Approximately 10 to 15% of women experience a clinically significant major depressive episode during pregnancy or the early postpartum period.

The hypothesis of study is that feelings of anxiety or depression and lack of social support would be an interference issue in the development of maternal antenatal attachment.

The aims of this thesis were: to assess the specific role of antenatal attachment as risk factor for depression,as anxiety symptoms, during pregnancy.

Symptoms of maternal depression were assessed using the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The Post-partum Depression Predictors Inventory-Revised (PDPI-R) was used to identify the risk factors for PPD. Prenatal maternal attachment were assessed using the Maternal Antenatal Attachment Scale (MAAS). Maternal and paternal antenatal attachment scales. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using STAI-Y.

Our sample is composed by 456 women: the average of the MAAS total scores at T2 was 76.95 ± 6.3, while at T3, the average is 78.54 ± 6.29. Considering the Quality of Attachment subscale MAAS, at T2, the average is 47.2 ± 3.29, while the T3 is 47.71 ± 2.98.

Further studies are needed to replicate our findings and to clarify the role of pre/post natal attachment during pregnancy and its link with Post-Partum Depression in order to identify a specific subgroup of women.

Cox, J.L., 1987. Detection of postnatal depression: development of the 10-item EPDS. Br J Psychiatry Condon, J. T, (1997). The correlates of antenatal attachment in pregnant women arranting special attention.