Child-rearing history and emotional bonding in parents of preterm and full-term infants

Some parents fail to develop strong emotional bonds with their newborn infants. As the quality of the parent–infant relationship contributes to the infant’s development, it is of great importance to identify protective and risk factors that facilitate or impede the development of the parent–infant bond. The present study examined both infant-related and parent-related factors. We investigated whether or not the infant’s gestational age at birth influenced the quality of the mother–infant and father–infant bond. In addition, we examined whether or not parents’ own child-rearing history predicts bonding with their newborn infant. Mothers and fathers of full-term infants (born >37 weeks of gestational age, n = 72), moderate preterm infants (born between 32 and 37 weeks of gestational age, n = 69) and very preterm infants (born