Introduction:

Maternal-fetal bonding is a relational process built by the pregnant woman.

Objective:

To identify the attributes of the concept of maternal-fetal bonding.

Material and methods:

The conceptual analysis approached by Walker and Avant´s was used. A detailed searched for articles in several databases such as Lilacs/BIREME, CUIDEN, EBSCO, Science Direct, Ovid, EMBASE, PubMed/Medline y Google Scholar was carried out. A database was designed to gather information from different articles. The integration of information was carried out following the steps proposed for the concept analysis outlined by Walker and Avant.

Development:

Maternal-fetal bonding is a process that requires the mental representation of the fetus as a person. It can be expressed as interactions with the fetus and self-care behavior, and it requires network support. Some antecedents of maternal-fetal bonding are the relation of the pregnant woman with her mother and her partner and consequently, the intention to breastfeed, the sensation of maternal competence, and maternal-infant attachment. The attributes of this concept can be grouped into four dimensions: cognitive, affective, altruistic, and personal/relational. Several instruments have been developed to carry out its measurement, including Cranley´s, Muller´s and Condon´s.

Conclusions:

It is concluded that maternal-fetal bonding is a concept of transcendence combining theory and practice of maternal and child nursing care and prenatal care; as it is a fundamental pillar in the transition to motherhood.

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