Method of Delivery and Parent-Newborn Interaction

Concern over the increased rate ofcesarean section deliveryhas led to a number of investigations that have focused on theeffects of surgical delivery. The purpose of the present investigationwas to determine if method of delivery was related to neonatalbehavior, parental behavior, parental perceptions, or mother-newborninteraction. The investigation employed 20 full-term healthyinfants in each of the following four groups: Firstborn vaginaldelivery, later-born vaginal delivery, firstborn emergency cesarean,and later-born repeat cesarean section. Measures were takenon the second day after delivery and included the Neonatal PerceptionInventory (NPI), a mother-infant feeding observation, the BrazeltonNeonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS), and the State-TraitInventory. Multivariate analyses performed on the method ofdelivery by sex of infant by birth order design indicated nosignificant differences for infant behavior, parental perceptionsof infant behavior, or mother-infant interaction. There wasa significant main effect for birth order and State scores,with mothers of firstborn infants exhibiting less optimal transitoryanxiety scores. These findings suggest that the current concernover cesarean deliveries and their impact on parents and infantsmay be partially unfounded.