A recent study conducted by Nora Medina, Ph.D.—a postdoctoral researcher of family and community medicine at Thomas Jefferson University—along with colleagues from the University of Chicago, highlights the importance of the emotional bond that a mother establishes with her child during pregnancy.

The findings are published in the Infant Mental Health Journal: Infancy and Early Childhood.

The study team followed 160 young, low-income, racially diverse mothers from pregnancy until their children were two and a half years old. Mothers who felt more connected to their babies during pregnancy were more likely to have a healthier, positive relationship with their children later. Additionally, those who had more challenging relationships with their own parents had weaker prenatal connections and expressed more anger and other negative feelings toward their infants.

The research fills a gap in existing studies, which have not extensively explored how mothers’ attachment to their babies during pregnancy serves as a foundation for parent-child relationships later in life.

In addition, Dr. Medina’s research addresses historical misconceptions about young, low-income mothers as being problematic parents. The large majority of the young mothers in this study had strong prenatal connections to their infants and positive relationships with their toddlers.

“Parenting is challenging, and young, low-income mothers face additional stressors,” Dr. Medina says. “I focused on studying mother-infant relationships within this population to produce findings that may inform parenting support programs more closely aligned with the lived experiences of young, low-income mothers.”

Dr. Medina suggests that support to promote strong parent-child relationships should begin during pregnancy. Interventions should help young mothers explore their past relationship experiences and recognize how they shape their expectations of parenthood. Programs that incorporate perinatal social workers or doulas could help facilitate these discussions and encourage healthier attachment patterns.

Despite the promising insights, Dr. Medina says funding remains a key barrier to the accessibility of such support programs. Moving forward, she hopes to further investigate how familial and community-based support can help strengthen early mother-child bonds and improve long-term outcomes for young mothers and their children.