Enhancing Mother-Child Bonding in the Context of Postpartum Mental Disorders

Postpartum mental disorders are highly prevalent and have been identified as a risk factor for suboptimal child development. They have also been associated with typical problems in mother–child interaction and bonding, which have been shown to be essential for high-quality relationships between mother and child as well as positive parenting behaviors. In this chapter, we explore the importance of mother–child bonding, maternal sensitivity for infant development, potentially underlying biological mechanisms, as well as examine the role of postpartum mental disorders in mother–child bonding difficulties, also during the Covid-19 pandemic. Barriers to help-seeking as well as specialized treatment programs, with a particular focus on mother–child interaction therapy, are discussed, also in terms of how these were impacted by the pandemic. Results from a treatment effectiveness study highlighted that bonding-focused mother–child interaction therapy is particularly effective in improving maternal psychological, parenting, and bonding outcomes in a day hospital setting. Considering postpartum mental disorders’ far-reaching effects for the mother, her offspring, and the entire family, timely and effective treatments, such as mother–child interaction therapy being made available to affected mothers, particularly during pandemics where pregnant and postpartum women are likely to have been disproportionately affected.