Breastfeeding and maternal attachment: The moderating roles of maternal stress and child behavior

PURPOSE

This study examined the effect of breastfeeding on maternal attachment, and explored the moderating role of maternal stress and child behavior in this relationship, in a sample of Spanish mothers with children aged between 2 and 7 years.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A total of 432 mothers participated in a cross-sectional online survey. A three-way interaction model was used to test the moderating role of maternal stress and child behavioral problems in the relationship between breastfeeding and maternal attachment.

RESULTS

The full model accounted for 19% of the variance of maternal attachment. Breastfeeding was significantly associated with mother-rated attachment, and the moderated moderation analysis confirmed the moderating effects of maternal stress and child behavior on the relationship between breastfeeding and maternal attachment.

CONCLUSIONS

This study adds to the existing literature that supports the contribution that breastfeeding makes in enhancing maternal attachment, and may help to clarify the role of breastfeeding in shaping maternal attachment. Our findings suggest that breastfeeding is a factor in enhancing maternal attachment, and also identify maternal stress and child behavior as moderators of this relationship.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Understanding the mechanisms by which breastfeeding affects maternal attachment will help generate recommendations to improve breastfeeding and maternal attachment.

Natura Non Facit Saltus: The Adaptive Significance of Arginine Vasopressin in Human Affect, Cognition, and Behavior

Hormones coordinate internal bodily systems with cognition, affect, and behavior, and thereby influence aspects of social interactions including cooperation, competition, isolation, and loneliness. The adaptive significance and contextuality of oxytocin (OXT) and testosterone (T) have been well-studied, but a unified theory and evolutionary framework for understanding the adaptive functions of arginine vasopressin (AVP) remain undeveloped. We propose and evaluate the hypothesis that AVP mediates adaptive variation in the presence and strength of social and sociosexual salience, attention and behavior specifically in situations that involve combinations of cooperation with conflict or competition. This hypothesis can help to explain the ancestral, original functions of AVP-like peptides, and their continuity with the current roles of AVP, for humans, in male-male competition, male-male reciprocity, male-to-female pair bonding, female-female interactions, social integration, and social attention and anxiety. In this context, social isolation and loneliness may be mediated by reduced abilities or interests in navigation of social opportunities and situations, due in part to low AVP levels or reactivity, and in part to reductions in levels of OXT-mediated social reward.

Vasopressin and Its Analogues: From Natural Hormones to Multitasking Peptides

Human neurohormone vasopressin (AVP) is synthesized in overlapping regions in the hypothalamus. It is mainly known for its vasoconstricting abilities, and it is responsible for the regulation of plasma osmolality by maintaining fluid homeostasis. Over years, many attempts have been made to modify this hormone and find AVP analogues with different pharmacological profiles that could overcome its limitations. Non-peptide AVP analogues with low molecular weight presented good affinity to AVP receptors. Natural peptide counterparts, found in animals, are successfully applied as therapeutics; for instance, lypressin used in treatment of diabetes insipidus. Synthetic peptide analogues compensate for the shortcomings of AVP. Desmopressin is more resistant to proteolysis and presents mainly antidiuretic effects, while terlipressin is a long-acting AVP analogue and a drug recommended in the treatment of varicose bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis. Recently published results on diverse applications of AVP analogues in medicinal practice, including potential lypressin, terlipressin and ornipressin in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, are discussed.