Continuity in mind-mindedness from pregnancy to the first year of life

Relations between parents’ representations of the unborn child and postpartum infant–parent interaction were investigated in 25 couples and 3 solo mothers. In the last trimester of pregnancy, participants reported on involvement with the fetus and predicted what the unborn child would be like at age 6 months. Mothers (n = 21) and fathers (n = 17) were observed during separate interactions with their 6-month olds, which yielded measures of their tendency appropriately to interpret their infants’ internal states (mind-mindedness). Parents’ involvement with the fetus was unrelated to antenatal predictions and to postnatal mind-mindedness. Parents who had predicted more about the unborn child's characteristics were more likely to comment appropriately on their infants’ internal states during infant–parent interaction. For fathers, overall antenatal predictions were also positively associated with misinterpretations of their infants’ thoughts and feelings. Findings are discussed with reference to mind-mindedness being governed by caregiver-centered factors and differences between mothers and fathers in caregiving practices.