Birth, breastfeeding, psychological flexibility and self-compassion as predictors of mother-infant emotional availability in a cross-sectional study

This study aimed to examine relationships between objective childbirth and breastfeeding events, subjective childbirth and breastfeeding experiences, and emotional availability in the mother-infant relationship. Further, it aimed to test two psychological variables, psychological flexibility and self-compassion, as predictors of emotional availability. A convenience sample of 396 mothers of infants (<2 years) from Australia and New Zealand completed an online cross-sectional survey. Objective breastfeeding events (difficulties), negative subjective birth/breastfeeding experiences, poorer psychological flexibility, and lower self-compassion correlated with poorer emotional availability. After controlling for objective birth and breastfeeding variables using multiple linear regressions, better subjective breastfeeding experiences, psychological flexibility, and self-compassion predicted the mutual attunement aspect of emotional availability, whereas better subjective birth experiences and psychological flexibility predicted the affect quality aspect of emotional availability. Mothers' subjective experiences of birth and breastfeeding are important in understanding the early mother-infant relationship. Psychological flexibility and self-compassion are important predictors of emotional availability and may be useful targets for psychological intervention aimed at optimising early mother-infant relationships.