Does Maternal-Infant Bonding Therapy Improve Breathing in Asthmatic Children?

Six mothers of asthmatic children with histories of non-bonding were treated
with a therapy aimed at repairing the bond between them and their children. Four of the children were then
briefly treated to repair the bond and two infants were not treated. Eighteen variables were studied before
treatment, after the mother’s treatment, and after the child’s treatment. There was improvement in all 18
variables. Five children experienced complete or nearly total improvement in their breathing. The two infants
had total remission of symptoms. This study is the fourth in a series that examines the relationship between
maternal-infant bonding and pediatric asthma (Feinberg, 1988; Schwartz, 1988; Pennington, 1992). While there
have been clinical reports that asthmatic children improve when the bonding is repaired (Madrid and McPhee,
1986; Madrid and Pennington, 2000), this study looks at the question in a more formal manner and presents a
detailed description of the therapy employed. Since French and Alexander’s 1941 article, linking pediatrie
asthma to some impairment in the mother-child relationship, clinicians and researchers have been looking into
the mother’s impact on childhood asthma. In their seminal article, French and Alexander hypothesized that
conflict around excessive, unresolved dependence upon the mother was responsible for the child’s asthma and
that fear of separation from her could trigger an asthma attack. These children were preoccupied with thoughts
of maternal rejection, and the asthma attack itself was considered a suppressed cry for the mother.