The study investigated the relationship between the progression of maternal-fetal attachment through the first half of pregnancy and the physical changes of pregnancy primarily quickening. Pregnancy is a transitional period of psychological and physiological processes. Early in pregnancy the fetus's existence is confirmed through physical symptoms and health care providers's diagnosis. As pregnancy progresses, a woman has an increased appreciation of a growing, moving fetus. These transitions may provide signaling behaviors or cues, thereby promoting the woman's attachment to her fetus. The transitions in pregnancy, especially quickening, seem to suggest that maternal-fetal attachment exists and fluctuates over time. Attachment behaviors, present in the first half of pregnancy, would based on this rationale, be only fully realized in the later half of pregnancy after quickening.

Based on this rationale three hyotheses were tested: (1) There will be a negative relationship between the physical symptoms of pregnancy and maternal-fetal attachment. (2) The strength of the negative relationship between maternal-fetal attachment and the physical symptoms will decrease over time. (3) The increase in maternal-fetal attachment will be greater in the time period of the 21st week to 26th week of pregnancy than in the 4th to 11th week or the 12th to 16th week of pregnancy. In other words, there is an increase in the positive relationship between maternal-fetal attachment, time, and quickening.

A sample of 100 married pregnant women volunteered to complete the study's questionnaires, the Physical Symptom Checklist and the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale on three occasions during pregnancy. Subjects ranged in age from 19 years to 39 years, with the average being 27.8 years, were well educated, and had been married for an average of 38 months.

The hypotheses were tested using Pearson product-moment correlations, repeated measures ANOVA, nonpairwise contrasts, and Tukey's t test for post hoc comparisons. Hypotheses 1 and 2 were not supported. Hypothesis 3 was supported. The findings suggest that maternal-fetal attachment develops increasingly on a continuum over time, with the greatest rise after quickening. Additional analysis of descriptive data such as planned versus unplanned pregnancy, and antepartum testing revealed no significant relationships. Methodological considerations of the tools used in the investigation may account for the lack of significance in Hypotheses 1 and 2.