Depression in mothers is consistently associated with reduced caregiving sensitivity and greater infant negative affect expression. The current article examined the real-time behavioral mechanisms underlying these associations using Granger causality time series analyses in a sample of mothers (N = 194; 86.60% White) at elevated risk for…

This study aimed to investigate how mothers and infants contribute mutually to breastfeeding. The spontaneous interactions of 20 breastfeeding dyads were video-recorded at home, at 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months of infants' life. Mothers' and infants' gaze and tactile behaviour, facial expressions of emotion, and dyadic expressions were continuously…

The transition to motherhood can be challenging. The baby book market has taken advantage of this, publishing a range of books that suggest adopting strict routines for infant sleep, feeding, and general care. Despite their multi-million sales, their impact has not been established. The aim of this study was to explore the maternal experience of…

The focus of the present longitudinal study, to examine mother-infant interaction during the administration of immunizations at 2 and 6?months of age, used hidden Markov modelling, a time series approach that produces latent states to describe how mothers and infants work together to bring the infant to a soothed state. Results revealed a…

Increasingly, researchers are trying to understand what daily life is like for infants in non-parental care from the perspectives of the infants themselves. In this article, we argue that it is profoundly difficult, if not impossible, to know how infants experience their worlds with any certainty and, indeed, whether they do or do not possess…

A randomized controlled trial involving 128 infants born prematurely compared basic developmental care (nests and incubator covers) and the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) intervention (behavior observations and guidance by a trained developmental specialist) in relation to effects on parental stress and…

A total of 32 3-month-old infants were carried by their mothers in a soft infant carrier designed to place the infants facing either inward or outward. A within-subject comparison found that when infants were carried facing in, they spent significantly more time sleeping, while infants carried facing out were more active. (MDM)

Examined the effect of maternal soothing to infant inoculation as well as everyday distress on infant cortisol and behavioral responses to stress in two samples of infants between 2 and 6 months of age. Found no evidence that maternal soothing reduced cortisol or behavioral-stress responses, despite evidence for cross-time stability and…

Used weekly-obtained longitudinal observational data of infant crying, fretting/fussing, and smiling and the time spent in physical contact with mother to examine behavioral variability over a 15-month period. Found evidence of an important intraindividual variability between newborn and 5 months, and 5 and 10 months, but not between 10 and 15…

Examined validity of Strange Situation attachment classifications for infants with and without extensive child-care experience and the association of early child-care experience with attachment security. Found that infants were less likely to be secure when low maternal sensitivity was combined with poor quality child care, more than minimal…

Parents with colicky and noncolicky infants answered questions about infant behavior expectations. Parents with colicky infants described infant behavior and expectations for infants at 3 months more negatively; there were no significant group differences for infants at the 8- to 11-month current situation. However, the amount of infant colicky…

Attachment theorists assume that maternal mental representations influence responsivity, which influences infant attachment security. However, primary studies do not support this mediation model. The authors tested mediation using 2 mother-infant samples and found no evidence of mediation. Therefore, the authors explored sensitivity as a…

Examined the feelings of mothers when temporarily leaving their infants--who were perceived to cry excessively--to other caretakers. Found through interviews that the mothers were anxious when separated from the infant, had an intensive perception of the infant's crying, and had difficulty sharing responsibility for the infant. (EV)

Noting that maternal depression is common during a baby's first year, this study examined the interaction of depressed and non-depressed mother-child dyads. A sample of 26 first-time mothers with postpartum depression at the third month after birth and their 3-month-old infants was compared to a sample of 25 first-time mothers with no postpartum…

Used time-lapse video to record sleep/wake states of preterm infants for three 24-hour periods at 33 and 35 weeks conceptional age. Found that very-low-birthweight preterm infants showed marked stability and developmental change in the organization of sleep/wake states from a very early age, and their states were related to demographic variables…