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Table 6 Study format, delivery, tools and cultural inclusion

From: The role of midwives in supporting the development of the mother-infant relationship: a scoping review

Article

Format

Delivery of sessions

Validated tools to measure bonding or attachment

Was there any cultural inclusion

Üstüner and colleagues (31)

Education provided on topics such as pregnancy and well-being, physiology of birth and techniques to cope with birth waves (contractions), Pilates exercises, hospital bag preparation, importance of breast milk and breastfeeding techniques, newborn care and common problems, nursing care and family planning methods and a preview of the birthing room.

Sessions occurred during pregnancy (20 and 30 weeks gestation). The sessions took place in a maternity clinic in the hospital.

Number of sessions offered: 4

Length of session: Not described

Group sessions

Used the Turkish version of The prenatal Attachment Scale developed by Yılmaz & Beji (57)

and Maternal Attachment Scale developed by Kavlak & Sirin (58).

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

In the discussion, the authors did highlight that there should be further studies involving different cultures.

Razurel and colleagues (42)

There were four stages involved in the PEPI which aimed to decrease perceptions of adaptation-associated stress by assisting mothers to find solutions that suit their individual needs and promoting the development of personal resources while increasing the sense of self-efficiency.

The sessions took place in a community setting. The pregnancy interview occurred at

30 weeks gestation and postnatal interview at 6 weeks after birth.

Number of sessions offered: 2

Length of session: 1 h

One-to-one sessions

Maternal Attachment Scale (MAS).

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

Vargas-Porras and colleagues (43)

The authors adopted Mercer’s ‘Becoming a Mother Theory’ (53) and evaluated the effect of the intervention on measures of becoming a mother, functional social support, mother–infant bond, and perceived maternal self-efficacy.

Some sessions occurred in the home and also via the telephone. The first visit occurred within 6–10 days (sessions alternated between home visits and phone calls), with the last visit occurring at 4 months after birth.

The number of sessions offered: 8 (4X home-based & 4X telephone).

Length of session: alternating between 15 to 90 min long

One-to-one sessions

The Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) was developed by Müller (52).

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

Chung and colleagues (44)

The education sessions used CDs and manuals and examples of topics included: (1) bathing the baby, umbilical cord care and expressing breastmilk; (2) breastfeeding challenges; (3) baby’s diet; (4) ‘Tips on caring for your baby’ on infant behaviours, and communication cues, along with a handout on play practices.

Sessions occurred in the postnatal nursing centre and/or in the home.

Number of sessions offered: 5

Length of session: 40 min

One-to-one sessions

Used observation with a researcher reviewing the video recording of the mother-infant interactions using the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS) developed by Sumner (55) to score mother–infant interactions.

The Chinese version of the Parenting Sense of Competence (C-PSOC) Scale was developed by Ngai and colleagues (56).

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

The author did mention the Taiwanese

ritual of ‘Do the months’ (30-day period). Also, some results may have been influenced by Taiwanese cultural factors such as modesty and humility.

Sanders and Buckner (41)

Administration of the NBO (54)

The author did not describe where the intervention took place.

Number of sessions offered: 1

Length of session: 20–30 min

One to one

NBO Parent Questionnaire (41)

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

The author concluded that further studies should be conducted to determine if the NBO could be used in various cultures.

Hoifodt and colleagues (32)

Administration of the NBO (54)

The sessions occurred in the maternity ward, during a home visit and then at a well-baby clinic 4 weeks after birth.

Number of sessions offered: 1 to 3

Length of session: 15 to 40 min

One to one

Maternal

Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS) (60)

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.

Cheetham and Hanssen (34)

Administration of the NBO (54)

The session occurred in the maternity ward on day 2 postnatal. The home-based interview occurred 2 weeks after discharge.

Number of sessions offered: 1

Length of session: 45 min

One to one

None as the study was qualitative.

No mention in the paper of any cultural factors included.