Is being a refugee affect prenatal bonding scores of Syrian women in Turkey?

Objective: The development of the bond between mother and infant already starts during prenatal life, which is called prenatal bonding is the emotional tie or the bond that generally develops between the pregnant woman and her unborn child. We aimed at investigating the effect of being a refugee on prenatal bonding. Method: A total of 152 pregnant women in the third trimester, 76 Syrian refugees and 76 Turkish, were included in the study, which was planned as a descriptive cross-sectional study. Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI), consisting of 21 items, was applied to collect data before delivery. Results: The total PAI score of Syrian pregnant was significantly lower than Turkish pregnant (60.17±8.9 vs. 63.53±8.3, p=0.019). For those whose education time period was longer, PAI scores were higher (r=0.279 and p <0.001). There was an inverse association between parity and PAI scores (r=-0.208 and p=0.014). There was not any correlation between PAI scores between age, gravida, gestational weeks, respectively (r=0.021 and p=0.87; r=-0.123 and p=0.14; r=0.155 and p=0.06). Conclusion: Being a refugee has a negative impact on prenatal attachment. The findings of our study could guide the planning and development of health policies in Turkey and other countries that would help to address the situation regarding refugee populations.