Bialoskurski et al., 1999, p. 73).
A delayed attachment process occurs when infants do
not stimulate immediate positive feeling in parents or
when mothers are not emotionally available (Bialoskurski
et al., 1999). Infant factors delaying attachment are often
due to a less-than-perfect appearance that unexpectedly
does not conform to the mother’s expectations; the very immature infant; the infant with anomalies, both physical
and cognitive; poor reciprocity in the premature infant;
technological factors that affect infant behaviors or keep
the parent at a distance; physical distance if the infant is
transferred to a tertiary health center far away from the
home; and/or the maternal desire to protect herself from
impending grief from uncertain outcomes.