Bonding and Attachment between Infants and Parents.
The essential concept of attachment combines the ethology and psychoanalysis for understanding the origins of maternal and infant bonding. John Bowldy, introduced the term "attachment" in 1958. Attachment is an expression of the biological characteristics of species and consists of species-specific behavior systems that appear at different ages. Maternal bonding is the mother's emotional attachment to child. Some theorists believe that this begins shortly after the baby's birth and others believe that this bond develops through early contact during the sensitive period. According to Josa Vasta, Marshall M Haith in "Child Psychology the modern science", an early contact may be important for mothers but it is not critical for maternal bonding. (464).
In 1970s pediatricians started observing for the first time that mothers separated from their newborns for medical reasons often seemed to be less attached to their infants. On the basis of experiments done on rats, sheep and monkeys, it was suggested that by ensuring physical contact between the mother and the infant in the period immediately after birth makes the maternal attachment firmer.
Restak Richard says that "the bonding between mother and infant could be strengthened by fostering "skin-to-skin contact" within the first few hours after birth." (224). This suggestion paved the thinking that birth is an emotional experience. Based on this view, many hospitals and neonatal intensive care units have made it easier for mothers, to spend more time with their newborns during the crucial first hours and days of life.
Developmental Course of Attachment.
The infant's attachment to the caregiver is observed at 6 to 8 months of age. The actual process begins right after birth. The three developmental phases proposed on the models of Bowldy, in 1982 are:.
Phase 1 (Birth - 2 months) -Indiscriminate Social Responses.
