Maternal partiality in attachment with multiple birth children and the related factors

Multiple births are associated with an increased risk of child abuse and neglect. It is reported that only one child is abused in almost cases, and most abusers are the mothers. Maternal partiality regarding attachment has been suggested as the reason for this tendency. This study investigated the prevalence of this phenomenon in families with multiple birth children and identified factors associated with increased risk. The subjects were 231 mothers of multiple birth children. The following results were obtained. 1. Overall, 10.0% of mothers with multiple birth children reported that they didn't equally attach themselves to all their offspring. 2. Mothers who didn't equally attach themselves exhibited significantly poor health conditions and a higher frequency of upper respiratory infections, compared with mothers who demonstrated no partiality. Moreover, they were more likely to complain of severe fatigue (physical and mental) and poor sleeping conditions. 3. The mothers who didn't equally attach themselves to all their multiple birth children had a higher rate of handicapped children. CONCLUSION: Mothers who do not equally attach themselves to all their multiple birth children show poor health conditions and a higher frequency of upper respiratory infections, and complain of severe fatigue and poor sleeping conditions. They also have a higher rate of handicapped children.