From the father's point of view: How father's representations of the infant impact on father–infant interaction and infant development

Despite the knowledge that fathers uniquely contribute to the development of their infants, relatively few studies have focused on the father–infant relationship during early infancy. In the present longitudinal study we included 189 fathers and examined whether their early attachment representations of the infant predicted future quality of father–infant interaction. We also investigated whether these representations were related to the infant's development. Paternal attachment representations were assessed by the Working Model of Child Interview (WMCI) at 6 months post-partum and classified fathers' representations as ‘balanced’ or ‘unbalanced’ (disengaged or distorted). At 24 months, father–infant interaction was videotaped and analyzed by the NICHD coding scales. Further, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III) was administered to evaluate the infant's verbal development. Results revealed that fathers' early attachment representations of the infant predict the quality of future father–infant interaction, with balanced representations more strongly associated with more favorable behaviors in fathers and infants. In addition, paternal interactive behavior appears an important mechanism through which paternal representations influence the development of the infant. These results underline the importance of early identification of fathers with unbalanced attachment representations, and we therefore recommend that more attention should be directed to the quality of the early father–infant relationship in clinical settings.     

The impact of traumatic delivery on the mother–infant relationship

Abstract

This paper considers the effect of traumatic delivery on the mother's state of mind and on her relationship with her new baby. Thought is also given to the parental couple's relationship when they have experienced a traumatic delivery. Research associated with traumatic birth experience, post-traumatic stress disorder and the effect on the developing foetus of high levels of anxiety during pregnancy are further discussed. Clinical material is used to illustrate the distress experienced by two mothers when they have felt traumatised by a difficult labour and birth.     

Mother–infant circadian rhythm: Development of individual patterns and dyadic synchrony

BackgroundMutual circadian rhythm is an early and essential component in the development of maternal–infant physiological synchrony.AimsThe aim of this to examine the longitudinal pattern of maternal–infant circadian rhythm and rhythm synchrony as measured by rhythm parameters.Study designIn-home dyadic actigraphy monitoring at infant age 4, 8, and 12 weeks.SubjectsForty-three healthy mother–infant pairs.Outcome measuresCircadian parameters derived from cosinor and non-parametric analysis including mesor, magnitude, acrophase, L5 and M10 midpoints (midpoint of lowest 5 and highest 10 h of activity), amplitude, interdaily stability (IS), and intradaily variability (IV).ResultsMothers experienced early disruption of circadian rhythm, with re-establishment of rhythm over time. Significant time effects were noted in increasing maternal magnitude, amplitude, and IS and decreasing IV (p < .001). Infants demonstrated a developmental trajectory of circadian pattern with significant time effects for increasing mesor, magnitude, amplitude, L5, IS, and IV (p < .001). By 12 weeks, infant phase advancement was evidenced by mean acrophase and M10 midpoint occurring 60 and 43 min (respectively) earlier than at 4 weeks. While maternal acrophase remained consistent over time, infants became increasingly phase advanced relative to mother and mean infant acrophase at 12 weeks occurred 60 min before mother. Mother–infant synchrony was evidenced in increasing correspondence of acrophase at 12 weeks (r = 0.704), L5 (r = 0.453) and M10 (r = 0.479) midpoints.ConclusionsDevelopment of mother–infant synchrony reflects shared elements of circadian rhythm.     

The ‘not knowing’ state of mind: intolerance of uncertainty in mother–infant bonding and ‘the position’ of the observer

The author defines the primitive anxieties experienced by a mother during the infant’s earliest stage of life as the ‘not knowing’ state of mind. She discusses the place of this state of mind in relation to mother–infant bonding and considers there to be parallels in the internal work the student-observer must do in order to find her internal ‘position’ and role, as observer. The observer, like the mother, is new to this relationship and must get to know the baby, mother and other family members. The observer has to tolerate not knowing until she goes through the painful experience of feeling what is communicated unconscious in parallel with what she observes in order to find the ‘position’ from which she can take in what she sees. The highly emotional new experience of observing a new baby brings with it, for the observer, if only for an hour a week, and in writing notes and discussing in the observation seminar, an encounter with the primitive anxieties which abound in the earliest days and weeks after the arrival of a new baby and, later, when there are premature or abrupt changes in circumstance.     

Emerging life: an essay about rhythms of encounters and missed encounters in the parent–infant early interactions

This paper uses an infant observation to illustrate the ways in which a mother and baby couple come together postnatally, and in particular through feeding. The moments of ‘encounter’ are linked with concepts such as the ‘dance’ between mother and baby, in which rhythm and mutual observation regulate the intensity and satisfactory feeling of contact. In this way baby and mother negotiate their developing relationship and their sense of well-being and trust. The state of mind of the mother is highly significant, and in the baby observation, it is clear at times that the mother’s own anxiety, past trauma and the experience of severe postnatal depression impacted on her capacity to be close and receptive with her second child, who begins to regurgitate milk regularly. There is – a ‘not coming together’ a lot of the time and it seems this might have been inadvertently made worse by the fact that maternal grandmother had most of the care for the baby at the beginning. The baby when with his mother seems to take in a lot of his mother’s unconscious, undigested feelings which are experienced as unsettling and he cannot keep in the given milk. The link between body and mind, soma and psyche is illustrated and discussed.     

Premastication: the second arm of infant and young child feeding for health and survival?

Premastication of foods for infants was a crucial behavioural adaptation to neoteny that ensured nutritional adequacy during the period of complementary feeding throughout the course of human evolution until recent times. While the paps and gruels of agricultural systems provided an alternative and modern food technology appears to make it unnecessary, we argue that, in addition to its role in nutrition, premastication also played a crucial role in supporting infant health. Its abandonment, particularly in poor communities, has placed children at increased risk of inadequate nutrition and decreased ability to confront infections associated with the introduction of complementary foods. We present two empirical studies. Section I is a cross-cultural study of the ethnographic literature in order to estimate prevalence in non-Western societies. One-third of ethnographies in the worldwide sample with data on infant feeding report premastication. Section II presents the results of a qualitative study in China, conducted in order to provide data on the likelihood that this percent is incorrect due to under-reporting. The finding that 63% of Chinese university students received premasticated food as infants, whereas none of eight ethnographic studies performed in Han China identified premastication in their reports, provides support for the conclusion that the cross-cultural study grossly underestimates its prevalence in non-Western societies. Section III is a discussion of potential benefits and risks of infant exposure to maternal saliva. We conclude with the argument for a concerted research effort to determine whether premastication can solve not only the 'weanling dilemma' in poor countries but also some of the health problems among the better-off.     

Erratum to: Infant mortality trends in a region of Belarus, 1980–2000

After the publication of this work [1], we noted that we inadvertently failed to acknowledge funding support for this project.     

Infant mortality trends in a region of Belarus, 1980–2000

Background

The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and the breakup of the former Soviet Union (FSU) in 1991 challenged the public health infrastructure in the former Soviet republic of Belarus. Because infant mortality is regarded as a sensitive measure of the overall health of a population, patterns of neonatal and postneonatal deaths were examined within the Mogilev region of Belarus between 1980 and 2000.

Methods

Employing administrative death files, this study utilized a regional cohort design that included all infant deaths occurring among persons residing within the Mogilev oblast of Belarus between 1980 and 2000. Patterns of death and death rates were examined across 3 intervals: 1980–1985 (pre-Chernobyl), 1986–1991 (post-Chernobyl &; pre-FSU breakup), and 1992–2000 (post-Chernobyl &; post-FSU breakup).

Results

Annual infant mortality rates declined during the 1980s, increased during the early 1990s, and have remained stable thereafter. While infant mortality rates in Mogilev have decreased since the period 1980–1985 among both males and females, this decrement appears due to decreases in postneonatal mortality. Rates of postneonatal mortality in Mogilev have decreased since the period 1980–1985 among both males and females. Analyses of trends for infant mortality and neonatal mortality demonstrated continuous decreases between 1990, followed by a bell-shaped excess in the 1990's. Compared to rates of infant mortality for other countries, rates in the Mogilev region are generally higher than rates for the United States, but lower than rates in Russia. During the 1990s, rates for both neonatal and postneonatal mortality in Mogilev were two times the comparable rates for East and West Germany.

Conclusions

While neonatal mortality rates in Mogilev have remained stable, rates for postneonatal mortality have decreased among both males and females during the period examined. Infant mortality rates in the Mogilev region of Belarus remain elevated compared to rates for other western countries, but lower than rates in Russia. The public health infrastructure might attempt to assure that prenatal, maternal, and postnatal care is maximized.