85

The author explains how the concepts of attachment theory help us to understand the impact of mother-infant separation and especially of the long hospitalization period of extremely premature infants on two of the parental care dimensions particularly studied by attachment theory: caregiving behavior (the parent’s perspective) and the attachment process (the infant’s perspective). Understanding the mother-infant relationship offered by attachment theory provides a framework for professionals in their work with parents and hospitalized newborns. These elements highlight the need to take into consideration many aspects when supporting mothers in their early approach to their baby at the beginning of attachment processes in the context of perinatal hospitalization.