Updated 12.02pm: New research shows obsessing over celebrity baby-bumps can have a negative impact on a mother's attachment with her baby during pregnancy and after birth.

In a study of 468 pregnant New Zealand women, Victoria University Researchers found an unhealthy link between images of pregnant celebrities in the media and a lack of pre-natal attachment during pregnancy.

Psychology and Marketing lecturer Dr Jayne Krisjanous says women see images of celebrities in bikinis into the late stages of pregnancy and want to emulate their look.

"The whole thing about the pregnant abdomen being known now as the little bump, for many women that is unachievable."

"It's well known that if, during the pregnancy there's been reduced pre-natal attachment, then there is also a risk of these feelings occurring after the birth as well."