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Bonding and attachment are critical processes whereby individuals mature and develop from birth. If these processes are neglected; physical, emotional, and cognitive growth all have significant implications on one’s development (Jones & Creedy 2012, p.59). Bonding and attachment have social consequences due to the stigmatization and pressure on mothers as the primary caregiver, thus stereotyping and disregarding the vitality of other relationships with the newborn. Likewise, bonding and attachment theories provide valuable insight into these processes, acknowledging the prominence of these developments.
Bonding is a continuous cycle and is an integral and dynamic process where a relationship should aim to thrive (Zanden, 2009, p.XIX). The Leboyer technique is a method signifying the importance of immediate mother-child bond with skin-to-skin contact being an effective form of bonding. As a result, the baby’s physiological symptoms eg: heart rate, body temperature, and blood oxygen levels stabilize (Feldman & Eidelman, 2003, cited in Hoffnung et al. 2012, p.104). The successfulness of bonding is evident through studies on premature infants, suggestive of the benefits of massage therapy three times a day over a five-day period. Consequently, babies were increasingly relaxed and gained weight (Hoffnung et al. 2012, p.104). In contrast, attachment from birth with the baby in close or direct proximity to the caregiver is essential, with strong indications and signals from the baby like increased eye contact, tugging, and crying being evocative of anxiety and stress (Jones & Creedy 2012, p.23). At birth, a parent’s hormonal levels significantly change to allow increased sensitivity and involvement, expressed through emotions affecting intimacy with the baby (Rose 2000, cited in Hoffnung et al., 2012, p.103). For example, a spike in oxytocin (a female hormone) causes female breasts to supply milk and induce responsivity to feed the baby. Mary Ainsworth highlighted four types of attachment infants experience with an attachment figure. These types of attachments were tested in conditions where both baby and mother were separated and consequently reunited, thus evaluating the baby’s reactions. The four attachments include secure attachment, insecure-avoidant attachment, insecure-anxious attachment, and disorganized attachment (Bailey et al. 2013). Babies with a secure attachment seek comfort with their caregiver, thus there is a strong link with maternal sensitivity, with Ainsworth implying that “the mother in some ways may take the lead role in nurturing the relationship” (Bailey et al., 2013).
The mother, no doubt, is an exceptionally integral and valued individual in a newborn’s life, however, it is important to acknowledge the role of other caregivers. Implications that idolize the mother have inevitable consequences on the role of the father/father figure. Evidently, families have evolved from a typical nuclear family, for example, single-parent, same-sex, or extended families are becoming more common. Extended families, demonstrated throughout multiple cultures eg: Indigenous Australians, place equal value on every individual in their kinship groups, whereby Elders are wise and integral for the development of Aboriginal people and children through their life journey. Knowledge, guidance, and stories are fostered and intimately shared so as to produce an environment of emotional, psychological, spiritual, and cognitive development and well-being (Culture: Family and Kinship, 2017). Socially idolizing mothers as the most central human in a baby’s life risks the exclusion of other groups which do not recognize others eg: fathers, grandparents, or siblings looking after their other siblings, at the equivalent level of importance and capability that the mother has. A method that utilizes natural childbirth empowers and highlights the role of the father who consoles, comforts, and is an essential caregiver in the newborn’s life (Cassidy, 2006; Livingston, 1993c, cited in Hoffnung et al., 2012, p.99). This father-coaching method of childbirth was introduced by Bradley, thus called the ‘Bradley Method’. It is becoming increasingly more acceptable that fathers and other caregivers adopt a dynamic parenting role that rejects stereotypical values, with fathers contributing more to housework and childcare roles (Banchefsky & Park, 2016). Therefore, although a mother’s role is significantly important, the culture around ideas which admire the significance of other caregivers is progressively being acknowledged.
Theories can explain how individuals attach and bond by predicting situations and events based on their social interactions which commence from birth. The ‘Attachment theory’ introduced by John Bowlby suggests a caregiver provides the basis for safety and security. Disruptions to this, for example through neglect and abuse, threaten the long-term consequences of one’s cognitive function (Gould et al. 2012, cited in Jones & Creedy 2012, p59). Furthering this notion, deprivation of basic needs, including emotional support, has been linked to physical impediments like developmental dwarfism (Jones & Creedy 2012, p.59). Therefore, it is imperative that a child is engaged within their environment, being stimulated to develop properly. Likewise, the ‘Ethological theory’ concentrates on the notion that a trait like attachment is catalyzed by an instinctive survival mode in human beings (Hoffnung et al., 2012, p.62). Furthermore, Sigmund Freud’s ‘Psychoanalysis theory’ provokes an understanding of how forces in the unconscious determine an individual’s behavior to react to conflicts, and thus, influential in personality developments in attachments between infants and caregivers (Hoffnung et al., 2012, p.37). For example, the ‘Stranger at the Door’ project revealed the behaviors of institutionalized children who had higher rates of leaving with a stranger than never institutionalized groups (NIG) (Gleason, 2013). It is evident then, that children in institutionalized groups were deprived of developing attachments for their caregivers, unlike children in NIG (Gleason, 2013). Therefore an increased risk of indiscriminate behaviors (lacking selectivity in the attachment figure) was higher in institutionalized groups (Gleason, 2013). This “social abnormality” of indiscriminate behavior is a notable disturbance in children who experience institutionalization, and although deprivation of attachment and bonding is aimed to be minimized in these care groups (eg: foster groups), it, unfortunately, proves comparatively ineffective, with NIG leaving only 3.5% of the time with a stranger, compared to 33% of institutionalized children leaving with a complete stranger (Gleason, 2013). Therefore, these theories assist individuals in comprehending how who and why individuals attach and bond with others.
In closing, it is essential that newborns are attached to their caregivers, forming a continuous and dynamic bond with each other in order to maximize their development. Interference with these processes can be detrimental to future consequences on development, affecting well-being and growth. Babies must feel safe and secure, and the role of each caregiver should be acknowledged as equally valued and imperative to one’s development.
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