Abstract
There is a consensus that prematurity could increase the risk of attachment impairment. We studied 90 premature children with very low birth weights (<1,500 g) and 96 healthy children born at term with similar age and sociodemographic characteristics. Our objective was to assess maternal stress and attachment representations, and compare development indices on both groups at 2 years of age. Premature infants had a medium-to-severe degree of immaturity and biological risk (M gestational age = 29.98 weeks; birth weight = 1,159.76 g), with 57% staying in the ICU ≥1 week. These children born prematurely had lower scores on the development indices within the normal range. Mothers of premature infants (n = 74) reported higher levels of stress during their first year of life (59%) than did controls (41%), but no significant differences were detected in maternal attachment discourse between the two groups. The findings confirm that premature birth has a great influence on maternal emotional responses and the health and development of children in the first years of life, and indicate that stress responses in parents and warning signs for attachment problems should be assessed as early as possible.