered: weekly for 6 weeks

Length of session: not described.

Group setting

As this was a qualitative study there were no tools used.

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

Persico and colleagues (36)

Before the participant’s first antenatal class, they were provided nine lullabies and practised each lullaby with the midwife. After completing this task for four weeks participants were invited to choose two lullabies and encouraged to continue singing at home. The participants were asked to record the frequency of singing each week, their emotions, the response of the fetus, and after birth, to observe the baby’s behaviour. The participants also received education about maternal singing during the antenatal classes.

Sessions commenced during pregnancy (from 24 weeks gestation) and were offered in a metropolitan maternity hospital

before antenatal classes.

Number offered: 14 weekly sessions.

Did not describe the length of the sessions.

Group sessions

The Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI) was developed by Muller (46).

Mother-To-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) developed by Taylor et al. (51).

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

The authors did acknowledge that singing lullabies are part of traditions and cultures

all around the world.