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Sample records for preverbal infants mentally

  1. How Parents Read Counting Books and Non-numerical Books to Their Preverbal Infants: An Observational Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Alison; Cole, Thomas; Cordes, Sara

    2016-01-01

    Studies have stressed the importance of counting with children to promote formal numeracy abilities; however, little work has investigated when parents begin to engage in this behavior with their young children. In the current study, we investigated whether parents elaborated on numerical information when reading a counting book to their preverbal infants and whether developmental differences in numerical input exist even in the 1st year of life. Parents and their 5-10 months old infants were asked to read, as they would at home, two books to their infants: a counting book and another book that did not have numerical content. Parents' spontaneous statements rarely focused on number and those that did consisted primarily of counting, with little emphasis on labeling the cardinality of the set. However, developmental differences were observed even in this age range, such that parents were more likely to make numerical utterances when reading to older infants. Together, results are the first to characterize naturalistic reading behaviors between parents and their preverbal infants in the context of counting books, suggesting that although counting books promote numerical language in parents, infants still receive very little in the way of numerical input before the end of the 1st year of life. While little is known regarding the impact of number talk on the cognitive development of young infants, the current results may guide future work in this area by providing the first assessment of the characteristics of parental numerical input to preverbal infants.

  2. How Parents Read Counting Books and Non-Numerical Books to Their Preverbal Infants: An Observational Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alison Goldstein

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Studies have stressed the importance of counting with children to promote formal numeracy abilities; however little work has investigated when parents begin to engage in this behavior with their young children. In the current study, we investigated whether parents elaborated on numerical information when reading a counting book to their preverbal infants and whether developmental differences in numerical input exist even in the first year of life. Parents and their 5-10 month old infants were asked to read, as they would at home, two books to their infants: a counting book and another book that did not have numerical content. Parents’ spontaneous statements rarely focused on number and those that did consisted primarily of counting, with little emphasis on labeling the cardinality of the set. However, developmental differences were observed even in this age range, such that parents were more likely to make numerical utterances when reading to older infants. Together, results are the first to characterize naturalistic reading behaviors between parents and their preverbal infants in the context of counting books, suggesting that although counting books promote numerical language in parents, infants still receive very little in the way of numerical input before the end of the first year of life. While little is known regarding the impact of number talk on the cognitive development of young infants, the current results may guide future work in this area by providing the first assessment of the characteristics of parental numerical input to preverbal infants.

  3. Development of long-term event memory in preverbal infants: an eye-tracking study

    OpenAIRE

    Nakano, Tamami; Kitazawa, Shigeru

    2017-01-01

    The development of long-term event memory in preverbal infants remains elusive. To address this issue, we applied an eye-tracking method that successfully revealed in great apes that they have long-term memory of single events. Six-, 12-, 18- and 24-month-old infants watched a video story in which an aggressive ape-looking character came out from one of two identical doors. While viewing the same video again 24?hours later, 18- and 24-month-old infants anticipatorily looked at the door where ...

  4. How Parents Read Counting Books and Non-Numerical Books to Their Preverbal Infants: An Observational Study

    OpenAIRE

    Alison Goldstein; Thomas Cole; Sara Cordes

    2016-01-01

    Studies have stressed the importance of counting with children to promote formal numeracy abilities; however little work has investigated when parents begin to engage in this behavior with their young children. In the current study, we investigated whether parents elaborated on numerical information when reading a counting book to their preverbal infants and whether developmental differences in numerical input exist even in the first year of life. Parents and their 5-10 month old infants wer...

  5. Preverbal and verbal counting and computation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallistel, C R; Gelman, R

    1992-08-01

    We describe the preverbal system of counting and arithmetic reasoning revealed by experiments on numerical representations in animals. In this system, numerosities are represented by magnitudes, which are rapidly but inaccurately generated by the Meck and Church (1983) preverbal counting mechanism. We suggest the following. (1) The preverbal counting mechanism is the source of the implicit principles that guide the acquisition of verbal counting. (2) The preverbal system of arithmetic computation provides the framework for the assimilation of the verbal system. (3) Learning to count involves, in part, learning a mapping from the preverbal numerical magnitudes to the verbal and written number symbols and the inverse mappings from these symbols to the preverbal magnitudes. (4) Subitizing is the use of the preverbal counting process and the mapping from the resulting magnitudes to number words in order to generate rapidly the number words for small numerosities. (5) The retrieval of the number facts, which plays a central role in verbal computation, is mediated via the inverse mappings from verbal and written numbers to the preverbal magnitudes and the use of these magnitudes to find the appropriate cells in tabular arrangements of the answers. (6) This model of the fact retrieval process accounts for the salient features of the reaction time differences and error patterns revealed by experiments on mental arithmetic. (7) The application of verbal and written computational algorithms goes on in parallel with, and is to some extent guided by, preverbal computations, both in the child and in the adult.

  6. Social interaction facilitates word learning in preverbal infants: Word-object mapping and word segmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hakuno, Yoko; Omori, Takahide; Yamamoto, Jun-Ichi; Minagawa, Yasuyo

    2017-08-01

    In natural settings, infants learn spoken language with the aid of a caregiver who explicitly provides social signals. Although previous studies have demonstrated that young infants are sensitive to these signals that facilitate language development, the impact of real-life interactions on early word segmentation and word-object mapping remains elusive. We tested whether infants aged 5-6 months and 9-10 months could segment a word from continuous speech and acquire a word-object relation in an ecologically valid setting. In Experiment 1, infants were exposed to a live tutor, while in Experiment 2, another group of infants were exposed to a televised tutor. Results indicate that both younger and older infants were capable of segmenting a word and learning a word-object association only when the stimuli were derived from a live tutor in a natural manner, suggesting that real-life interaction enhances the learning of spoken words in preverbal infants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Infant Signs as Intervention? Promoting Symbolic Gestures for Preverbal Children in Low-Income Families Supports Responsive Parent-Child Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallotton, Claire D.

    2012-01-01

    Gestures are a natural form of communication between preverbal children and parents which support children's social and language development; however, low-income parents gesture less frequently, disadvantaging their children. In addition to pointing and waving, children are capable of learning many symbolic gestures, known as "infant signs," if…

  8. Development of long-term event memory in preverbal infants: an eye-tracking study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakano, Tamami; Kitazawa, Shigeru

    2017-03-08

    The development of long-term event memory in preverbal infants remains elusive. To address this issue, we applied an eye-tracking method that successfully revealed in great apes that they have long-term memory of single events. Six-, 12-, 18- and 24-month-old infants watched a video story in which an aggressive ape-looking character came out from one of two identical doors. While viewing the same video again 24 hours later, 18- and 24-month-old infants anticipatorily looked at the door where the character would show up before it actually came out, but 6- and 12-month-old infants did not. Next, 12-, 18- and 24-month-old infants watched a different video story, in which a human grabbed one of two objects to hit back at the character. In their second viewing after a 24-hour delay, 18- and 24-month-old infants increased viewing time on the objects before the character grabbed one. In this viewing, 24-month-old infants preferentially looked at the object that the human had used, but 18-month-old infants did not show such preference. Our results show that infants at 18 months of age have developed long-term event memory, an ability to encode and retrieve a one-time event and this ability is elaborated thereafter.

  9. Infants learn better from left to right: a directional bias in infants' sequence learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulf, Hermann; de Hevia, Maria Dolores; Gariboldi, Valeria; Macchi Cassia, Viola

    2017-05-26

    A wealth of studies show that human adults map ordered information onto a directional spatial continuum. We asked whether mapping ordinal information into a directional space constitutes an early predisposition, already functional prior to the acquisition of symbolic knowledge and language. While it is known that preverbal infants represent numerical order along a left-to-right spatial continuum, no studies have investigated yet whether infants, like adults, organize any kind of ordinal information onto a directional space. We investigated whether 7-month-olds' ability to learn high-order rule-like patterns from visual sequences of geometric shapes was affected by the spatial orientation of the sequences (left-to-right vs. right-to-left). Results showed that infants readily learn rule-like patterns when visual sequences were presented from left to right, but not when presented from right to left. This result provides evidence that spatial orientation critically determines preverbal infants' ability to perceive and learn ordered information in visual sequences, opening to the idea that a left-to-right spatially organized mental representation of ordered dimensions might be rooted in biologically-determined constraints on human brain development.

  10. Classical Sanskrit Preverb Ordering: A Diachronic Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papke, Julia Kay Porter

    2010-01-01

    The Indo-European language family contains many "small words" with various adverbial meanings and functions, including preverbs. The term "preverb" is used to label any of a variety of modifying morphemes that form a close semantic unit with a verb, including both words and prefixes (Booij and Kemenade 2003). Some Indo-European languages not only…

  11. Is It Rational to Assume that Infants Imitate Rationally? A Theoretical Analysis and Critique

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    Paulus, Markus

    2012-01-01

    It has been suggested that preverbal infants evaluate the efficiency of others' actions (by applying a "principle of rational action") and that they imitate others' actions rationally. The present contribution presents a conceptual analysis of the claim that preverbal infants imitate rationally. It shows that this ability rests on at least three…

  12. Copenhagen infant mental health project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Væver, Mette Skovgaard; Smith-Nielsen, Johanne; Lange, Theis

    2016-01-01

    such as physical and mental health, educational and labor market success, social network and establishing of family. Secure attachment is associated with optimal outcomes in all developmental domains in childhood, and both insecure and disorganized attachment are associated with a range of later problems......Background: Infant mental health is a significant public health issue as early adversity and exposure to early childhood stress are significant risk factors that may have detrimental long-term developmental consequences for the affected children. Negative outcomes are seen on a range of areas...... in the City of Copenhagen, Denmark. During the project a general population of an estimated 17.600 families with an infant aged 2–12 months are screened for two known infant mental health risks, maternal postnatal depression and infant social withdrawal. Eligible families (N = 314), who agree to participate...

  13. Validation of the Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire.

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    García-Ormaechea, Inés; González, Inmaculada; Duplá, María; Andres, Eva; Pueyo, Victoria

    2014-10-01

    Visual cognitive integrative functions need to be evaluated by a behavioral assessment, which requires an experienced evaluator. The Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire was designed to evaluate these functions, both in general pediatric population or in children with high risk of visual cognitive problems, through primary caregivers' answers. We aimed to validate the PreViAs questionnaire by comparing caregiver reports with results from a comprehensive clinical protocol. A total of 220 infants (visual development, as determined by the clinical protocol. Their primary caregivers completed the PreViAs questionnaire, which consists of 30 questions related to one or more visual domains: visual attention, visual communication, visual-motor coordination, and visual processing. Questionnaire answers were compared with results of behavioral assessments performed by three pediatric ophthalmologists. Results of the clinical protocol classified 128 infants as having normal visual maturation, and 92 as having abnormal visual maturation. The specificity of PreViAs questionnaire was >80%, and sensitivity was 64%-79%. More than 80% of the infants were correctly classified, and test-retest reliability exceeded 0.9 for all domains. The PreViAs questionnaire is useful to detect abnormal visual maturation in infants from birth to 24months of age. It improves the anamnesis process in infants at risk of visual dysfunctions. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  14. Promoting mother-infant interaction and infant mental health in low-income Korean families: attachment-based cognitive behavioral approach.

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    Lee, Gyungjoo; McCreary, Linda; Breitmayer, Bonnie; Kim, Mi Ja; Yang, Soo

    2013-10-01

    This study evaluated the attachment-based cognitive behavioral approach (ACBA) to enhance mother-infant interaction and infant mental health. This quasi-experimental study used a pre-posttest control group design. Participants were 40 low-income, mother-infant (infant ages 12-36 months) dyads, 20 dyads per group. The ACBA group received 10 weekly 90-min sessions. Dependent variables were changes in mother-infant interaction and infant mental health. Additionally, we explored changes in mothers' attachment security. The groups differed significantly in changes in mother-infant interaction, infant mental health problems, and mothers' attachment security. ACBA may enhance mother-infant interaction and infants' mental health. © 2013, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Infant Cognition: Going Full Factorial with Pupil Dilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Iain; Sirois, Sylvain

    2009-01-01

    The violation-of-expectation (VOE) paradigm and related methods are the main tools used to study high-level cognition in preverbal infants. Infants' differential looking to conceptually implausible/impossible events has been used as an index of early cognitive competence in many areas, including object knowledge, physics, language, and number.…

  16. A new measure for infant mental health screening

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ammitzbøll, Janni; Holstein, Bjorn E.; Wilms, Lisbeth

    2016-01-01

    by community health nurses (CHN) in existing service settings in Denmark. This study was conducted to describe the development of a service setting based measure to screen for infant mental health problems, to investigate problems identified by the measure and assess the validity and feasibility in existing......Background: Mental health problems are a major public health challenges, and strategies of early prevention are needed. Effective prevention depends on feasible and validated measures of screening and intervention. Previous research has demonstrated potentials for infant mental health screening...... and feasibility was demonstrated, and the participation was 91%. Conclusions:The new measure shows potentials for infant mental health screening. However, further exploration of construct validity and reliability is needed....

  17. Maternal pre- and postnatal mental health and infant development in war conditions: The Gaza Infant Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Punamäki, Raija-Leena; Diab, Safwat Y; Isosävi, Sanna; Kuittinen, Saija; Qouta, Samir R

    2018-03-01

    Women and their infants need special protection in war context, as traumatic events can risk maternal mental and obstetric health and compromise infant development. This prospective study examined, first, how exposure to war trauma is associated with maternal mental health in pregnancy and postpartum, obstetric and newborn health, and infant development. Second, it tested the role of maternal mental health and obstetric risks in mediating between war trauma and infant development. Palestinian women (N = 511) from the Gaza strip participated during pregnancy (T1) and at 4 (T2) and 12 (T3) months postpartum. They reported PTSD, depressive, anxiety, and dissociative symptoms, as well as pregnancy complications, newborn health risks such as prematurity, and infant sensorimotor and language development. First, exposure to war trauma was associated with high levels of maternal mental health and complications at pregnancy, and with increased postpartum mental health symptoms, but exposure was not directly associated with newborn health risks or problems in infant development. Second, maternal mental health both in pregnancy and postpartum, but not pregnancy complications or newborn health, mediated the negative impact of war trauma on infant sensorimotor and language development at 12 months. Interventions to protect early child development in war conditions should be tailored to support maternal mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Infants learn better from left to right: a directional bias in infants? sequence learning

    OpenAIRE

    Bulf, Hermann; de Hevia, Maria Dolores; Gariboldi, Valeria; Macchi Cassia, Viola

    2017-01-01

    A wealth of studies show that human adults map ordered information onto a directional spatial continuum. We asked whether mapping ordinal information into a directional space constitutes an early predisposition, already functional prior to the acquisition of symbolic knowledge and language. While it is known that preverbal infants represent numerical order along a left-to-right spatial continuum, no studies have investigated yet whether infants, like adults, organize any kind of ordinal infor...

  19. BUILDING A WORKFORCE COMPETENCY-BASED TRAINING PROGRAM IN INFANT/EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priddis, Lynn E; Matacz, Rochelle; Weatherston, Deborah

    2015-01-01

    This article describes findings from a project conducted in Western Australia (Mental Health Commission WA, 2015) that investigated the education and training needs of the Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health (I/ECMH) workforce. We examined international training programs and models of delivery in infant mental health, including a review of the current training available in Australia. Data collected from over 60 interviews were analyzed, and a staged delivery model for I/ECMH training and supervision that aligned with the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (2014) Competency Guidelines was recommended. These findings led to the purchase of the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (2014) for use in Western Australia. In a very short time, use of the Michigan Competency Framework by the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health West Australian Branch Incorporated has begun to change the training and education opportunities for upskilling the infant and early childhood workforce in Western Australia. It has resulted in a map to guide and develop training in the I/ECMH field for individual practitioners and professionals as well as for workplaces that will ultimately benefit Western Australian infants, young children, and their families during the perinatal period and in the early years. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  20. Melding Infant Mental Health and Multisystemic Therapy Approaches to Community-Based Treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willoughby, Jay C.; Carubia, Beau A.; Murgolo, Marisa A.; Carter, Debbie R.; Frankel, Karen A.

    2013-01-01

    A recent partnership between the Irving Harris Program in Child Development and Infant Mental Health and the Community Based Psychiatry Program at University of Colorado Hospital joined two different approaches to child mental health treatment: infant mental health and multisystemic therapy (MST). This article illustrates the compatibility of…

  1. Recent psychological explanations of infant development and scales of early mental development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maja Zupančič

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews early infant measures based on standardised scales of development – both traditional ones and those based on Piaget's sensory-motor theory – and assesses their validity in predicting later mental development. The extremely low predictive power of test scores based on these measures in infancy has provided additional support for discontinuity theories of mental development from infancy to childhood. Conversely, the constructs implicit in earlier measures have been thoroughly criticised, and the search for valid measures of infant development that would reflect a construct similar to mental abilities in childhood has begun. At the outset, research was mostly influenced by the information processing theory. Two broad measures of information processing have been shown to be the most relevant indicators of an infant's mental development, namely habituation and dishabituation. Recent mental scales, such as the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II, thus include items that measure the efficiency of an infant's information processing. Examples of such items are presented and interpreted, as are items reflecting the development of object permanence, the only early sensory-motor measure that shows better predictive effectiveness when compared to traditional developmental test scores. Several newly-developed indicators of infants' mental development, which utilize other measures than those derived from the information-processing approach, are surveyed (understanding causal relations, joint attention behaviours, representation of number, and their possible application within the context of potential items for early mental scales is discussed. Finally, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II, currently one of the best measures of early development, and presently undergoing a standardisation procedure in Slovenia, is evaluated, with analyses of some items from the Mental scale presented within the text.

  2. Building Relationships: Integrating Infant Mental Health Services in a Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit

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    Lakatos, Patricia P.; Matic, Tamara; Carson, Melissa C.; Williams, Marian E.

    2017-01-01

    Infants are born primed to develop attachment relationships. However, when infants are hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit at birth, the stress and trauma associated with the highly specialized medical environment can threaten the development of a nurturing and secure caregiving relationship. Infant mental health is an evidence-based…

  3. MATERNAL TRAUMA AFFECTS PRENATAL MENTAL HEALTH AND INFANT STRESS REGULATION AMONG PALESTINIAN DYADS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isosävi, Sanna; Diab, Safwat Y; Kangaslampi, Samuli; Qouta, Samir; Kankaanpää, Saija; Puura, Kaija; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

    2017-09-01

    We examined how diverse and cumulated traumatic experiences predicted maternal prenatal mental health and infant stress regulation in war conditions and whether maternal mental health mediated the association between trauma and infant stress regulation. Participants were 511 Palestinian mothers from the Gaza Strip who reported exposure to current war trauma (WT), past childhood emotional (CEA) and physical abuse, socioeconomic status (SES), prenatal mental health problems (posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms), and perceived stress during their secondtrimester of pregnancy as well as infant stress regulation at 4 months. While all trauma types were associated with high levels of prenatal symptoms, CEA had the most wide-ranging effects and was uniquely associated with depression symptoms. Concerning infant stress regulation, mothers' CEA predicted negative affectivity, but only among mothers with low WT. Against hypothesis, the effects of maternal trauma on infant stress regulation were not mediated by mental health symptoms. Mothers' higher SES was associated with better infant stress regulation whereas infant prematurity and male sex predisposed for difficulties. Our findings suggest that maternal childhood abuse, especially CEA, should be a central treatment target among war-exposed families. Cumulated psychosocial stressors might increase the risk for transgenerational problems. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  4. Prognosis of psychomotor and mental development in premature infants by early cranial ultrasound.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Yang; Sun, Fu-qiang; Li, Yue-qin; Que, Sheng-shun; Yang, Su-yan; Xu, Wen-jing; Yu, Wen-hong; Chen, Jun-hua; Lu, Ya-jie; Li, Xin

    2015-04-09

    It is of high incidence of brain injuries in premature infants, so it is necessary to diagnose and treat the brain injury early for neonatal clinical practice. We are aimed to investigate the relationship between early postnatal cranial ultrasonography and psychomotor and mental development in prematrue infants at the age of 12 months. Two-hundred and eight premature infants were selected and underwent follow-up from January, 2007 to November, 2012. Cranial ultrasonography was performed on them. The developmental outcomes of these premature infants at the age of 12 months were assessed by the psychomotor developmental index (PDI) scale and mental development index (MDI). The relationship between ultrasonic gray-scale value and PDI and MDI was analyzed. The worse prognosis for psychomotor and mental development was associated with the gestational age, Apgar score(1 min), gender, chorioamnionitis, duration of mechanical ventilation and duration of mechanic ventilation. The differences between the prognosis of psychomotor and mental development, and peri-intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH) and periventricular white matter damage (PWMD), were statistically significant (Ppsychomotor development and mental development (Ppsychomotor and mental development for premature infants. The higher grade of PIVH and PWMD was associated with the worse prognosis of psychomotor and mental development.

  5. Elements of a comprehensive theory of infant imitation.

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    Meltzoff, Andrew N

    2017-01-01

    Imitation is central to human development. Imitation involves mapping between the perception and production of actions. Imitation after delays implicates preverbal memory. Imitation of people informs us about infants' processing of social events. A comprehensive theory needs to account for the origins, mechanisms, and functions of imitation. Neonatal imitation illuminates how the initial state engenders and supports rapid social learning.

  6. Adult language use and infant comprehension of English: associations with encoding and generalization across cues at 20 months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phung, Janice N; Milojevich, Helen M; Lukowski, Angela F

    2014-11-01

    Adult-provided language shapes event memory in children who are preverbal and in those who are able to discuss the past using language. The research conducted to date, however, has not yet established whether infant language comprehension abilities moderate the extent to which preverbal infants benefit from adult-provided supportive language. The present study was conducted to address this question by examining immediate imitation and 1-week delayed generalization across cues in 20-month-old infants as a function of (a) variability in adult-provided linguistic support at encoding and test, (b) infant language comprehension abilities, and (c) their interaction. The provision of supportive adult language at encoding and test was associated with delayed generalization across cues although supportive adult language at encoding did not influence performance at immediate imitation. Infant language comprehension abilities were associated with performance at immediate imitation and delayed generalization across cues. In addition, infant language comprehension abilities moderated the extent to which infants benefited from adult-provided supportive language at encoding and test. The findings contribute to the literature by demonstrating that adult language use and infant language comprehension are independently and differentially associated with immediate imitation and 1-week delayed generalization across cues but also serve to jointly structure event memory in the second year of life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Maternal Mental State Talk and Infants' Early Gestural Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slaughter, Virginia; Peterson, Candida C.; Carpenter, Malinda

    2009-01-01

    Twenty-four infants were tested monthly for the production of imperative and declarative gestures between 0 ; 9 and 1 ; 3 and concurrent mother-infant free-play sessions were conducted at 0 ; 9, 1 ; 0 and 1 ; 3 (Carpenter, Nagell & Tomasello, 1998). Free-play transcripts were subsequently coded for maternal talk about mental states. Results…

  8. Auditory-Visual Intermodal Matching of Small Numerosities in 6-Month-Old Infants

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    Kobayashi, Tessei; Hiraki, Kazuo; Hasegawa, Toshikazu

    2005-01-01

    Recent studies have reported that preverbal infants are able to discriminate between numerosities of sets presented within a particular modality. There is still debate, however, over whether they are able to perform intermodal numerosity matching, i.e. to relate numerosities of sets presented with different sensory modalities. The present study…

  9. Bimodal emotion congruency is critical to preverbal infants' abstract rule learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsui, Angeline Sin Mei; Ma, Yuen Ki; Ho, Anna; Chow, Hiu Mei; Tseng, Chia-huei

    2016-05-01

    Extracting general rules from specific examples is important, as we must face the same challenge displayed in various formats. Previous studies have found that bimodal presentation of grammar-like rules (e.g. ABA) enhanced 5-month-olds' capacity to acquire a rule that infants failed to learn when the rule was presented with visual presentation of the shapes alone (circle-triangle-circle) or auditory presentation of the syllables (la-ba-la) alone. However, the mechanisms and constraints for this bimodal learning facilitation are still unknown. In this study, we used audio-visual relation congruency between bimodal stimulation to disentangle possible facilitation sources. We exposed 8- to 10-month-old infants to an AAB sequence consisting of visual faces with affective expressions and/or auditory voices conveying emotions. Our results showed that infants were able to distinguish the learned AAB rule from other novel rules under bimodal stimulation when the affects in audio and visual stimuli were congruently paired (Experiments 1A and 2A). Infants failed to acquire the same rule when audio-visual stimuli were incongruently matched (Experiment 2B) and when only the visual (Experiment 1B) or the audio (Experiment 1C) stimuli were presented. Our results highlight that bimodal facilitation in infant rule learning is not only dependent on better statistical probability and redundant sensory information, but also the relational congruency of audio-visual information. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KYTyjH1k9RQ. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Maternal mental health and nutritional status of six-month-old infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruna Kulik Hassan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze if maternal mental health is associated with infant nutritional status at six month of age. METHODS A cross-sectional study with 228 six-month-old infants who used primary health care units of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. Mean weight-for-length and mean weight-for-age were expressed in z-scores considering the 2006 World Health Organization reference curves. Maternal mental health was measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. The following cutoff points were used: ≥ 3 for common mental disorders, ≥ 5 for more severe mental disorders, and ≥ 9 for depression. The statistical analysis employed adjusted linear regression models. RESULTS The prevalence of common mental disorders, more severe mental disorders and depression was 39.9%, 23.7%, and 8.3%, respectively. Children of women with more severe mental disorders had, on average, a weight-for-length 0.37 z-scores lower than children of women without this health harm (p = 0.026. We also observed that the weight-for-length indicator of children of depressed mothers was, on average, 0.67 z-scores lower than that of children of nondepressed women (p = 0.010. Maternal depression was associated with lower mean values of weight-for-age z-scores (p = 0.041. CONCLUSIONS Maternal mental health is positively related to the inadequacy of the nutritional status of infants at six months.

  11. Parent-infant psychotherapy for improving parental and infant mental health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlow, Jane; Bennett, Cathy; Midgley, Nick; Larkin, Soili K; Wei, Yinghui

    2015-01-08

    Parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a dyadic intervention that works with parent and infant together, with the aim of improving the parent-infant relationship and promoting infant attachment and optimal infant development. PIP aims to achieve this by targeting the mother's view of her infant, which may be affected by her own experiences, and linking them to her current relationship to her child, in order to improve the parent-infant relationship directly. 1. To assess the effectiveness of PIP in improving parental and infant mental health and the parent-infant relationship.2. To identify the programme components that appear to be associated with more effective outcomes and factors that modify intervention effectiveness (e.g. programme duration, programme focus). We searched the following electronic databases on 13 January 2014: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2014, Issue 1), Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, BIOSIS Citation Index, Science Citation Index, ERIC, and Sociological Abstracts. We also searched the metaRegister of Controlled Trials, checked reference lists, and contacted study authors and other experts. Two review authors assessed study eligibility independently. We included randomised controlled trials (RCT) and quasi-randomised controlled trials (quasi-RCT) that compared a PIP programme directed at parents with infants aged 24 months or less at study entry, with a control condition (i.e. waiting-list, no treatment or treatment-as-usual), and used at least one standardised measure of parental or infant functioning. We also included studies that only used a second treatment group. We adhered to the standard methodological procedures of The Cochrane Collaboration. We standardised the treatment effect for each outcome in each study by dividing the mean difference (MD) in post-intervention scores between the intervention and control groups by the pooled standard deviation. We presented standardised mean differences (SMDs) and

  12. Mind matters: A meta-analysis on parental mentalization and sensitivity as predictors of infant-parent attachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeegers, Moniek A J; Colonnesi, Cristina; Stams, Geert-Jan J M; Meins, Elizabeth

    2017-12-01

    Major developments in attachment research over the past 2 decades have introduced parental mentalization as a predictor of infant-parent attachment security. Parental mentalization is the degree to which parents show frequent, coherent, or appropriate appreciation of their infants' internal states. The present study examined the triangular relations between parental mentalization, parental sensitivity, and attachment security. A total of 20 effect sizes (N = 974) on the relation between parental mentalization and attachment, 82 effect sizes (N = 6,664) on the relation between sensitivity and attachment, and 24 effect sizes (N = 2,029) on the relation between mentalization and sensitivity were subjected to multilevel meta-analyses. The results showed a pooled correlation of r = .30 between parental mentalization and infant attachment security, and rs of .25 for the correlations between sensitivity and attachment security, and between parental mentalization and sensitivity. A meta-analytic structural equation model was performed to examine the combined effects of mentalization and sensitivity as predictors of infant attachment. Together, the predictors explained 12% of the variance in attachment security. After controlling for the effect of sensitivity, the relation between parental mentalization and attachment remained, r = .24; the relation between sensitivity and attachment remained after controlling for parental mentalization, r = .19. Sensitivity also mediated the relation between parental mentalization and attachment security, r = .07, suggesting that mentalization exerts both direct and indirect influences on attachment security. The results imply that parental mentalization should be incorporated into existing models that map the predictors of infant-parent attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Infant eczema, infant sleeping problems, and mental health at 10 years of age: the prospective birth cohort study LISAplus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, J; Chen, C-M; Apfelbacher, C; Romanos, M; Lehmann, I; Herbarth, O; Schaaf, B; Kraemer, U; von Berg, A; Wichmann, H-E; Heinrich, J

    2011-03-01

    Cross-sectional studies suggest an association between eczema and mental health problems, possibly modified by sleeping problems, but prospective evidence is missing. We aimed to prospectively investigate the relationship between infant eczema (within first 2 years of age), infant sleeping problems (within first 2 years of age), and the risk of mental health problems at 10 years of age. Between 1997 and 1999, a population-based birth cohort was recruited in Munich, Leipzig, Wesel, and Bad Honnef, Germany, and followed until 10 years of age. Physician-diagnosed eczema, parent-reported sleeping problems, and known environmental risk factors for atopy were regularly assessed until 10 years of age. Mental health was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (parent version) at 10 years of age. We applied logistic regression modeling adjusting for environmental and lifestyle factors, allergic comorbidity, and family history of eczema. From the original cohort of 3097 neonates, 1658 (54%) were followed until age 10, while 1578 (51%) were eligible for analysis. In the fully adjusted model, children with infant eczema were at increased risk of hyperactivity/inattention at 10 years of age [odds ratio (OR) 1.78; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.02-3.09]. Infant eczema with concurrent sleeping problems predicted emotional problems [OR 2.63; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.20-5.76] and conduct problems (OR 3.03; 95% CI 1.01-9.12) at 10 years of age. Infant eczema with concurrent sleeping problems appears to be a risk factor for the development of mental health problems. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  14. Preverbal Infants Infer Third-Party Social Relationships Based on Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liberman, Zoe; Woodward, Amanda L.; Kinzler, Katherine D.

    2017-01-01

    Language provides rich social information about its speakers. For instance, adults and children make inferences about a speaker's social identity, geographic origins, and group membership based on her language and accent. Although infants prefer speakers of familiar languages (Kinzler, Dupoux, & Spelke, 2007), little is known about the…

  15. Maternal mental disorders in pregnancy and the puerperium and risks to infant health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, Priscila Krauss; Lima, Lúcia Abelha; Legay, Letícia Fortes; de Cintra Santos, Jacqueline Fernandes; Lovisi, Giovanni Marcos

    2012-12-08

    Prenatal and postnatal period presents the highest prevalence of mental disorders in women's lives and depression is the most frequent one, affecting approximately one in every five mothers. The aggravating factor here is that during this period psychiatric symptoms affect not only women's health and well-being but may also interfere in the infant's intra and extra-uterine development. Although the causes of the relationship between maternal mental disorders and possible risks to a child's health and development remain unknown, it is suspected that these risks may be related to the use of psychotropic drugs during pregnancy, to substance abuse and the mother's lifestyle. Moreover, after delivery, maternal mental disorders may also impair the ties of affection (bonding) with the newborn and the maternal capacity of caring in the post-partum period thus increasing the risk for infant infection and malnutrition, impaired child growth that is expressed in low weight and height for age, and even behavioral problems and vulnerability to presenting mental disorders in adulthood. Generally speaking, research on this theme can be divided into the type of mental disorder analyzed: studies that research minor mental disorders during pregnancy such as depression and anxiety find an association between these maternal disorders and obstetric complications such as prematurity and low birth weight, whereas studies that evaluate severe maternal mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have found not only an association with general obstetric complications as well as with congenital malformations and perinatal mortality. Therefore, the success of infant growth care programs also depends on the mother's mental well being. Such findings have led to the need for new public policies in the field of maternal-infant care geared toward the population of mothers. However, more research is necessary so as to confirm the association between all factors with greater

  16. Infants distinguish antisocial actions directed towards fair and unfair agents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marek Meristo

    Full Text Available Three experiments provide evidence of an incipient sense of fairness in preverbal infants. Ten-month-old infants were shown cartoon videos with two agents, the 'donors', who distributed resources to two identical recipients. One donor always distributed the goods equally, while the other performed unequal distributions by giving everything to one recipient. In the test phase, a third agent hit or took resources away from either the fair or the unfair donor. We found that infants looked longer when the antisocial actions were directed towards the unfair rather than the fair donor. These findings support the view that infants are able to evaluate agents based on their distributive actions and suggest that the foundations of human socio-moral competence are acquired independently of parental feedback and linguistic experience.

  17. War trauma and maternal-fetal attachment predicting maternal mental health, infant development, and dyadic interaction in Palestinian families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Punamäki, Raija-Leena; Isosävi, Sanna; Qouta, Samir R; Kuittinen, Saija; Diab, Safwat Y

    2017-10-01

    Optimal maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) is believed to be beneficial for infant well-being and dyadic interaction, but research is scarce in general and among risk populations. Our study involved dyads living in war conditions and examined how traumatic war trauma associates with MFA and which factors mediate that association. It also modeled the role of MFA in predicting newborn health, infant development, mother-infant interaction, and maternal postpartum mental health. Palestinian women from the Gaza Strip (N = 511) participated during their second trimester (T1), and when their infants were 4 (T2) and 12 (T3) months. Mothers reported MFA (interaction with, attributions to, and fantasies about the fetus), social support, and prenatal mental health (post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety) at T1, newborn health at T2, and the postpartum mental health, infant's sensorimotor and language development, and mother-infant interaction (emotional availability) at T3. Results revealed, first, that war trauma was not directly associated with MFA but that it was mediated through a low level of social support and high level of maternal prenatal mental health problems. Second, intensive MFA predicted optimal mother-reported infant's sensorimotor and language development and mother-infant emotional availability but not newborn health or maternal postpartum mental health.

  18. Mind Matters: A Meta-Analysis on Parental Mentalization and Sensitivity as Predictors of Infant-Parent Attachment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeegers, M.A.J.; Colonnesi, C.; Stams, G.-J.J.M.; Meins, E.

    2017-01-01

    Major developments in attachment research over the past 2 decades have introduced parental mentalization as a predictor of infant-parent attachment security. Parental mentalization is the degree to which parents show frequent, coherent, or appropriate appreciation of their infants' internal states.

  19. Copenhagen infant mental health project: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial comparing circle of security –parenting and care as usual as interventions targeting infant mental health risks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mette Skovgaard Væver

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Infant mental health is a significant public health issue as early adversity and exposure to early childhood stress are significant risk factors that may have detrimental long-term developmental consequences for the affected children. Negative outcomes are seen on a range of areas such as physical and mental health, educational and labor market success, social network and establishing of family. Secure attachment is associated with optimal outcomes in all developmental domains in childhood, and both insecure and disorganized attachment are associated with a range of later problems and psychopathologies. In disadvantaged populations insecure and disorganized attachment are common, which points to the need of identifying early risk and effective methods of addressing such problems. This protocol describes an experimental evaluation of an indicated group-based parental educational program, Circle of Security–Parenting (COS-P, currently being conducted in Denmark. Methods/design In a parallel randomized controlled trial of two intervention groups this study tests the efficacy of COS-P compared to Care as Usual (CAU in enhancing maternal sensitivity and child attachment in a community sample in the City of Copenhagen, Denmark. During the project a general population of an estimated 17.600 families with an infant aged 2–12 months are screened for two known infant mental health risks, maternal postnatal depression and infant social withdrawal. Eligible families (N = 314, who agree to participate, will be randomly allocated with a ratio of 2:1 into the COS-P intervention arm and into CAU. Data will be obtained at inclusion (baseline and at follow-up when the child is 12–16 months. The primary outcome is maternal sensitivity. Secondary outcomes include quality of infant attachment, language, cognitive and socioemotional development, family functioning, parental stress, parental mentalizing and maternal mental wellbeing

  20. Creating Career Pathways and Infusing Infant Mental Health into Early Care and Education Professional Preparation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goble, Carla B.; Laurin, Deborah E.

    2016-01-01

    Infant-toddler teachers are often the first people outside of families to interact with infants on a daily basis. Through these interactions teachers can promote infant mental health, prevent problems, screen and identify infants experiencing difficulties, make referrals, and work as members of interdisciplinary intervention teams. However,…

  1. Mothers' perinatal and infant mental health knowledge in a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Objective: This paper examines maternal knowledge regarding perinatal and infant mental health amongst mothers in Alexandra township, Johannesburg. ... the denial of negative maternal affect post-birth to elevated levels of post-natal depression found amongst South African mothers parenting in adverse circumstances.

  2. THE WORLDWIDE BURDEN OF INFANT MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL DISORDER: REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE OF THE WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR INFANT MENTAL HEALTH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyons-Ruth, Karlen; Todd Manly, Jody; Von Klitzing, Kai; Tamminen, Tuula; Emde, Robert; Fitzgerald, Hiram; Paul, Campbell; Keren, Miri; Berg, Astrid; Foley, Maree; Watanabe, Hisako

    2017-11-01

    Children worldwide experience mental and emotional disorders. Mental disorders occurring among young children, especially infants (birth -3 years), often go unrecognized. Prevalence rates are difficult to determine because of lack of awareness and difficulty assessing and diagnosing young children. Existing data, however, suggest that rates of disorders in young children are comparable to those of older children and adolescents (von Klitzing, Dohnert, Kroll, & Grube, ). The lack of widespread recognition of disorders of infancy is particularly concerning due to the unique positioning of infancy as foundational in the developmental process. Both the brain and behavior are in vulnerable states of development across the first 3 years of life, with potential for enduring deviations to occur in response to early trauma and deprivation. Intervention approaches for young children require sensitivity to their developmental needs within their families. The primacy of infancy as a time of unique foundational risks for disorder, the impact of trauma and violence on young children's development, the impact of family disruption on children's attachment, and existing literature on prevalence rates of early disorders are discussed. Finally, global priorities for addressing these disorders of infancy are highlighted to support prevention and intervention actions that may alleviate suffering among our youngest world citizens. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  3. The early emergence of sociomoral evaluation: infants prefer prosocial others.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van de Vondervoort, Julia W; Hamlin, J Kiley

    2018-04-01

    Humans readily evaluate third-parties' prosocial and antisocial acts. Recent evidence reveals that this tendency emerges early in development-even preverbal infants selectively approach prosocial others and avoid antisocial ones. Rather than reflecting attraction toward or away from low-level characteristics of the displays or simple behavioral rules, infants are sensitive to characteristics of both the agents and recipients of prosocial and antisocial acts. Specifically, infants' preferences require that the recipients of positive and negative acts be social agents with clear unfulfilled goals, who have not previously harmed others. In addition, prosocial and antisocial agents must act intentionally, in the service of positive and negative goals. It is an open question whether these prosocial preferences reflect self-interested and/or moral concerns. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Family matters: infants, toddlers and preschoolers of parents affected by mental illness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kowalenko, N.M.; Mares, S.P.; Newman, L.K.; Williams, A.E.S.; Powrie, R.M.; Doesum, K.T.M. van

    2012-01-01

    One in five young people in Australia, including infants, toddlers and preschoolers, lives in a family with a parent with a mental illness.1 Families affected by mental illness are more likely than other families to experience poverty and social isolation,2 and are more likely to have children taken

  5. Effect of Early Intervention to Promote Mother - Infant Interaction and Maternal Sensitivity in Japan: A Parenting Support Program based on Infant Mental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komoto, Keiko; Hirose, Taiko; Omori, Takahide; Takeo, Naoko; Okamitsu, Motoko; Okubo, Noriko; Okawa, Hiroji

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of the Japanese Early Promotion Program (JEPP), which is based on the Infant Mental Health (IMH) program. The JEPP aims to promote mother-infant interactions by enhancing the mother's ability to respond appropriately her child. Mothers in the JEPP group (n = 15) received support from IMH nurses in a pediatric clinic until their infants reached 12 months of age. The nurses provided positive feedback that emphasized strength of parenting, and assisted the mothers in understanding the construct of their infants. Mother-infant interactions and mother's mental health status were assessed at intake (1-3 months), and at 6, 9, and 12 months of infants' age. The JEPP group data were compared with cross-sectional data of the control group (n = 120). Although JEPP dyads were not found to be significantly different from the control group in general dyadic synchrony, both before and after intervention, JEPP mothers significantly improved their ability to understand their infant's cues and to respond promptly. In the JEPP group, unresponsiveness to infants was reduced in mothers, while infants showed reduced passiveness and enhanced responsiveness to the mother. Furthermore, the intervention reduced the mothers' parenting stress and negative emotions, thereby enhancing their self-esteem.

  6. Infant-onset eczema in relation to mental health problems at age 10 years: results from a prospective birth cohort study (German Infant Nutrition Intervention plus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Jochen; Apfelbacher, Christian; Chen, Chih-Mei; Romanos, Marcel; Sausenthaler, Stefanie; Koletzko, Sibylle; Bauer, Carl-Peter; Hoffmann, Ute; Krämer, Ursula; Berdel, Dietrich; von Berg, Andrea; Wichmann, H-Erich; Heinrich, Joachim

    2010-02-01

    Cross-sectional studies suggest an association between eczema and mental health problems, but the temporal relationship is unclear. To assess the association between infant-onset eczema and mental health problems in a prospective study. Between 1995 and 1998, a birth cohort study was recruited and followed until age 10 years. Physician-diagnosed eczema, comorbidities, and a broad set of environmental exposures were assessed at age 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 10 years. First, we investigated the association between infant-onset eczema (age 1-2 years) and mental health problems at age 10 years according to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Second, we analyzed the likelihood of mental health problems at age 10 years in relation to the course of eczema. A total of 2916 infants were eligible for analysis. Compared with participants never diagnosed as having eczema, children with infant-onset eczema had a significantly increased risk for possible/probable mental health problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire total score) at age 10 years (odds ratio, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.13-1.96) and for emotional symptoms (odds ratio, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.25-2.09). Eczema limited to infancy predicted a significantly higher risk for conduct problems at age 10 years. The strength of the association between eczema and emotional problems at age 10 years increased with increasing eczema persistence. Infants with eczema are at increased risk for mental health problems at age 10 years. Even if cleared afterward, eczema at age 1 to 2 years may cause persistent emotional and behavioral difficulties. Copyright 2010 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Mind-mindedness and maternal responsiveness in infant-mother interactions in mothers with severe mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawlby, S; Fernyhough, C; Meins, E; Pariante, C M; Seneviratne, G; Bentall, R P

    2010-11-01

    Previous cross-diagnosis studies of interaction between mothers with severe mental illness and their babies have concluded that mothers with schizophrenia have deficits in interaction, but these studies have not included healthy controls. In-patients on a mother and baby unit, with diagnoses of schizophrenia (n=15), depressive mood disorders with or without psychosis (n=23), or mood disorders where mania was the predominant feature, with or without psychosis (n=12), were observed interacting with their infants on admission and discharge. Mothers' mind-mindedness and other measures of the quality of maternal and infant behaviour were coded. Findings from this sample were compared with those from healthy mothers and their infants (n=49). Compared with healthy controls, on admission depressed mothers were marginally less likely to comment appropriately on their infants' mental states. Both the depressed and mania groups were more likely to touch their babies and engage in attention-seeking behaviours. Interactional behaviours of mothers in the schizophrenia group were not markedly different from healthy controls. On discharge there were fewer differences between the clinical and healthy groups, although the depressed group continued to engage in more attention-seeking and touching behaviour and the mania group continued to touch their infants more. Only mothers in the schizophrenia group showed changes in interactional behaviours between admission and discharge, talking more to their infants. The findings challenge previous conclusions that mothers with schizophrenia have deficits in their interactions with their babies, and demonstrate that mothers with severe mental illness are able to respond appropriately to their infants' cues.

  8. [Integrative parent-infant psychotherapy for early regulatory and relationship disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papousek, Mechthild; de Chuquisengo, Ruth Wollwerth

    2006-01-01

    The author introduces both the concept and practice of Integrative Parent-Infant Psychotherapy (IPI-P), a treatment specifically designed for the most frequent developmental problems and psychological needs of infants and their parents. Based on growing knowledge from interdisciplinary infancy research, both basic and clinical, IPI-P has been developed and practised in the "Munich Interdisciplinary Research and Intervention Program" for early regulatory and relationship disorders since the early nineties. Preverbal parent-infant communication represents both the port of entry into the system and the main focus of diagnostics, developmental counselling, interaction guidance, or psychodynamic psychotherapy of distorted communication and distressed/disordered relationships. The method of videomicroanalysis during video-feedback with the parent has proven particularly efficient--while observing, reliving and working through brief episodes of recorded parent-infant interaction. The author illustrates the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with excerpts from psychotherapy of a toddler with an age-specific regulatory disorder in the context of severely distressed primary relationships.

  9. Rich micronutrient fortification of locally produced infant food does not improve mental and motor development of Zambian infants: a randomised controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manno, Daniela; Kowa, Priscilla K.; Bwalya, Hellen K.; Siame, Joshua; Grantham-McGregor, Sally; Baisley, Kathy; De Stavola, Bianca L.; Jaffar, Shabbar; Filteau, Suzanne

    2013-01-01

    It is uncertain whether multiple micronutrients benefit the mental and psychomotor development of young children in developing countries. We conducted a randomised double-blind controlled trial to evaluate the effect of a richly micronutrient-fortified v. a basal fortified porridge on mental and psychomotor development in Zambian infants. Infants (n 743) were randomised at age 6 months to receive either the richly fortified or the basal fortified infant food and were followed up until 18 months of age. All the infants were evaluated monthly for achievement of a series of developmental milestones. The Bayley scales of infant development II were administered to a subsample of 502 infants at 6, 12 and 18 months. Rich micronutrient fortification had no significant benefit on the following: (a) number of developmental milestones achieved (rate ratio at 12 months = 1·00; 95 % CI 0·96, 1·05; P=0·81, adjusted for sex, socio-economic status and maternal education, with similar results at 15 and 18 months); (b) ages of walking unsupported (hazard ratio (HR) 1·04; 95 % CI 0·88, 1·24; P=0·63, adjusted for the above covariates) and of speaking three or four clear words (HR 1·01; 95 % CI 0·84, 1·20; P=0·94, adjusted for the above covariates); (c) mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) of the Bayley scales (scores difference adjusted for baseline scores, age at the assessment, sex, socio-economic status, maternal education, language, age and HIV status: MDI 0·3 (95 % CI −0·5, 1·1), P=0·43; PDI −0·1 (95 % CI −0·9, 0·7), P=0·78). In conclusion, the results do not support the hypothesis that rich micronutrient fortification improves Zambian infants’ mental and motor development. PMID:21733297

  10. The origins of probabilistic inference in human infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denison, Stephanie; Xu, Fei

    2014-03-01

    Reasoning under uncertainty is the bread and butter of everyday life. Many areas of psychology, from cognitive, developmental, social, to clinical, are interested in how individuals make inferences and decisions with incomplete information. The ability to reason under uncertainty necessarily involves probability computations, be they exact calculations or estimations. What are the developmental origins of probabilistic reasoning? Recent work has begun to examine whether infants and toddlers can compute probabilities; however, previous experiments have confounded quantity and probability-in most cases young human learners could have relied on simple comparisons of absolute quantities, as opposed to proportions, to succeed in these tasks. We present four experiments providing evidence that infants younger than 12 months show sensitivity to probabilities based on proportions. Furthermore, infants use this sensitivity to make predictions and fulfill their own desires, providing the first demonstration that even preverbal learners use probabilistic information to navigate the world. These results provide strong evidence for a rich quantitative and statistical reasoning system in infants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Parents, Mental Illness, and the Primary Health Care of Infants and Young Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenichel, Emily, Ed.

    1993-01-01

    This bulletin issue contains five papers on the theme of adults with mental illness who are parents of very young children. "Parents, Mental Illness, and the Primary Health Care of Infants and Young Children" (John N. Constantino) offers the experience of a trainee in a combined residency in pediatrics and psychiatry, focusing on…

  12. Effect of zinc intake on mental and motor development in infants: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nissensohn, Mariela; Sánchez-Villegas, Almudena; Fuentes Lugo, Daniel; Henríquez Sánchez, Patricia; Doreste Alonso, Jorge; Skinner, Anna L; Medina, Marisol W; Lowe, Nicola M; Hall Moran, Victoria; Serra-Majem, Lluis

    2013-01-01

    A systematic review and meta-analysis of available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to evaluate the effect of zinc (Zn) intake on mental and motor development in infants. Out of 5500 studies identified through electronic searches and reference lists, 5 RCTs were selected after applying the exclusion/inclusion criteria. The influence of Zn intake on mental and motor development was considered in the overall meta-analysis. Other variables were also taken into account as possible effect modifiers: doses of Zn intake, intervention duration, nutritional situation, and risk of bias. Indices of mental and motor development assessed were the Mental Development Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Development Index (PDI). Additionally we carried out a sensitivity analysis. The pooled β was -0.01 (95 %CI -0.02, 0) for MDI and 0 (95 %CI -0.03, 0.02) for PDI, with a substantial heterogeneity in both analyses. When we performed a meta-regression, the effect of Zn supplementation on MDI changed depending on the dose of supplementation. Regarding PDI, there was a differential effect of Zn intake depending on intervention duration, dose of supplementation, nutritional situation, and risk of bias. Zn supplementation showed a negative, weak and significant effect on PDI score in those studies with a length of 4 to 20 weeks (β= -0.05; CI 95 % -0.06 to -0.04). In conclusion, no association was found between Zn intake and mental and motor development in infants. Further standardized research is urgently needed to clarify the role of Zn supplementation upon infant mental and motor development, particularly in Europe.

  13. Prenatal exposure to residential air pollution and infant mental development: modulation by antioxidants and detoxification factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guxens, Mònica; Aguilera, Inmaculada; Ballester, Ferran; Estarlich, Marisa; Fernández-Somoano, Ana; Lertxundi, Aitana; Lertxundi, Nerea; Mendez, Michelle A; Tardón, Adonina; Vrijheid, Martine; Sunyer, Jordi

    2012-01-01

    Air pollution effects on children's neurodevelopment have recently been suggested to occur most likely through the oxidative stress pathway. We aimed to assess whether prenatal exposure to residential air pollution is associated with impaired infant mental development, and whether antioxidant/detoxification factors modulate this association. In the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente (INMA; Environment and Childhood) Project, 2,644 pregnant women were recruited during their first trimester. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and benzene were measured with passive samplers covering the study areas. Land use regression models were developed for each pollutant to predict average outdoor air pollution levels for the entire pregnancy at each residential address. Maternal diet was obtained at first trimester through a validated food frequency questionnaire. Around 14 months, infant mental development was assessed using Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Among the 1,889 children included in the analysis, mean exposure during pregnancy was 29.0 μg/m3 for NO2 and 1.5 μg/m3 for benzene. Exposure to NO2 and benzene showed an inverse association with mental development, although not statistically significant, after adjusting for potential confounders [β (95% confidence interval) = -0.95 (-3.90, 1.89) and -1.57 (-3.69, 0.56), respectively, for a doubling of each compound]. Stronger inverse associations were estimated for both pollutants among infants whose mothers reported low intakes of fruits/vegetables during pregnancy [-4.13 (-7.06, -1.21) and -4.37 (-6.89, -1.86) for NO2 and benzene, respectively], with little evidence of associations in the high-intake group (interaction p-values of 0.073 and 0.047). Inverse associations were also stronger in non-breast-fed infants and infants with low maternal vitamin D, but effect estimates and interactions were not significant. Our findings suggest that prenatal exposure to residential air pollutants may adversely affect infant mental

  14. Teaching attachment behaviors to pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial of effects on infant mental health from birth to the age of three months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbarzadeh, Marzieh; Dokuhaki, Akram; Joker, Azam; Pishva, Narges; Zare, Najaf

    2016-01-01

    Maternal-fetal attachment, which forms as soon as pregnancy starts, is essential to an infant's mental development. This study aimed to explore the effect of teaching attachment behaviors to pregnant women on infant mental health from birth to 3 months of age. Randomized controlled trial. Hafiz Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from February to November 2014. The participants were randomly divided into an intervention and a control group at 28-34 weeks gestation. The participants in the intervention group attended six educational sessions each lasting for 60-90 minutes. After delivery, the infants of mothers in each group were compared in terms of mental health indexes (total mean scores and scores derived from a checklist of questions for infant mental health with results categorized as low, average and high). Maternal anxiety levels were also recorded at birth and at 3 months. Infant mental health index. In 190 pregnant women (96 in the intervention group and 94 in the control group), the total mean (SD) scores for infant mental health at birth were 16.66 (1.51) in the intervention group and 16.07 (1.74) in the control group (P=.013). At 3 months, the total mental health scores infants were 31.05 (1.88) in the intervention group and 30.25 (2.10) in the control group (P=.007). Differences in checklist scores between the groups at 3 months were not statistically significant, except for crying intensity at 3 months (P=.021). Women in the control group had higher anxiety levels at 3 months (P=.01). Teaching attachment skills to mothers increased the attachment between the mothers and their infants, and consequently, improved infant mental health. Thus, teaching attachment skills should be incorporated into routine prenatal care. Use of phone calls by the researcher to assess mental health.

  15. Mother and Infant Talk about Mental States Relates to Desire Language and Emotion Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taumoepeau, Mele; Ruffman, Ted

    2006-01-01

    This study assessed the relation between mother mental state language and child desire language and emotion understanding in 15--24-month-olds. At both times point, mothers described pictures to their infants and mother talk was coded for mental and nonmental state language. Children were administered 2 emotion understanding tasks and their mental…

  16. Stunting and wasting are associated with poorer psychomotor and mental development in HIV-exposed Tanzanian infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Christine M; Manji, Karim P; Kupka, Roland; Bellinger, David C; Spiegelman, Donna; Kisenge, Rodrick; Msamanga, Gernard; Fawzi, Wafaie W; Duggan, Christopher P

    2013-02-01

    Infants born to HIV-infected women are at increased risk of impaired neurodevelopment, but little research has attempted to identify modifiable risk factors. The objective of this prospective cohort analysis was to identify maternal, socioeconomic, and child correlates of psychomotor and mental development in the first 18 mo of life among Tanzanian infants born to HIV-infected women. We hypothesized that child HIV infection, morbidity, and undernutrition would be associated with lower developmental status when taking into consideration maternal health and socioeconomic factors. Baseline maternal characteristics were recorded during pregnancy, birth characteristics were collected immediately after delivery, infant micronutrient status was measured at 6 wk and 6 mo, and anthropometric measurements and morbidity histories were performed at monthly follow-up visits. The Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) and Mental Development Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition (BSID-II) were used to assess developmental functioning at 6, 12, and 18 mo of age. Multivariate repeated regression models with time-varying covariates were used to estimate adjusted mean MDI and PDI scores for each level of the variables. A total of 311 infants contributed ≥1 BSID-II assessments for 657 PDI and 655 MDI measurements. Of infants, 51% were male, 23% were born preterm, 7% were low birth weight, and 10% were HIV-positive at 6 wk. Preterm birth, child HIV infection, stunting, and wasting were independently associated with lower PDI and MDI scores. Strategies to lower mother-to-child transmission of HIV, prevent preterm birth, and enhance child growth could contribute to improved child psychomotor and mental development.

  17. Attachment, Mothering and Mental Illness: Mother-Infant Therapy in an Institutional Context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masciantonio, Sonia; Hemer, Susan R; Chur-Hansen, Anna

    2018-03-01

    This paper is an ethnographic exploration of how attachment theory underpins therapeutic practices in an Australian institutional context where mothers of infants have been diagnosed and are undergoing treatment for mental illness. We argue that attachment theory in this particular context rests on a series of principles or assumptions: that attachment theory is universally applicable; that attachment is dyadic and gendered; that there is an attachment template formed which can be transferred across generations and shapes future social interactions; that there is understood to be a mental health risk to the infant when attachment is characterised as problematic; and that this risk can be mitigated through the therapeutic practices advocated by the institution. Through an in-depth case study, this paper demonstrates how these assumptions cohere in practice and are used to assess mothering as deficient, to choose therapeutic options, to shape women's behaviour, and to formulate decisions about child placement.

  18. PARALLEL MODELS OF ASSESSMENT: INFANT MENTAL HEALTH AND THERAPEUTIC ASSESSMENT MODELS INTERSECT THROUGH EARLY CHILDHOOD CASE STUDIES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gart, Natalie; Zamora, Irina; Williams, Marian E

    2016-07-01

    Therapeutic Assessment (TA; S.E. Finn & M.E. Tonsager, 1997; J.D. Smith, 2010) is a collaborative, semistructured model that encourages self-discovery and meaning-making through the use of assessment as an intervention approach. This model shares core strategies with infant mental health assessment, including close collaboration with parents and caregivers, active participation of the family, a focus on developing new family stories and increasing parents' understanding of their child, and reducing isolation and increasing hope through the assessment process. The intersection of these two theoretical approaches is explored, using case studies of three infants/young children and their families to illustrate the application of TA to infant mental health. The case of an 18-month-old girl whose parents fear that she has bipolar disorder illustrates the core principles of the TA model, highlighting the use of assessment intervention sessions and the clinical approach to preparing assessment feedback. The second case follows an infant with a rare genetic syndrome from ages 2 to 24 months, focusing on the assessor-parent relationship and the importance of a developmental perspective. Finally, assessment of a 3-year-old boy illustrates the development and use of a fable as a tool to provide feedback to a young child about assessment findings and recommendations. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  19. Mental and psychomotor development in Indonesian infants of mothers supplemented with vitamin A in addition to iron during pregnancy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schmidt, M.K.; Muslimatun, S.; West, C.E.; Schultink, J.W.; Hautvast, J.G.A.J.

    2004-01-01

    Maternal nutrition is important for fetal development, but its impact on the functional outcome of infants is still unclear. The present study investigated the effects of vitamin A and Fe supplementation during gestation on infant mental and psychomotor development. Mothers of infants from five

  20. Associations between maternal hormonal biomarkers and maternal mental and physical health of very low birth weight infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    June Cho

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to determine whether maternal mental and physical health is associated with maternal testosterone and cortisol levels, parenting of very low birth weight infants, physical exercise, and White vs non-White race. A total of 40 mothers of very low birth weight infants were recruited from a neonatal intensive care unit at a University Hospital in the Southeast United States. Data were collected through a review of medical records, standardized questionnaires, and biochemical measurement. Maternal mental and physical health status using questionnaires as well as maternal testosterone and cortisol levels using an enzyme immunoassay were measured four times (birth, 40 weeks postmenstrual age [PMA], and 6 and 12 months [age of infant, corrected age]. General linear models showed that higher testosterone levels were associated with greater depressive symptoms, stress, and poorer physical health at 40 weeks PMA, and at 6 and 12 months. High cortisol levels were associated with greater anxiety at 40 weeks PMA; however, with better mental and physical health at 40 weeks PMA, and 6 and 12 months. Physical activity was associated with lower maternal perceived stress at 12 months. Maternal health did not differ by race, except anxiety, which was higher in White than non-White mothers after birth. As very low birth weight infants grew up, maternal physical health improved but mental health deteriorated. Testosterone and cortisol levels were found to be positively correlated in women but testosterone was more predictive of maternal mental and physical health than cortisol. Indeed testosterone consistently showed its associations with maternal health. Maternal stress might be improved through regular physical exercise.

  1. REFLECTING ON THE PRACTICE OF INFANT MENTAL HEALTH AND THE REDUCTION OF RISK IN INFANCY AND EARLY PARENTHOOD: AN ESSAY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weatherston, Deborah J

    2017-01-01

    This essay discusses infant mental health (IMH) as well as its origins and relational framework. The author then reflects, professionally and personally, on the meaning of psychological vulnerability of boys under 5 years of age, the importance of early caregiving relationships to the reduction of risk, and implications for education and training in the IMH field. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  2. The contribution of Australian residential early parenting centres to comprehensive mental health care for mothers of infants: evidence from a prospective study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fisher Jane RW

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Australia's public access residential early parenting services provide programs to assist parents who self-refer, to care for their infants and young children. Treatment programs target infant feeding and sleeping difficulties and maternal mental health. There is limited systematic evidence of maternal and infant mental health, psychosocial circumstances or presenting problems, or the effectiveness of the programs. The aim of this study was to contribute to the evidence base about residential early parenting services. Methods A prospective cohort design was used. A consecutive sample of mothers with infants under one year old recruited during admission to a public access residential early parenting service for a 4 or 5 night stay in Melbourne, Australia was recruited. They completed structured self-report questionnaires, incorporating standardised measures of infant behaviour and maternal mood, during admission and at one and six months after discharge. Changes in infant behaviour and maternal psychological functioning after discharge were observed. Results 79 women completed the first questionnaire during admission, and 58 provided complete data. Women admitted to the residential program have poor physical and mental health, limited family support, and infants with substantial behaviour difficulties. One month after discharge significant improvements in infant behaviour and maternal psychological functioning were observed (mean (SD daily crying and fussing during admission = 101.02 (100.8 minutes reduced to 37.7 (55.2 at one month post discharge, p Conclusions This psycho-educational approach is an effective and acceptable early intervention for parenting difficulties and maternal mood disturbance, and contributes to a system of comprehensive mental health care for mothers of infants.

  3. How crawling and manual object exploration are related to the mental rotation abilities of 9-month-old infants

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    Gudrun eSchwarzer

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The present experiment examined whether the mental rotation ability of 9-month-old infants was related to their abilities to crawl and manually explore objects. Forty-eight 9-month-old infants were tested; half of them had been crawling for an average of 9.3 weeks. The infants were habituated to a video of a simplified Shepard-Metzler object rotating back and forth through a 240° angle around the longitudinal axis of the object. They were tested with videos of the same object rotating through a previously unseen 120° angle and with a mirror image of the display. All of the infants also participated in a manual object exploration task, in which they freely explored 5 toy blocks. The results showed that the crawlers looked significantly longer at the novel (mirror object than at the familiar object, independent of their manual exploration scores. The non-crawlers looking times, in contrast, were influenced by the manual exploration scores. The infants who did not spontaneously explore the toy blocks tended to show a familiarity preference, whereas those who explored the toy blocks preferred to look at the novel object. Thus, all of the infants were able to master the mental rotation task but it seemed to be the most complex process for infants who had no crawling experience and who did not spontaneously explore objects.

  4. Infant feeding and mental and motor development at 18 months of age in first born singletons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florey, C D; Leech, A M; Blackhall, A

    1995-01-01

    To determine the relationship between type of infant feeding and mental and psychomotor development at age 18 months. A follow-up study of children born to primigravidae living in Dundee and booked into antenatal clinics in the City of Dundee (Local Authority District) from 1 May 1985 to 30 April 1986. The study population was 846 first born singletons, of whom 592 attended for developmental assessment at age 18 months. The main outcome measures were the Bayley Scales of Infant Mental and Motor Development. Higher mental development was significantly related to breast feeding on discharge from hospital and according to the health visitors' notes at about 2 weeks after discharge after allowing for partner's social class, mother's education, height, alcohol and cigarette consumption; placental weight and the child's sex, birth weight and gestational age at birth. After adjustment for statistically significant variables, the difference in Bayley mental development index between breast and bottle fed infants was between 3.7 and 5.7 units depending on the source of feeding data. No differences were found for psychomotor development or behaviour. The study provides further evidence of a robust statistical association between type of feeding and child intelligence. However, the literature is replete with suggestions for potential confounding variables which offer alternative causal explanations. To unravel what is an important clinical and public health question, further research should concentrate on randomized trials of supplemented formula feeds for children of mothers opting for bottle feeding and on epidemiological studies designed to disentangle the relation between method of feeding, parental intelligence and social environment.

  5. Admission to day stay early parenting program is associated with improvements in mental health and infant behaviour: A prospective cohort study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rowe Heather

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Australia’s Early Parenting Services support families and intervene early in mental health problems in parents. The Victorian Early Parenting Strategy, a platform for government policy recommended a stronger evidence base for early parenting services. Tweddle Child and Family Health Service (TCFHS is a not-for-profit public sector early parenting centre, which provides residential, day stay, home visiting and outreach programs. This study aimed i to examine the health, social circumstances and presenting needs of clients attending the Tweddle Day Stay Program (DSP with infants under 12 months old and ii to assess the parent mental health and infant behaviour outcomes and the factors associated with program success. Methods A cohort of clients was recruited prior to admission and followed-up 8 weeks after discharge. Data were collected using standardised measures in a study specific questionnaire at baseline, participant’s Tweddle records and a follow-up telephone interview. Health, social circumstances and presenting needs of clients were described. Changes in parents’ symptoms of depression and infants’ sleep and settling between admission and follow-up were calculated. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with changes in primary outcomes. Results Of the total 162 clients who were eligible and invited to participate, 115 (72% were recruited. Parents admitted to the DSP had worse general self-reported physical and mental health than community samples. Infants of DSP participants were no more likely to be premature or have low birth weight, but significantly more unsettled than other community samples. Participants’ mental health and their infants’ behaviours were significantly improved after DSP admission. In multivariate analysis, higher depression score at baseline and greater educational attainment were significantly associated with improvements in parents’ mental

  6. Associations between Maternal Hormonal Biomarkers and Maternal Mental and Physical Health of Very Low Birthweight Infants

    OpenAIRE

    Cho, June; Su, Xiaogang; Phillips, Vivien; Holditch-Davis, Diane

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether maternal mental and physical health is associated with maternal testosterone and cortisol levels, parenting of very low birth weight infants, physical exercise, and White vs non-White race. A total of 40 mothers of very low birth weight infants were recruited from a neonatal intensive care unit at a University Hospital in the Southeast United States. Data were collected through a review of medical records, standardized questionnaires, and bio...

  7. EXAMINING LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF AN INFANT MENTAL HEALTH HOME-BASED EARLY HEAD START PROGRAM ON FAMILY STRENGTHS AND RESILIENCE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mckelvey, Lorraine; Schiffman, Rachel F; Brophy-Herb, Holly E; Bocknek, Erika London; Fitzgerald, Hiram E; Reischl, Thomas M; Hawver, Shelley; Cunningham Deluca, Mary

    2015-01-01

    Infant Mental Health based interventions aim to promote the healthy development of infants and toddlers through promoting healthy family functioning to foster supportive relationships between the young child and his or her important caregivers. This study examined impacts of an Infant Mental Health home-based Early Head Start (IMH-HB EHS) program on family functioning. The sample includes 152 low-income families in the Midwestern United States, expectant or parenting a child younger than 1 year of age, who were randomly assigned to receive IMH-HB EHS services (n = 75) or to a comparison condition (n = 77). Mothers who received IMH-HB EHS services reported healthier psychological and family functioning, outcomes that are consistent with the IMH focus, when their children were between the ages of 3 and 7 years of age. Specifically, mothers in the IMH-HB EHS group reported healthier family functioning and relationships, better coping skills needed to advocate for their families, and less stress in the parenting role versus those in the comparison condition. The study also examined support seeking coping, some of which changed differently over time based on program group assignment. Overall, findings suggest that the gains families achieve from participating in IMH-HB EHS services are maintained after services cease. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  8. Muenster Parental Programme empowers parents in communicating with their infant with hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glanemann, Reinhild; Reichmuth, Karen; Matulat, Peter; Zehnhoff-Dinnesen, Antoinette Am

    2013-12-01

    With the implementation of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS), the age of diagnosis of children with hearing loss (HL) has been steadily declining in the past years. Consequently, there is a need for early educational intervention methods that are suitable for infants at the preverbal level. To meet this need we have developed and evaluated the Muenster Parental Programme (MPP), a responsive parenting programme for parents of children with HL aged 3-18 months. It aims at enhancing the parents' communicative skills towards their child. The MPP is introduced following confirmation of a HL. Flanked by two individual counselling sessions, the programme comprises six group sessions and two single training sessions with video feedback. The focus of the programme lies in enhancing parents' responsive behaviour and in reducing inappropriate initiative behaviour. The present study involved 29 parents of 24 children aged 6.6 (mean, range: 3-12) months at the outset of the MPP. The children's degree of HL ranged from moderate to profound. Parents of children with unilateral HL and/or risk for an additional developmental delay were included. The prospective study compared parent communication skills of a trained (N = 15) versus a control group (N = 14) before and after the MPP. For this purpose, instances of responsive behaviour to the signals of the child and total time of initiative behaviour within a 4-min video-sample were measured before and after completion of the study in both groups. Trained parents could enhance their responsiveness to vocal and preverbal signals of the child (Wilcoxon test, p = .002) and also their responsiveness to non-verbal signals (Wilcoxon test, p parents reduced their inappropriate initiative behaviour (related t-test, p parental responsiveness to infants with HL is of great importance as these early behaviours underlie later acquisition of speech, language, hearing and social communication skills. The MPP constitutes the first

  9. The lost steps of infancy: symbolization, analytic process and the growth of the self.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, Brian

    2002-07-01

    In 'The Lost Steps' the Latin American novelist Alejo Carpentier describes the search by the protagonist for the origins of music among native peoples in the Amazon jungle. This metaphor can be utilized as a way of understanding the search for the pre-verbal origins of the self in analysis. The infant's experience of the tempo and rhythmicity of the mother/infant interaction and the bathing in words and sounds of the infant by the mother are at the core of the infant's development of the self. The infant observation method (Tavistock model) will be looked at as a way of developing empathy in the analyst to better understand infantile, pre-verbal states of mind. A case vignette from an adult analysis will be utilized to illustrate the theoretical concepts.

  10. Number sense in infancy predicts mathematical abilities in childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starr, Ariel; Libertus, Melissa E; Brannon, Elizabeth M

    2013-11-05

    Human infants in the first year of life possess an intuitive sense of number. This preverbal number sense may serve as a developmental building block for the uniquely human capacity for mathematics. In support of this idea, several studies have demonstrated that nonverbal number sense is correlated with mathematical abilities in children and adults. However, there has been no direct evidence that infant numerical abilities are related to mathematical abilities later in childhood. Here, we provide evidence that preverbal number sense in infancy predicts mathematical abilities in preschool-aged children. Numerical preference scores at 6 months of age correlated with both standardized math test scores and nonsymbolic number comparison scores at 3.5 years of age, suggesting that preverbal number sense facilitates the acquisition of numerical symbols and mathematical abilities. This relationship held even after controlling for general intelligence, indicating that preverbal number sense imparts a unique contribution to mathematical ability. These results validate the many prior studies purporting to show number sense in infancy and support the hypothesis that mathematics is built upon an intuitive sense of number that predates language.

  11. Imbalances in the knowledge about infant mental health in rich and poor countries: too little progress in bridging the gap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, Mark; Bornstein, Marc H; Marlow, Marguerite; Swartz, Leslie

    2014-01-01

    The vast majority of infants are born in poor countries, but most of our knowledge about infants and children has emerged from high-income countries. In 2003, M. Tomlinson and L. Swartz conducted a survey of articles on infancy between 1996 and 2001 from major international journals, reporting that a meager 5% of articles emanated from parts of the world other than North America, Europe, or Australasia. In this article, we conducted a similar review of articles on infancy published between 2002 and 2012 to assess whether the status of cross-national research has changed in the subsequent decade. Results indicate that despite slight improvements in research output from the rest of world, only 2.3% of articles published in 11 years included data from low- and middle-income countries--where 90% of the world's infants live. These discrepancies are indicative of the progress still needed to bridge the so-called 10/90 gap (S. Saxena, G. Paraje, P. Sharan, G. Karam, & R. Sadana,) in infant mental health research. Cross-national collaboration is urgently required to ensure expansion of research production in low-resource settings. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  12. Do animals and furniture items elicit different brain responses in human infants?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeschonek, Susanna; Marinovic, Vesna; Hoehl, Stefanie; Elsner, Birgit; Pauen, Sabina

    2010-11-01

    One of the earliest categorical distinctions to be made by preverbal infants is the animate-inanimate distinction. To explore the neural basis for this distinction in 7-8-month-olds, an equal number of animal and furniture pictures was presented in an ERP-paradigm. The total of 118 pictures, all looking different from each other, were presented in a semi-randomized order for 1000ms each. Infants' brain responses to exemplars from both categories differed systematically regarding the negative central component (Nc: 400-600ms) at anterior channels. More specifically, the Nc was enhanced for animals in one subgroup of infants, and for furniture items in another subgroup of infants. Explorative analyses related to categorical priming further revealed category-specific differences in brain responses in the late time window (650-1550ms) at right frontal channels: Unprimed stimuli (preceded by a different-category item) elicited a more positive response as compared to primed stimuli (preceded by a same-category item). In sum, these findings suggest that the infant's brain discriminates exemplars from both global domains. Given the design of our task, we conclude that processes of category identification are more likely to account for our findings than processes of on-line category formation during the experimental session. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Mental and motor development before and during growth hormone treatment in infants and toddlers with Prader-Willi syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Festen, D A M; Wevers, M; Lindgren, A C; Böhm, B; Otten, B J; Wit, J M; Duivenvoorden, H J; Hokken-Koelega, A C S

    2008-06-01

    Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurogenetic disorder characterized by muscular hypotonia, psychomotor delay, feeding difficulties and failure to thrive in infancy. GH treatment improves growth velocity and body composition. Research on the effects of GH on psychomotor development in infants with PWS is limited. To evaluate psychomotor development in PWS infants and toddlers during GH treatment compared to randomized controls. Forty-three PWS infants were evaluated at baseline. Twenty-nine of them were randomized into a GH group (n = 15) receiving 1 mg/m(2)/day GH or a non-GH-treated control group (n = 14). At baseline and after 12 months of follow-up, analysis with Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID-II) was performed. Data were converted to percentage of expected development for age (%ed), and changes during follow-up were calculated. Infants in the GH group had a median age of 2.3 years [interquartile range (IQR) 1.7-3.0] and in the control group of 1.5 years (IQR 1.2-2.7) (P = 0.17). Both mental and motor development improved significantly during the first year of study in the GH group vs. the control group: median (IQR) change was +9.3% (-5.3 to 13.3) vs.-2.9% (-8.1 to 4.9) (P development and +11.2% (-4.9 to 22.5) vs.-18.5% (-27.9 to 1.8) (P development, respectively. One year of GH treatment significantly improved mental and motor development in PWS infants compared to randomized controls.

  14. Infant-Mother Attachment and Children's Friendship Quality: Maternal Mental-State Talk as an Intervening Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    McElwain, Nancy L.; Booth-Laforce, Cathryn; Wu, Xiaoying

    2011-01-01

    Utilizing data from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we investigated mothers' talk about mental states during play with their 24-month-old children as a mechanism though which infant-mother attachment was associated with children's later…

  15. Long-term mother and child mental health effects of a population-based infant sleep intervention: cluster-randomized, controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiscock, Harriet; Bayer, Jordana K; Hampton, Anne; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Wake, Melissa

    2008-09-01

    Maternal depression is an established risk for adverse child development. Two thirds of clinically significant depressive symptoms occur in mothers reporting an infant sleep problem. We aimed to determine the long-term effects of a behavioral intervention for infant sleep problems on maternal depression and parenting style, as well as on child mental health and sleep, when the children reached 2 years of age. We conducted a cluster-randomized trial in well-child centers across 6 government areas of Melbourne, Australia. Participants included 328 mothers reporting an infant sleep problem at 7 months, drawn from a population sample (N = 739) recruited at 4 months. We compared the usual well-child care (n = 154) versus a brief behavior-modification program designed to improve infant sleep (n = 174) delivered by well-child nurses at ages 8 to 10 months and measured maternal depression symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale); parenting practices (Parent Behavior Checklist); child mental health (Child Behavior Checklist); and maternal report of a sleep problem (yes or no). At 2 years, mothers in the intervention group were less likely than control mothers to report clinical depression symptoms: 15.4% vs 26.4% (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale community cut point) and 4.2% vs 13.2% (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale clinical cut point). Neither parenting style nor child mental health differed markedly between the intervention and control groups. A total of 27.3% of children in the intervention group versus 32.6% of control children had a sleep problem. The sleep intervention in infancy resulted in sustained positive effects on maternal depression symptoms and found no evidence of longer-term adverse effects on either mothers' parenting practices or children's mental health. This intervention demonstrated the capacity of a functioning primary care system to deliver effective, universally offered secondary prevention.

  16. INTERFACING INFANT MENTAL HEALTH KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: REFLECTIONS ON THE NARRATIVES OF LAY HOME VISITORS' EXPERIENCES OF LEARNING AND APPLYING RELATIONAL CONCEPTS OF DEVELOPMENT IN A SOUTH AFRICAN INTERVENTION PROGRAM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baradon, Tessa; Bain, Katherine

    2016-07-01

    The question of interfacing research and clinically generated knowledge in the field of infant mental health (IMH) with local cultural knowledge and belief systems has provoked extended discussion in recent years. This article explores convergences and divergences between current research-based, relational IMH mental health models and "community" knowledge held by a group of South African lay home visitors from a socioeconomically deprived township. These women were trained in a psychoanalytic and attachment-informed infant mental health program that promotes a relational model of infant development. They provide an intervention that supports high risk mother-infant relationships in the same locality. A two-tiered approach was taken to the analysis of the home visitor interviews and focused on the home visitors' constructed narratives of infant development posttraining as well as the personal impact of the training and work on the home visitors themselves. The study found that psychoanalytic and attachment-informed thinking about development makes sense to those operating within the local South African cultural context, but that the accommodation of this knowledge is a complex and challenging process. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  17. From Failing to Thriving: Infant Mental Health Intervention for a Nonorganic Failure to Thrive Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sipotz, Kelly

    2015-01-01

    This article describes an intense relationship between an infant mental health (IMH) specialist and a mother-daughter dyad. At intake, an 18-month-old little girl was diagnosed with failure to thrive and a chronic kidney condition, and she was at risk for protective service involvement and possible removal from the family home. The author…

  18. Desenvolvimento mental e motor aos 24 meses de crianças nascidas a termo com baixo peso Mental and motor development at 24 months of full-term low birthweight infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie Helena Eickmann

    2002-09-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo teve como objetivo comparar o desenvolvimento aos 24 meses de 152 crianças nascidas a termo, com baixo peso (The objective of this study was to compare the development at 24 months of 152 full-term infants, born with low (<2500g and appropriate birth weight (3000 to 3499g, paired in a proportion of 1:1 by sex and age. Mental and motor development were assessed through the Bayley scale. A variety of sociodemographic and environmental stimulation conditions were also assessed. The infants born with low weight had on average significantly lower mental and motor indexes than those born with appropriate weight (p<0.001, with a difference of 9.1 and 10.2 points, respectively. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that socioeconomic conditions and environmental stimulation explained 11% and 12% of the variation of mental index, and 12% and 9% of motor development, respectively. All together, they explained 23% and 21% of the variation of these indexes. Low birth weight influenced only 3% of the variation of mental index and 5% of motor index.

  19. Immigration and infant-juvenile mental health: an analysis of articles published in national Psychology journals during the 2003-2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Abarca Brown

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to describe the current state of the national publications in journals of Psychology respect to the subject of immigration, particularly mental health in infant-juvenile immigrant population. In order to do so, 1.094 articles published in six journals of Psychology in Chile during the period 2003-2013 were reviewed. Twenty-six articles on immigration were found, which were subsequently classified by: type of research, associated project, institutional support, level of analysis, targeted population, and context of study. The results indicate a low rate of publication on the subject of immigration issues, and the lack of articles on immigration and infant-juvenile mental health. Finally, it is emphasized the need for publications in Psychology to address immigration, considering socio-cultural dimensions in their analysis.

  20. Impact on infants' cognitive development of antenatal exposure to iron deficiency disorder and common mental disorders.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thach Duc Tran

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of antenatal exposure to iron deficiency anemia (IDA and common mental disorders (CMD on cognitive development of 6 months old infants in a developing country. METHODS: A prospective population-based study in a rural province in Vietnam, which enrolled pregnant women at 12-20 weeks gestation and followed them up with their infants until six months postpartum. Criteria for IDA were Hb 30 years and primiparity had an indirect adverse effect on infants' Bayley cognitive scores. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that antenatal IDA and CMD both have adverse effects on child cognitive development, which if unrecognized and unaddressed are likely to be lasting. It is crucial that both these risks are considered by policy makers, clinicians, and researchers seeking to improve child cognitive function in developing countries.

  1. EXPANDING INFANT MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT SERVICES TO AT-RISK PRESCHOOLERS AND THEIR FAMILIES THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF RELATIONAL PLAY THERAPY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farley, Jennifer L; Whipple, Ellen E

    2017-09-01

    The expansion of infant mental health (IMH) to at-risk preschoolers and their families has contributed to the integration of relational play therapy (RPT) into IMH treatment services for this population. Integrating RPT allows access to specialized play and expressive techniques specific to preschool and family development, which improves the clinical ability to meet the multiple and complex needs of at-risk parent-child dyads and their families. This article will examine the RPT literature and explore the similarities and differences between IMH and RPT. In addition, two case studies will highlight a five-phase, integrative clinical-treatment process and provide insight into how IMH clinicians are integrating RPT models and maintaining adherence to the IMH treatment approach. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  2. Mental Spatial Transformations in 14-and 16-Month-Old Infants: Effects of Action and Observational Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frick, Andrea; Wang, Su-hua

    2014-01-01

    Infants' ability to mentally track the orientation of an object during a hidden rotation was investigated (N = 28 in each experiment). A toy on a turntable was fully covered and then rotated 90°. When revealed, the toy had turned with the turntable (probable event), remained at its starting orientation (improbable event in Experiment 1), or…

  3. Breastfeeding, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in colostrum, and infant mental development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guxens, Mònica; Mendez, Michelle A; Moltó-Puigmartí, Carolina; Julvez, Jordi; García-Esteban, Raquel; Forns, Joan; Ferrer, Muriel; Vrijheid, Martine; López-Sabater, M Carmen; Sunyer, Jordi

    2011-10-01

    Breastfeeding has been associated with improved neurodevelopment in children. However, it remains unknown to what extent nutritional advantages of breast milk may explain this relationship. We assessed the role of parental psychosocial factors and colostrum long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) levels in the relationship between breastfeeding and children's neurodevelopment. A population-based birth cohort was established in the city of Sabadell (Catalonia, Spain) as part of the INMA-INfancia y Medio Ambiente Project. A total of 657 women were recruited during the first trimester of pregnancy. Information about parental characteristics and breastfeeding was obtained by using a questionnaire, and trained psychologists assessed mental and psychomotor development by using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development in 504 children at 14 months of age. A high percentage of breastfeeds among all milk feeds accumulated during the first 14 months was positively related with child mental development (0.37 points per month of full breastfeeding [95% confidence interval: 0.06-0.67]). Maternal education, social class, and intelligence quotient only partly explained this association. Children with a longer duration of breastfeeding also exposed to higher ratios between n-3 and n-6 PUFAs in colostrum had significantly higher mental scores than children with low breastfeeding duration exposed to low levels. Greater levels of accumulated breastfeeding during the first year of life were related to higher mental development at 14 months, largely independently from a wide range of parental psychosocial factors. LC-PUFA levels seem to play a beneficial role in children's mental development when breastfeeding levels are high.

  4. The Development of Louis MACRO (Mother and Child Risk Observation) Forms: Assessing Parent-Infant-Child Risk in the Presence of Maternal Mental Illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louis, Andrea; And Others

    1997-01-01

    An Australian study of 110 mother-infant dyads and 85 mother-toddler dyads in which the mothers were mentally ill evaluated the effectiveness of the Mother and Child Risk Observation (MACRO). Results found that MACRO offers a convenient framework for assessing risk and interpreting the impact of maternal mental illness upon children. (Author/CR)

  5. Maternal mental health and its association with infant growth at 6 months in ethnic groups: results from the Born-in-Bradford birth cohort study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gemma D Traviss

    Full Text Available To identify factors associated with infant growth up to 6 months, with a particular focus on maternal distress, and to explore the effect of ethnicity on any relation between maternal distress and infant growth.Cohort study recruiting White and Pakistani women in the United Kingdom (UK. Infant growth was measured at birth and 6 months. Standard assessment of mental health (GHQ-28 was undertaken in pregnancy (26-28 weeks gestation and 6 months postpartum. Modelling included social deprivation, ethnicity, and other known influences on infant growth such as maternal smoking and alcohol consumption.Maternal distress improved markedly from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum. At both times Pakistani women had more somatic and depression symptoms than White women. Depression in pregnancy (GHQ subscale D was associated with lower infant growth at 6 months. Self-reported social dysfunction in pregnancy (GHQ subscale C was associated with lower gestational age.. Pakistani women reported higher GHQ scores during pregnancy associated with smaller infants at birth. They lived in areas of higher social deprivation, reported less alcohol consumption and smoking postnatally, all independent influences on growth at 6 months.Maternal mental health in pregnancy is an independent influence on infant growth up to 6 months and is associated with ethnicity which was itself associated with deprivation in our sample. There is a complex relationship between symptoms of maternal distress, ethnicity, deprivation, health behaviours, and early infant growth. Measures should include both emotional and somatic symptoms and interventions to reduce risks of poor early growth need to include psychological and social components.

  6. Small on the Left, Large on the Right: Numbers Orient Visual Attention onto Space in Preverbal Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulf, Hermann; de Hevia, Maria Dolores; Macchi Cassia, Viola

    2016-01-01

    Numbers are represented as ordered magnitudes along a spatially oriented number line. While culture and formal education modulate the direction of this number-space mapping, it is a matter of debate whether its emergence is entirely driven by cultural experience. By registering 8-9-month-old infants' eye movements, this study shows that numerical…

  7. Mental health and well-being in parents of excessively crying infants: Prospective evaluation of a support package.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, C; Bamber, D; Long, J; Garratt, R; Brown, J; Rudge, S; Morris, T; Bhupendra Jaicim, N; Plachcinski, R; Dyson, S; Boyle, E M; St James-Roberts, I

    2018-04-17

    During the first 4 months of age, approximately 20% of infants cry a lot without an apparent reason. Most research has targeted the crying, but the impact of the crying on parents, and subsequent outcomes, need to receive equal attention. This study reports the findings from a prospective evaluation of a package of materials designed to support the well-being and mental health of parents who judge their infant to be crying excessively. The resulting "Surviving Crying" package comprised a website, printed materials, and programme of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy-based support sessions delivered to parents by a qualified practitioner. It was designed to be suitable for United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS) use. Parents were referred to the study by 12 NHS Health Visitor/Community Public Health Nurse teams in one UK East Midlands NHS Trust. Fifty-two of 57 parents of excessively crying babies received the support package and completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 anxiety questionnaire, as well as other measures, before receiving the support package and afterwards. Significant reductions in depression and anxiety were found, with numbers of parents meeting clinical criteria for depression or anxiety halving between baseline and outcome. These improvements were not explained by reductions in infant crying. Reductions also occurred in the number of parents reporting the crying to be a large or severe problem (from 28 to 3 parents) or feeling very or extremely frustrated by the crying (from 31 to 1 parent). Other findings included increases in parents' confidence, knowledge of infant crying, and improvements in parents' sleep. The findings suggest that the Surviving Crying package may be effective in supporting the well-being and mental health of parents of excessively crying babies. Further, large-scale controlled trials of the package in NHS settings are warranted. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. A randomized controlled trial comparing Circle of Security Intervention and treatment as usual as interventions to increase attachment security in infants of mentally ill mothers: Study Protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramsauer, Brigitte; Lotzin, Annett; Mühlhan, Christine; Romer, Georg; Nolte, Tobias; Fonagy, Peter; Powell, Bert

    2014-01-30

    Psychopathology in women after childbirth represents a significant risk factor for parenting and infant mental health. Regarding child development, these infants are at increased risk for developing unfavorable attachment strategies to their mothers and for subsequent behavioral, emotional and cognitive impairments throughout childhood. To date, the specific efficacy of an early attachment-based parenting group intervention under standard clinical outpatient conditions, and the moderators and mediators that promote attachment security in infants of mentally ill mothers, have been poorly evaluated. This randomized controlled clinical trial tests whether promoting attachment security in infancy with the Circle of Security (COS) Intervention will result in a higher rate of securely attached children compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Furthermore, we will determine whether the distributions of securely attached children are moderated or mediated by variations in maternal sensitivity, mentalizing, attachment representations, and psychopathology obtained at baseline and at follow-up. We plan to recruit 80 mother-infant dyads when infants are aged 4-9 months with 40 dyads being randomized to each treatment arm. Infants and mothers will be reassessed when the children are 16-18 months of age. Methodological aspects of the study are systematic recruitment and randomization, explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, research assessors and coders blinded to treatment allocation, advanced statistical analysis, manualized treatment protocols and assessments of treatment adherence and integrity. The aim of this clinical trial is to determine whether there are specific effects of an attachment-based intervention that promotes attachment security in infants. Additionally, we anticipate being able to utilize data on maternal and child outcome measures to obtain preliminary indications about potential moderators of the intervention and inform hypotheses about which intervention

  9. Fourteen-Month-Olds Adapt Their Imitative Behavior in Light of a Model’s Constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kata Gellén

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Rather than reenacting every action they observe, preverbal infants adapt their imitative behavior. Although previous studies have revealed the capability of preverbal infants to imitate selectively, the question about the adaptability of this behavior on an individual level did not attract considerable scientific attention until now. In the current study, we investigated whether 14-month-old infants flexibly alternate their imitative response in accordance with a model’s changing physical constraints in a body-part imitation paradigm. Participants were presented with two novel actions whereby a model illuminated a light-box and turned on a sound-box, either by using her forehead (head touch or by sitting on the apparatus (sit-touch. Each participant observed these tasks in two conditions: once where the model’s hands were occupied and once where her hands were free while executing the head or sit-touch. Participants were more likely to reenact the observed novel behavior when the model had freely chosen to perform it than when she had to do so due to physical constraints. Not only did we replicate a number of previous findings, we show here that preverbal infants adapt their imitative behavior across conditions based on the physical constraints of the model. These results point towards the adaptable nature of imitative behavior also on an individual level. This ability might be one of the building blocks for children for learning their social group’s specific action repertoire.

  10. Early declarative memory predicts productive language: A longitudinal study of deferred imitation and communication at 9 and 16months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundqvist, Annette; Nordqvist, Emelie; Koch, Felix-Sebastian; Heimann, Mikael

    2016-11-01

    Deferred imitation (DI) may be regarded as an early declarative-like memory ability shaping the infant's ability to learn about novelties and regularities of the surrounding world. In the current longitudinal study, infants were assessed at 9 and 16months. DI was assessed using five novel objects. Each infant's communicative development was measured by parental questionnaires. The results indicate stability in DI performance and early communicative development between 9 and 16months. The early achievers at 9months were still advanced at 16months. Results also identified a predictive relationship between the infant's gestural development at 9months and the infant's productive and receptive language at 16months. Moreover, the results show that declarative memory, measured with DI, and gestural communication at 9months independently predict productive language at 16months. These findings suggest a connection between the ability to form non-linguistic and linguistic mental representations. These results indicate that the child's DI ability when predominantly preverbal might be regarded as an early domain-general declarative memory ability underlying early productive language development. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. A Norwegian prospective study of preterm mother–infant interactions at 6 and 18 months and the impact of maternal mental health problems, pregnancy and birth complications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misund, Aud R; Bråten, Stein; Nerdrum, Per; Pripp, Are Hugo; Diseth, Trond H

    2016-01-01

    Objective Pregnancy, birth and health complications, maternal mental health problems following preterm birth and their possible impact on early mother–infant interaction at 6 and 18 months corrected age (CA) were explored. Predictors of mother–infant interaction at 18 months CA were identified. Design and methods This prospective longitudinal and observational study included 33 preterm mother–infant (interactions at 6 and 18 months CA from a socioeconomic low-risk, middle-class sample. The Parent–Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) scale was used to assess the mother–infant interaction. Results ‘Bleeding in pregnancy’ predicted lower quality in preterm mother–infant interaction in 6 PCERA scales, while high ‘maternal trait anxiety’ predicted higher interactional quality in 2 PCERA scales and ‘family size’ predicted lower interactional quality in 1 PCERA scale at 18 months CA. Mothers with symptoms of post-traumatic stress reactions, general psychological distress and anxiety at 2 weeks postpartum (PP) showed significantly better outcome than mothers without symptoms in 6 PCERA subscales at 6 months CA and 2 PCERA subscales at 18 months CA. Conclusions Our study detected a correspondence between early pregnancy complications and lower quality of preterm mother–infant interaction, and an association between high levels of maternal mental health problems and better quality in preterm mother–infant interaction. PMID:27147380

  12. A Call for Integrating a Mental Health Perspective into Systems of Care for Abused and Neglected Infants and Young Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osofsky, Joy D.; Lieberman, Alicia F.

    2011-01-01

    A system of care for abused and neglected infants and young children should adopt a comprehensive perspective, with mental health considerations systematically incorporated into policies and decisions affecting children and their families. Children age birth to 5 years have disproportionately high rates of maltreatment, with long-term consequences…

  13. Mental spatial transformations in 14- and 16-month-old infants: effects of action and observational experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frick, Andrea; Wang, Su-Hua

    2014-01-01

    Infants' ability to mentally track the orientation of an object during a hidden rotation was investigated (N = 28 in each experiment). A toy on a turntable was fully covered and then rotated 90°. When revealed, the toy had turned with the turntable (probable event), remained at its starting orientation (improbable event in Experiment 1), or turned to the opposite side (improbable event in Experiment 2). Results demonstrated a developmental progression between 14 and 16 months of age in infants' sensitivity to spatial object relations and their ability to track the orientation of an object during hidden rotation. Experiment 3 showed that 14-month-olds' performance improved with hands-on training, highlighting the role of action experience in cognitive development. © 2013 The Authors. Child Development © 2013 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

  14. The relationship between consumption of tyrosine and phenylalanine as precursors of catecholamine at breakfast and the circadian typology and mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akimitsu, Osami; Wada, Kai; Noji, Teruki; Taniwaki, Nozomi; Krejci, Milada; Nakade, Miyo; Takeuchi, Hitomi; Harada, Tetsuo

    2013-10-01

    This study aims to examine the relationship between tyrosine and phenylalanine intake at breakfast as precursors of dopamine, and scores on the Torsvall-Åkerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and of mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years. An integrated questionnaire was administered to parents of 1,367 infants attending one of ten nursery schools governed by Kochi City or a kindergarten affiliated with the Faculty of Education at Kochi University (775 answers for analysis: 56.7%) in May and June 2008. Questionnaires included the Torsvall-Åkerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and questions on sleep habits (onset, offset, quality, quantity, and so on), meal habits (content and regularity of timing), and mental health (depressive states). Amount of tyrosine and phenylalanine intake was calculated based on a breakfast content questionnaire and data on the components of amino acids in foods. Infants who ingested more than 800 mg of tyrosine or phenylalanine at breakfast per meal were more morning-type than those who ingested less than 800 mg (ANOVA: P= 0.005). However, this relationship disappeared in the ANCOVA analysis (with the covariance of tryptophan intake, P= 0.894). Infants who ingested more than 800 mg of the two amino acids at breakfast showed significantly higher mental health scores (lower frequency of depressive states) than those who ingested less than 800 mg (ANOVA: P = 0.004). This relationship remained significant when ANCOVA analysis was performed with the covariance of tryptophan (ANCOVA: P= 0.017). These results suggest that tyrosine and phenylalanine ingested at breakfast are not related with circadian phase, but are relate with mental health in infants.

  15. Impact on infants' cognitive development of antenatal exposure to iron deficiency disorder and common mental disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Thach Duc; Biggs, Beverley-Ann; Tran, Tuan; Simpson, Julie Anne; Hanieh, Sarah; Dwyer, Terence; Fisher, Jane

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effects of antenatal exposure to iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and common mental disorders (CMD) on cognitive development of 6 months old infants in a developing country. A prospective population-based study in a rural province in Vietnam, which enrolled pregnant women at 12-20 weeks gestation and followed them up with their infants until six months postpartum. Criteria for IDA were Hb cognitive development was assessed by Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd Ed. Path analyses were performed to determine the direct and indirect, partly or fully mediated, causal effects of the antenatal exposures. A total of 497 pregnant women were recruited, of those 378 women provided complete data which were included in the analyses. Statistically significant direct adverse effects of persistent antenatal IDA (estimated difference of -11.62 points; 95% CI -23.01 to -0.22) and antenatal CMD (-4.80 points; 95% CI: -9.40 to -0.20) on infant Bayley cognitive scores at six months were found. Higher birthweight, household wealth, and self-rated sufficient supply of breastmilk were associated with higher cognitive scores. Maternal age >30 years and primiparity had an indirect adverse effect on infants' Bayley cognitive scores. These findings suggest that antenatal IDA and CMD both have adverse effects on child cognitive development, which if unrecognized and unaddressed are likely to be lasting. It is crucial that both these risks are considered by policy makers, clinicians, and researchers seeking to improve child cognitive function in developing countries.

  16. A Norwegian prospective study of preterm mother-infant interactions at 6 and 18 months and the impact of maternal mental health problems, pregnancy and birth complications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misund, Aud R; Bråten, Stein; Nerdrum, Per; Pripp, Are Hugo; Diseth, Trond H

    2016-05-04

    Pregnancy, birth and health complications, maternal mental health problems following preterm birth and their possible impact on early mother-infant interaction at 6 and 18 months corrected age (CA) were explored. Predictors of mother-infant interaction at 18 months CA were identified. This prospective longitudinal and observational study included 33 preterm mother-infant (interactions at 6 and 18 months CA from a socioeconomic low-risk, middle-class sample. The Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) scale was used to assess the mother-infant interaction. 'Bleeding in pregnancy' predicted lower quality in preterm mother-infant interaction in 6 PCERA scales, while high 'maternal trait anxiety' predicted higher interactional quality in 2 PCERA scales and 'family size' predicted lower interactional quality in 1 PCERA scale at 18 months CA. Mothers with symptoms of post-traumatic stress reactions, general psychological distress and anxiety at 2 weeks postpartum (PP) showed significantly better outcome than mothers without symptoms in 6 PCERA subscales at 6 months CA and 2 PCERA subscales at 18 months CA. Our study detected a correspondence between early pregnancy complications and lower quality of preterm mother-infant interaction, and an association between high levels of maternal mental health problems and better quality in preterm mother-infant interaction. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  17. Factors associated with father involvement in infant care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falceto, Olga G; Fernandes, Carmen L; Baratojo, Claudia; Giugliani, Elsa R J

    2008-12-01

    To identify factors associated with the lack of active father involvement in infant care at four months of age. Cross-sectional study involving families of 153 infants at four months of age, interviewed in their homes by two family therapists. In addition to father involvement in infant care, sociodemographic, parental mental health (using the Self Report Questionnaire-20 scale and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV criteria assessment) and quality of couple relationship characteristics (using the Assessment of Relational Functioning from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV) were analyzed. Poisson regression was employed to assess the association between lack of father involvement in child care and the variables selected. Prevalence ratio was used to estimate the magnitude of associations. Fathers of 13% of infants had no contact with their children. Among families whose parents lived together (78% of all), 33% of the fathers reported not actively participating in their children's care. Problematic couple relationship and mother as a housewife were associated with lack of father involvement in infant care. High prevalence of families whose father is not actively involved with infant care, especially when couple relationship is problematic and the mother does not have a paid job.

  18. FOOD NEGLECT AND INFANT DEVELOPMENT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helton, Jesse J; Cross, Theodore P; Vaughn, Michael G; Gochez-Kerr, Tatiana

    2018-03-01

    The impact of food insecurity on child development in the general U.S. population is well-established, yet little is known about the harm of food neglect relative to other types of maltreatment. Due to the harmful physiological impact of inadequate nutrients and the social impact of food-related stress, it was hypothesized that food neglect would be more likely to impair infant cognitive and language development than physical abuse, sexual abuse, and other forms of neglect. Families of infants (N = 1,951) investigated by Child Protective Services were studied using the second cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II; NSCAW Research Group, 2002). Results from multivariable logistic regression models that controlled for likely confounding variables showed that the odds of impairment in cognition and language were significantly greater when food neglect was the most serious form of maltreatment. Considering that both food insecurity and child neglect are associated with poverty and parental mental health problems, it will be important for child welfare and mental health professionals to work collaboratively to better the health of these vulnerable children. © 2018 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  19. Longitudinal relations among maternal depressive symptoms, maternal mind-mindedness, and infant attachment behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigelow, Ann E; Beebe, Beatrice; Power, Michelle; Stafford, Anna-Lee; Ewing, Julie; Egleson, Anna; Kaminer, Tammy

    2018-05-01

    The relations among maternal depression risk, maternal mind-mindedness, and infants' attachment behavior were longitudinally examined in a community sample of mother-infant dyads. Maternal self-reported depression risk was measured at the infant ages of 6 weeks, 4 months, and 12 months. Maternal mind-mindedness, assessed from mothers' comments about infants' mental states (e.g., infants' thoughts, desires, or emotions), was measured during mother-infant interactions when infants were 4 months. Infants' attachment behavior was assessed at one year. Mothers' depression risk decreased over the infants' first year, with the sharpest decline between 6 weeks and 4 months. Mothers at risk for depression when infants were 6 weeks showed less appropriate mind-mindedness at 4 months. Mind-mindedness was not related to maternal depression risk at the infant age of 4 months or 12 months. Infants' degree of disorganized attachment behavior at one year was positively associated with maternal depression risk at 6 weeks and negatively associated with maternal appropriate mind-mindedness at 4 months. Mothers who are at risk for depression in their infants' early lives may be hampered in their capacity to respond appropriately to their infants' mental states. Infants with mothers who have difficulty responding appropriately to their mental states, as suggested by low appropriate mind-mindedness, may feel less known and recognized by their mothers, a key theme in the origins of disorganized attachment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The effect of maternal common mental disorders on infant undernutrition in Butajira, Ethiopia: The P-MaMiE study

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    Abdulahi Abdulreshid

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although maternal common mental disorder (CMD appears to be a risk factor for infant undernutrition in South Asian countries, the position in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA is unclear Methods A population-based cohort of 1065 women, in the third trimester of pregnancy, was identified from the demographic surveillance site (DSS in Butajira, to investigate the effect of maternal CMD on infant undernutrition in a predominantly rural Ethiopian population. Participants were interviewed at recruitment and at two months post-partum. Maternal CMD was measured using the locally validated Self-Reported Questionnaire (score of ≥ six indicating high levels of CMD. Infant anthropometry was recorded at six and twelve months of age. Result The prevalence of CMD was 12% during pregnancy and 5% at the two month postnatal time-point. In bivariate analysis antenatal CMD which had resolved after delivery predicted underweight at twelve months (OR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.50. There were no other statistically significant differences in the prevalence of underweight or stunted infants in mothers with high levels of CMD compared to those with low levels. The associations between CMD and infant nutritional status were not significant after adjusting for pre-specified potential confounders. Conclusion Our negative finding adds to the inconsistent picture emerging from SSA. The association between CMD and infant undernutrition might be modified by study methodology as well as degree of shared parenting among family members, making it difficult to extrapolate across low- and middle-income countries.

  1. Studies of extracerebral space on brain CT of infants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibakiri, Ippei; Furukawa, Takashi; Fukakusa, Shunichi; Nemoto, Yutaka; Takashima, Sumio.

    1983-01-01

    Frontal extracerebral space (ECS) is frequently noticed on brain CT of infants. Based on 70 infants whose initial CTs were available under 1 year of age and who were observed serially by brain CT, we studied the relation between degrees of ECS enlargement and mental and physical development of infants. Development was assessed by clinical observation and the mental test according to Tsumori and Inage at about 1 year of age. 1) Under 1 year of age, ECS was observed both in the normally developed infants and the infants with retarded development. At 1 year of age, CT of the former showed no or only mild widening, but most CT of the latter showed marked dilatation of ECS. 2) Serial observation of brain CT revealed that ECS of normally developed infants tended to reduce at 1 year of age, but that of infants with retarded development did not. 3) Regarding prediction of infantile development, it is important to observe presence of ECS and of the tendency to reduce on brain CT at 1 year of age. 4) Appearance of ECS of normally developed infants is considered to be a physiological phenomenon. (author)

  2. Enhancing Infant Mental Health Using a Capacity-Building Model: A Case Study of a Process Evaluation of the "Ready, Steady, Grow" Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Farrelly, Christine; Guerin, Suzanne; Victory, Gerard

    2017-01-01

    Infant mental health (IMH) is best promoted through a continuum of services underpinned by strong service capacity. However, service providers often lack fundamental IMH knowledge and skills. Using the Ready, Steady, Grow (RSG) initiative as a case study of a capacity-building model (P., Hawe, L., King, M., Noort, C., Jordens, & B., Llyod,…

  3. A home-visiting intervention targeting determinants of infant mental health: the study protocol for the CAPEDP randomized controlled trial in France

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    Tubach Florence

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Several studies suggest that the number of risk factors rather than their nature is key to mental health disorders in childhood. Method and design The objective of this multicentre randomized controlled parallel trial (PROBE methodology is to assess the impact in a multi-risk French urban sample of a home-visiting program targeting child mental health and its major determinants. This paper describes the protocol of this study. In the study, pregnant women were eligible if they were: living in the intervention area; able to speak French, less than 26 years old; having their first child; less than 27 weeks of amenorrhea; and if at least one of the following criteria were true: less than twelve years of education, intending to bring up their child without the presence of the child’s father, and 3 low income. Participants were randomized into either the intervention or the control group. All had access to usual care in mother-child centres and community mental health services free of charge in every neighbourhood. Psychologists conducted all home visits, which were planned on a weekly basis from the 7th month of pregnancy and progressively decreasing in frequency until the child’s second birthday. Principle outcome measures included child mental health at 24 months and two major mediating variables for infant mental health: postnatal maternal depression and the quality of the caring environment. A total of 440 families were recruited, of which a subsample of 120 families received specific attachment and caregiver behaviour assessment. Assessment was conducted by an independent assessment team during home visits and, for the attachment study, in a specifically created Attachment Assessment laboratory. Discussion The CAPEDP study is the first large-scale randomised, controlled infant mental health promotion programme to take place in France. A major specificity of the program was that all home visits were conducted by

  4. A home-visiting intervention targeting determinants of infant mental health: the study protocol for the CAPEDP randomized controlled trial in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tubach, Florence; Greacen, Tim; Saïas, Thomas; Dugravier, Romain; Guedeney, Nicole; Ravaud, Philippe; Tereno, Susana; Tremblay, Richard; Falissard, Bruno; Guedeney, Antoine

    2012-08-13

    Several studies suggest that the number of risk factors rather than their nature is key to mental health disorders in childhood. The objective of this multicentre randomized controlled parallel trial (PROBE methodology) is to assess the impact in a multi-risk French urban sample of a home-visiting program targeting child mental health and its major determinants. This paper describes the protocol of this study. In the study, pregnant women were eligible if they were: living in the intervention area; able to speak French, less than 26 years old; having their first child; less than 27 weeks of amenorrhea; and if at least one of the following criteria were true: less than twelve years of education, intending to bring up their child without the presence of the child's father, and 3) low income. Participants were randomized into either the intervention or the control group. All had access to usual care in mother-child centres and community mental health services free of charge in every neighbourhood. Psychologists conducted all home visits, which were planned on a weekly basis from the 7th month of pregnancy and progressively decreasing in frequency until the child's second birthday. Principle outcome measures included child mental health at 24 months and two major mediating variables for infant mental health: postnatal maternal depression and the quality of the caring environment. A total of 440 families were recruited, of which a subsample of 120 families received specific attachment and caregiver behaviour assessment. Assessment was conducted by an independent assessment team during home visits and, for the attachment study, in a specifically created Attachment Assessment laboratory. The CAPEDP study is the first large-scale randomised, controlled infant mental health promotion programme to take place in France. A major specificity of the program was that all home visits were conducted by specifically trained, supervised psychologists rather than nurses

  5. Effect of Infant Health Problem, Mother's Depression and Marital Relationship on Infant Abuse in Korea: Mediating Pathway of Marital Relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyoung-Eun Kim, PhD

    2014-06-01

    Conclusion: The findings from this study demonstrate the fundamental importance of infant health as linked to the mother's mental health, and marital relationship and increasing the quality of marital relationship may be the key to infant abuse prevention.

  6. Does infant cognition research undermine sociological theory?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerre, Jørn

    2012-01-01

    This article discusses how the results of infant research challenge the assumptions of the classical sciences of social behaviour. According to A.J. Bergesen, the findings of infant research invalidate Durkheim's theory of mental categories, thus requiring a re-theorizing of sociology. This article...... argues that Bergesen's reading of Emile Durkheim is incorrect, and his review of the infant research in fact invalidates his argument. Reviewing the assumptions of sociology in the light of the findings of infant research, it is argued that the real challenge is to formulate a research strategy...

  7. Mother-Infant and Extra-Dyadic Interactions with a New Social Partner: Developmental Trajectories of Early Social Abilities during Play.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadda, Roberta; Lucarelli, Loredana

    2017-01-01

    Mother-infant interactions during feeding and play are pivotal experiences in the development of infants' early social abilities (Stern, 1985, 1995; Biringen, 2000). Stern indicated distinctive characteristics of mother-infant interactions, respectively, during feeding and play, suggesting to evaluate both to better describe the complexity of such early affective and social experiences (Stern, 1996). Moreover, during the first years of life, infants acquire cognitive and social skills that allow them to interact with new social partners in extra-dyadic interactions. However, the relations between mother-child interactions and infants' social skills in extra-dyadic interactions are still unknown. We investigated longitudinally the relations between mother-child interactions during feeding and play and child's pre-verbal communicative abilities in extra-dyadic interactions during play. 20 dyads were evaluated at T 1 (infants aged between 9-22 months) and 6 months later, at T 2 . The interdyadic differences in mother-infant interactions during feeding and play were evaluated, respectively, with the "Feeding Scale" (Chatoor et al., 1997) and with the "Play Scale" (Chatoor, 2006) and the socio-communicative abilities of children with a new social partner during play were evaluated with the "Early Social Communication Scales" (Mundy et al., 2003). We distinguished the dyads into two categories: dyads with functional interactions (high dyadic reciprocity, low dyadic conflict) and dyads with dysfunctional interactions (lower dyadic reciprocity, higher dyadic conflict). At T 1 , infants belonging to dyads with dysfunctional interactions were significantly lower in "Initiating Joint Attention" and in "Responding to Joint Attention" in interaction with a new social partner compared to the infants belonging to dyads with functional interactions. At T 2 , infants belonging to dyads with dysfunctional interactions were significantly lower in "Initiating Social Interactions" with

  8. The eye of the begetter: predicting infant attachment disorganization from women's prenatal interpretations of infant facial expressions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Rosemary E; Tenedios, Catherine M; Laurent, Heidemarie K; Measelle, Jeffery R; Ablow, Jennifer C

    2014-01-01

    Infant-caregiver attachment disorganization has been linked to many long-term negative psychosocial outcomes. While various prevention programs appear to be effective in preventing disorganized attachment, methods currently used to identify those at risk are unfortunately either overly general or impractical. The current investigation tested whether women's prenatal biases in identifying infant expressions of emotion--tendencies previously shown to relate to some of the maternal variables associated with infant attachment, including maternal traumatization, trauma symptoms, and maternal sensitivity--could predict infant attachment classification at 18 months postpartum. Logistic regression analyses revealed that together with women's adult history of high betrayal traumatization, response concordance with a normative reference sample in labeling infant expressions as negatively valenced, and the number of infant facial expressions that participants classified as "sad" and "angry" predicted subsequent infant attachment security versus disorganization. Implications for screening and prevention are discussed. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  9. Early neurodevelopment in very low birth weight infants with mild intraventricular hemorrhage or those without intraventricular hemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Il Rak Choi

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available &lt;B&gt;Purpose:&lt;/B&gt; This study aimed to assess early development in very low birth weight (VLBW infants with mild intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH or those without IVH and to identify the perinatal morbidities affecting early neurodevelopmental outcome. &lt;B&gt;Methods:&lt;/B&gt; Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II was used for assessing neurological development in 49 infants with a birth weight &lt;1,500 g and with low grade IVH (?#167;rade II or those without IVH at a corrected age of 12 months. &lt;B&gt;Results:&lt;/B&gt; Among the 49 infants, 19 infants (38.8% showed normal development and 14 (28.6% showed abnormal mental and psychomotor development. Infants with abnormal mental development (n=14 were mostly male and had a longer hospitalization, a higher prevalence of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD, and were under more frequent postnatal systemic steroid treatment compared with infants with normal mental development (n=35, P&lt;0.05. Infants with abnormal psychomotor development (n=29 had a longer hospitalization and more associated PDA compared to infants with normal psychomotor development (n=20, P&lt;0.05. Infants with abnormal mental and psychomotor development were mostly male and had a longer hospitalization and a higher prevalence of PDA and BPD compared to infants with normal mental and psychomotor development (n=19, P&lt;0.05. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, a longer duration of hospitalization and male gender were found to be significant risk factors. &lt;B&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/B&gt; Approximately 62% of VLBW infants with low grade IVH or those without IVH had impaired early development.

  10. Attachment icebergs: Maternal and child health nurses' evaluation of infant-caregiver attachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Edith; Ridgway, Lael; Lucas, Sandra

    2016-05-01

    Secure attachment of infants to their caregiver is important when promoting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of infants. Maternal and child health (MCH) nurses are well positioned to observe the quality of interactions between infants and caregivers and to assess and intervene. However, as yet there are no approved methods to assess the emotional and mental health of infants in community settings. A qualitative descriptive study of 12 MCH nurses in Victoria, Australia, using semi-structured interviews, was thematically analysed. The data revealed that nurses used many skills to identify and manage attachment difficulties. Key among these were observations of interactions, collaboration with caregivers and reflective practice. Assessments and interventions are also influenced by nurses' emotions, attitudes and workplace factors. An unexpected finding was that attachment markers can be likened to an 'iceberg': warning indicators at the tip can be easily observed by the nurse, while the less obvious underlying factors need to be explored in order to support attachment and improve infant mental health outcomes. Education for nurses should include concepts of attachment and link behaviours with emotional wellbeing.

  11. RECOGNIZING INFANTS' EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIONS: ARE ADOLESCENTS LESS SENSITIVE TO INFANTS' CUES?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niessen, Anke; Konrad, Kerstin; Dahmen, Brigitte; Herpertz-Dahlmann, Beate; Firk, Christine

    2017-07-01

    Previous studies have shown that adolescent mothers interact less sensitively with their infants than do adult mothers. This difference might be due to developmental difficulties in the recognition of infants' emotional states in adolescents. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore differences in the recognition of infant signals between nonparous adolescent girls and boys as compared to female and male adults. To this end, we examined 54 childless adolescents and 54 childless adults (50% female). Participants were shown a series of 20 short videos of infants aged 3 to 6 months presenting different emotional states ranging from very distressed to very happy. In addition, participants were asked to report their own parental experiences using the German version, Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten (J. Schumacher, M. Eisemann, & E. Brähler, ), of the Egna Minnen Befräffande Uppfostran (Own Memories of Parental Rearing Experiences in Childhood; C. Perris, L. Jacobsson, H. Lindstrom, L. von Knorring, & H. Perris, ). Adolescents rated distressed infants as more distressed than did the adults. Furthermore, female participants rated the very distressed infants as more distressed than did male participants. These data suggest that adolescents, in general, are not impaired in recognizing infant emotional states, as compared to adults. Thus, we suggest that more extreme ratings of infant signals of discomfort together with immature sociocognitive regulation processes during adolescence might contribute to reduced sensitivity observed in adolescent mothers. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  12. Babies at Double Jeopardy: Medically Fragile Infants and Child Neglect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fullar, Suzanne A.

    2008-01-01

    Medically fragile infants, those born prematurely or with other complex medical or genetic problems, are at risk of long-term health and developmental problems. When a medically fragile infant comes home to a family with significant social problems such as domestic violence, mental illness, or substance abuse, the infant is at double jeopardy--at…

  13. Neurologic Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants Undergoing Surgery.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    2012-01-31

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between surgery in very preterm infants and brain structure at term equivalent and 2-year neurodevelopmental outcome. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 227 infants born at <30 weeks gestation or at a birth weight of <1250 g were prospectively enrolled into a longitudinal observational cohort for magnetic resonance imaging and developmental follow-up. The infants were categorized retrospectively into either a nonsurgical group (n=178) or a surgical group (n=30). Nineteen infants were excluded because of incomplete or unsuitable data. The surgical and nonsurgical groups were compared in terms of clinical demographic data, white matter injury, and brain volume at term. Neurodevelopmental outcome was assessed at age 2 years. RESULTS: Compared with the nonsurgical group, the infants in the surgical group were smaller and more growth-restricted at birth, received more respiratory support and oxygen therapy, and had longer hospital stays. They also had smaller brain volumes, particularly smaller deep nuclear gray matter volumes. Infants who underwent bowel surgery had greater white matter injury. Mental Developmental Index scores were lower in the surgical group, whereas Psychomotor Developmental Index scores did not differ between the groups. The Mental Developmental Index difference became nonsignificant after adjustment for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: Preterm infants exposed to surgery and anesthesia had greater white matter injury and smaller total brain volumes, particularly smaller deep nuclear gray matter volumes. Surgical exposure in the preterm infant should alert the clinician to an increased risk for adverse cognitive outcome.

  14. Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in pregnancy and infant neuropsychological development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, Eva; Guxens, Mònica; Llop, Sabrina; Rodríguez-Bernal, Clara L; Tardón, Adonina; Riaño, Isolina; Ibarluzea, Jesús; Lertxundi, Nerea; Espada, Mercedes; Rodriguez, Agueda; Sunyer, Jordi

    2012-10-01

    To investigate whether circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) [25(OH)D(3)] concentration in pregnancy is associated with neuropsychological development in infants. The Spanish population-based cohort study INfancia y Medio Ambiente Project recruited pregnant women during the first trimester of pregnancy between November 2003 and February 2008. Completed data on 1820 mother-infant pairs were used. Maternal plasma 25(OH)D(3) concentration was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography in pregnancy (mean 13.5 ± 2.1 weeks of gestation). Offspring mental and psychomotor scores were assessed by trained psychologists at age 14 months (range, 11-23) by using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. β-Coefficients with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of mental and psychomotor scores associated with continuous or categorical concentrations of maternal plasma 25(OH)D(3) were calculated by using linear regression analysis. The median plasma value of 25(OH)D(3) in pregnancy was 29.6 ng/mL (interquartile range, 21.8-37.3). A positive linear relationship was found between circulating concentrations of maternal 25(OH)D(3) concentrations in pregnancy and mental and psychomotor scores in the offspring. After adjustment for potential confounders, infants of mothers with 25(OH)D(3) concentrations in pregnancy >30 ng/mL showed higher mental score (β = 2.60; 95% CI 0.63-4.56) and higher psychomotor score (β = 2.32; 95% CI 0.36-4.28) in comparison with those of mothers with 25(OH)D(3) concentrations <20 ng/mL. Higher circulating concentration of maternal 25(OH)D(3) in pregnancy was associated with improved mental and psychomotor development in infants.

  15. Preschoolers' social and moral judgments of third-party helpers and hinderers align with infants' social evaluations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van de Vondervoort, Julia W; Hamlin, J Kiley

    2017-12-01

    Two experiments explored preschoolers' social preferences and moral judgments of prosocial and antisocial others. In Experiment 1, 3- to 5-year-olds (N=74) observed helping and hindering scenarios previously used to explore sociomoral evaluation in preverbal infants. Whereas 3-year-olds in Experiment 1 did not reliably distinguish between the helper and hinderer when reporting social preferences or moral judgments, both 4- and 5-year-olds preferred the helper, judged the helper to be "nicer" than the hinderer, selectively allocated punishment to the hinderer, and were able to justify their punishment allocations. A simplified procedure and the addition of comprehension questions in Experiment 2 (N=24) improved 3-year-olds' performance, suggestive that their performance in Experiment 1 was likely due to processing or memory difficulties rather than an inability to engage in explicit social and moral evaluation. These studies reveal that young children readily interpret helping and hindering scenarios as socially and morally relevant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Quality of Maternal Parenting of 9-Month-Old Infants Predicts Executive Function Performance at 2 and 3 Years of Age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nanhua Cheng

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Whereas the effects of maternal parenting quality during infants’ 2nd year on later executive function (EF have been studied extensively, less is known about the impact of maternal parenting quality during the 1st year. The aim of this study was to examine whether maternal parenting during infants’ 1st year predicted EF performance at 2 and 3 years of age in a Chinese sample. Data were collected from 96 mother-infant dyads (42 males when the infants were 6, 9, 25, and 38 months old. Cognitive development as a control variable was measured with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II at 6 months. At 9 months, three aspects of maternal parenting quality (sensitivity, mind-mindedness, and encouragement of autonomy were assessed with MBQS, mind-mindedness coding system, and encouragement of autonomy coding schema within a 15-min mother–infant interaction. Three aspects of EF (working memory, inhibitory control, and delay EF were measured at 25 and 38 months with age-appropriate tasks. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that maternal mind-mindedness had a more important effect than did the encouragement of autonomy and maternal sensitivity during infants’ preverbal period. More precisely, maternal mind-mindedness at 9 months predicted inhibitory control at 2 and 3 years, and maternal encouragement of autonomy predicted performance on delay EF tasks at 3 years, maternal sensitivity had no observed effect on children’s EF. This study suggests that maternal parenting quality during the 1st year (maternal mind-mindedness and encouragement of autonomy, but not maternal sensitivity impacts later EF development.

  17. [Categorization in infancy: differentiation of global object classes].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauen, S

    1996-01-01

    Two studies tested whether preverbal children distinguish global categories (animal and furniture) on a conceptual basis. A total of 59 eleven-month-olds solved an object examination task. During habituation, infants freely explored different natural-looking toy models from the same category. In Study 1, the same series of four different examplars was presented twice. In Study 2, ten different exemplares were presented. In both cases, a significant habituation effect could be observed. When a perceptually new object of the same category was presented on the first test trial after habituation, a significant increase in examination time from the last habituation trial to the first test trial could be observed in Study 1. When a new object of the contrasting category was presented on the second test trial, examination times increased significantly from the first to the second test trial in both studies. These results support earlier findings suggesting that preverbal infants are able to distinguish global categories on a conceptual basis.

  18. The relationship between consumption of tyrosine and phenylalanine as precursors of catecholamine at breakfast and the circadian typology and mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years

    OpenAIRE

    Akimitsu, Osami; Wada, Kai; Noji, Teruki; Taniwaki, Nozomi; Krejci, Milada; Nakade, Miyo; Takeuchi, Hitomi; Harada, Tetsuo

    2013-01-01

    Background This study aims to examine the relationship between tyrosine and phenylalanine intake at breakfast as precursors of dopamine, and scores on the Torsvall-?kerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and of mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years. Results An integrated questionnaire was administered to parents of 1,367 infants attending one of ten nursery schools governed by Kochi City or a kindergarten affiliated with the Faculty of Education at Kochi University (775 answers for analysi...

  19. Adding "Circle of Security - Parenting" to treatment as usual in three Swedish infant mental health clinics. Effects on parents' internal representations and quality of parent-infant interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Risholm Mothander, Pia; Furmark, Catarina; Neander, Kerstin

    2018-06-01

    This study presents effects of adding Circle of Security-Parenting (COS-P) to an already established comprehensive therapeutic model for early parent-child intervention in three Swedish infant mental health (IMH) clinics. Parents' internal representations and quality of parent-infant interaction were studied in a clinical sample comprised of 52 parent-infant dyads randomly allocated to two comparable groups. One group consisted of 28 dyads receiving treatment as usual (TAU) supplemented with COS-P in a small group format, and another group of 24 dyads receiving TAU only. Assessments were made at baseline (T1), 6 months after inclusion (T2) and 12 months after inclusion (T3). Changes over time were explored in 42 dyads. In the COS-P group, the proportion of balanced representations, as assessed with Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI), significantly increased between T1 and T3. Further, the proportion of emotionally available interactions, as assessed with Emotional Availability scales (EA), significantly increased over time in the COS-P group. Improvements in the TAU-group were close to significant. Limitations of the study are mainly related to the small sample size. Strength is the real world character of the study, where COS-P was implemented in a clinical context not otherwise adapted to research. We conclude by discussing the value of supplementing TAU with COS-P in IMH treatment. © 2017 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Baby Arithmetic: One Object Plus One Tone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Tessei; Hiraki, Kazuo; Mugitani, Ryoko; Hasegawa, Toshikazu

    2004-01-01

    Recent studies using a violation-of-expectation task suggest that preverbal infants are capable of recognizing basic arithmetical operations involving visual objects. There is still debate, however, over whether their performance is based on any expectation of the arithmetical operations, or on a general perceptual tendency to prefer visually…

  1. A Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial of the New Orleans Intervention for Infant Mental Health: A Study Protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Pritchett

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Child maltreatment is associated with life-long social, physical, and mental health problems. Intervening early to provide maltreated children with safe, nurturing care can improve outcomes. The need for prompt decisions about permanent placement (i.e., regarding adoption or return home is internationally recognised. However, a recent Glasgow audit showed that many maltreated children “revolve” between birth families and foster carers. This paper describes the protocol of the first exploratory randomised controlled trial of a mental health intervention aimed at improving placement permanency decisions for maltreated children. This trial compares an infant's mental health intervention with the new enhanced service as usual for maltreated children entering care in Glasgow. As both are new services, the trial is being conducted from a position of equipoise. The outcome assessment covers various fields of a child’s neurodevelopment to identify problems in any ESSENCE domain. The feasibility, reliability, and developmental appropriateness of all outcome measures are examined. Additionally, the potential for linkage with routinely collected data on health and social care and, in the future, education is explored. The results will inform a definitive randomised controlled trial that could potentially lead to long lasting benefits for the Scottish population and which may be applicable to other areas of the world. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NC01485510.

  2. Psychomotor development in infants with Prader-Willi syndrome and associations with sleep-related breathing disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Festen, Dederieke A M; Wevers, Maaike; de Weerd, Al W; van den Bossche, Renilde A S; Duivenvoorden, Hugo J; Otten, Barto J; Wit, Jan Maarten; Hokken-Koelega, Anita C S

    2007-08-01

    Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurogenetic disorder with hypotonia, psychomotor delay, obesity, short stature, and sleep-related breathing disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between psychomotor development and sleep-related breathing disorders in PWS infants. Bayley Scales of Infant Development were performed in 22 PWS infants, with a median (interquartile range, IQR) age of 1.8 (1.1-3.4) y, and a body mass index SD score (BMISDS) of -0.5 (-1.3 to 1.6). We evaluated psychomotor development in relation to results of polysomnography. Median (IQR) mental and motor development was 73.1% (64.3-79.6%) and 55.2% (46.5-63.1%) of normal children, respectively. All infants had sleep-related breathing disorders, mostly of central origin. The apnea hypopnea index was not associated with psychomotor development. Only four infants had obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). They had a significantly delayed mental development of 65.5% (60.0-70.3%) of normal. They had a median BMISDS of 1.4 (0.1-1.6), which tended to be higher than in those without OSAS. Our data indicate that psychomotor development in PWS infants is not related to central sleep-related breathing disorders, but infants with OSAS have more severely delayed mental development, suggesting that PWS infants should be screened for OSAS.

  3. Developmental Trajectories of Hand Movements in Typical Infants and Those at Risk of Developmental Disorders: An Observational Study of Kinematics during the First Year of Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Ouss

    2018-02-01

    are significantly associated with age in cohorts of typical and at-risk infantsdiffer significantly at 5–6 months of age, depending on the context: relating either with an object or a person.Environmental and developmental factors shape the developmental trajectories of hand movements in different cohorts: environment for infants with VIMs; stage of development for premature infants and those with West syndrome; and both factors for infants with orality disorders.The curvature of hand movements specifically reflects atypical development in infants with West syndrome when developmental age is considered.We aimed to discriminate between typical and atypical developmental trajectory patterns of at-risk infants in an interactive setting in this observational and longitudinal study, with the assumption that hand movements (HM reflect preverbal communication and its disorders. We examined the developmental trajectories of HM in five cohorts of at-risk infants and one control cohort, followed from ages 2 to 10 months: 25 West syndrome (WS, 13 preterm birth (PB, 16 orality disorder (OD, 14 with visually impaired mothers (VIM, 7 early hospitalization (EH, and 19 typically developing infants (TD. Video-recorded data were collected in three different structured interactive contexts. Descriptors of the hand motion were used to examine the extent to which HM were associated with age and cohort. We obtained four principal results: (i the kinematics of HM (spatial use, curvature, acceleration, and velocity were significantly associated with age in all cohorts; (ii HM significantly differed at 5–6 months of age in TD infants, depending on the context; (iii environmental and developmental factors shaped the developmental trajectories of HM in different cohorts: environment for VIM, development for PB and WS, and both factors for OD and; (iv the curvatures of HM showed atypical development in WS infants when developmental age was considered. These findings support the importance

  4. Lexical and Acoustic Features of Maternal Utterances Addressing Preverbal Infants in Picture Book Reading Link to 5-Year-Old Children's Language Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Huei-Mei

    2014-01-01

    Research Findings: I examined the long-term association between the lexical and acoustic features of maternal utterances during book reading and the language skills of infants and children. Maternal utterances were collected from 22 mother-child dyads in picture book-reading episodes when children were ages 6-12 months and 5 years. Two aspects of…

  5. [Malnutrition and cognitive development if infants in rural marginalized areas in Mexico].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrasco Quintero, María Del Refugio; Ortiz Hernández, Luis; Roldán Amaro, José Antonio; Chávez Villasana, Adolfo

    2016-01-01

    To analyze the relationship between nutritional status measured by anthropometry and the mental, psychomotor and language development of infants in marginalized rural areas of Mexico. Cross-sectional study with 576 infants aged from 7 to 26 months in four rural locations. Variables consisted of measures of anthropometric and cognitive development. Infants with short stature had a lower rate of language development, while birth weight was marginally associated with psychomotor development. Although acute malnutrition (identified by underweight) is no longer a problem in rural areas of Mexico, chronic malnutrition (expressed as stunting) is still common and is associated with alterations in mental development in the child population. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  6. Insightfulness and later infant attachment in clinically depressed and nonclinical mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramsauer, Brigitte; Lotzin, Annett; Quitmann, Julia H; Becker-Stoll, Fabienne; Tharner, Anne; Romer, Georg

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the relationship between maternal insightfulness and sensitivity and subsequent infant attachment security and disorganization in clinically depressed and nonclinical mother-infant groups. Nineteen depressed mothers with infants ages 3 to 11 months participated in this study. Twenty nonclinical mother-infant dyads were matched to the clinical sample according to infant sex and age. Maternal depression was assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), insightfulness using the Insightfulness Assessment (IA), and sensitivity using the Maternal Sensitivity Scales (M.D.S. Ainsworth, 1969). IA classifications and subscales were considered separately. Later infant attachment was assessed by the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978). Depressed mothers tended to have less securely attached children than did nonclinical mothers. Within the clinical sample, the insightfulness categories correlated slightly moderately with attachment security, but were not related to attachment disorganization. Within the nonclinical sample, the IA categories were slightly moderately associated with attachment security and with disorganization. On IA subscales, relationship patterns differed in clinically depressed and nonclinical mother-infant dyads. These findings provide the first evidence of the predictive power of the IA categorization and subscales on subsequent infant attachment. They also may allow the development of different foci of intervention for enhancing insightful caregiving. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  7. Pengaruh Pemberian Asi Eksklusif Dan Non Eksklusif Terhadap Mental Emosional Anak Usia 3-4 Tahun

    OpenAIRE

    Setyarini, Any; Mexitalia, Maria; Margawati, Ani

    2015-01-01

    Background: Breastmilk is the best food contains all the elements of required nutrients for infant aged 0-6 months, and the attachment of the breastfeeding process give better of growth and mental emotional development of the infant. Less attachment between mother and infant caused mental emotional disorders, that affect to the next period of child's development..Objective : The objective of this research was to analyze the differences of influence of exclusive breastfeeding and non exclusive...

  8. Multi-risk infants: predicting attachment security from sociodemographic, psychosocial, and health risk among African-American preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Candelaria, Margo; Teti, Douglas M; Black, Maureen M

    2011-08-01

    Ecological and transactional theories link child outcomes to accumulated risk. This study hypothesized that cumulative risk was negatively related to attachment, and that maternal sensitivity mediated linkages between risk and attachment. One hundred and twelve high-risk African-American premature infant-mother dyads participated. Psychosocial (maternal depression, stress and self-efficacy) and sociodemographic risk (poverty, maternal education, marital status) were maternal self-report (0-4 months). Infant health risk was obtained from hospital charts. Infant-mother attachment (12 months) and maternal sensitivity (4 months) were assessed with Q-sort measures. Psychosocial and sociodemographic risk, but not infant health risk, negatively related to attachment. Both were mediated by maternal sensitivity. The impact of risk domains on attachment security was mediated by maternal sensitivity. Results emphasize the need for early intervention programs targeting premature infants to identify and address environmental and personal factors that place parenting at risk. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2011 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  9. Urinary tract infections in infants and children: Diagnosis and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Joan L; Finlay, Jane C; Lang, Mia Eileen; Bortolussi, Robert

    2014-06-01

    Recent studies have resulted in major changes in the management of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children. The present statement focuses on the diagnosis and management of infants and children >2 months of age with an acute UTI and no known underlying urinary tract pathology or risk factors for a neurogenic bladder. UTI should be ruled out in preverbal children with unexplained fever and in older children with symptoms suggestive of UTI (dysuria, urinary frequency, hematuria, abdominal pain, back pain or new daytime incontinence). A midstream urine sample should be collected for urinalysis and culture in toilet-trained children; others should have urine collected by catheter or by suprapubic aspirate. UTI is unlikely if the urinalysis is completely normal. A bagged urine sample may be used for urinalysis but should not be used for urine culture. Antibiotic treatment for seven to 10 days is recommended for febrile UTI. Oral antibiotics may be offered as initial treatment when the child is not seriously ill and is likely to receive and tolerate every dose. Children UTI with a renal/bladder ultrasound to identify any significant renal abnormalities. A voiding cystourethrogram is not required for children with a first UTI unless the renal/bladder ultrasound reveals findings suggestive of vesicoureteral reflux, selected renal anomalies or obstructive uropathy.

  10. The relationship of prenatal maternal depression or anxiety to maternal caregiving behavior and infant behavior self-regulation during infant heel lance: an ethological time-based study of behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnock, Fay F; Craig, Kenneth D; Bakeman, Roger; Castral, Thaila; Mirlashari, Jila

    2016-09-07

    Sensitive and responsive maternal caregiving behavior strengthens infant self-regulatory capacities (HL), but this regulatory role may be diminished in some mothers with second-trimester prenatal exposure to depression and/ or anxiety (MDA). This study examined maternal and infant behavior during infant heel lance (HL) when mothers had or did not have MDA. Ethological methods and micro-analytic approaches capable of distinguishing and comparing time-based patterning in maternal and infant behavior were used to clarify biological mechanisms, such as MDA, that may underlie observed behavior. Aims were to examine group differences in caregiving behavior between mothers with and without MDA 5 min Pre-HL and 5 min Post-H, and relationships between MDA, maternal caregiving behavior and infant pain behavior self-regulation, concurrently. At second trimester, mothers were assessed for symptoms of mild-severe depression or anxiety. Mothers whose scores exceeded predetermined cut-off scores on one or more of the mental health measures were allocated to the MDA-exposure group, those below to the non-MDA-exposure group. Reliable observers, blinded to MDA status and study phases, coded video records of the caregiving behavior of each study mother for the full duration of the 5 min Pre-HL and 5 min Post-HL study phases. Group differences and associations between mean measures of maternal mental health scores, time-based measures of maternal behavior, and time-based measures of infant pain behavior regulation (previously coded) were concurrently analyzed using comparative and correlational statistics. MDA-exposed mothers spent significantly more time not embracing, engaging or responding to infant cues than maternal controls Pre-HL and Post-HL. MDA was associated with atypical maternal caregiving behavior, which in turn was related to atypical infant pain behavior self-regulation during and after the HL. Our findings have implication for practice. We recommend inclusion of

  11. The protective role of maternal posttraumatic growth and cognitive trauma processing among Palestinian mothers and infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diab, Safwat Y; Isosävi, Sanna; Qouta, Samir R; Kuittinen, Saija; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

    2018-02-01

    War survivors use multiple cognitive and emotional processes to protect their mental health from the negative impacts of trauma. Because mothers and infants may be especially vulnerable to trauma in conditions of war, it is urgent to determine which cognitive and emotional processes are effective for preventing negative trauma impacts." This study examined whether mothers' high posttraumatic growth (PTG) and positive posttraumatic cognitions (PTC) protected (a) their own mental health and (b) their infants' stress regulation and sensorimotor and language development from the effects of war trauma. The participants were 511 Palestinian mothers and their infants living in the Gaza strip. The mothers were interviewed in their second trimester of pregnancy (T1) as well as when the infant was four months (T2) and twelve months (T3). Mothers reported posttraumatic growth (PTG; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) at T1 and posttraumatic cognitions (PTCI; Foa et al., 1999) at T2. They also reported their exposure to traumatic war events both at T1 and T3 and described their mental health conditions (e.g., PTSD and/or depressive and dissociation symptoms) at T3. The Infant Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ) was used to measure infants' stress regulation at T2 and sensorimotor and language development at T3. The results, based on regression analyses with interaction terms between trauma and PTG, showed that high levels of traumatic war events were not associated with high levels of PTSD, depressive, or dissociation symptoms among mothers showing high levels of PTG. This suggests that PTG may protect maternal mental health from the effects of trauma. In turn, positive maternal PTCs appeared to protect the infants' stress regulation from the effects of war trauma. The study concludes by discussing ways to develop and implement preventive interventions for mother-infant dyads in war conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Marketing breastfeeding--reversing corporate influence on infant feeding practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaplan, Deborah L; Graff, Kristina M

    2008-07-01

    Breast milk is the gold standard for infant nutrition and the only necessary food for the first 6 months of an infant's life. Infant formula is deficient and inferior to breast milk in meeting infants' nutritional needs. The infant formula industry has contributed to low rates of breastfeeding through various methods of marketing and advertising infant formula. Today, in New York City, although the majority of mothers initiate breastfeeding (approximately 85%), a minority of infants is breastfed exclusively at 8 weeks postpartum (approximately 25%). The article reviews the practices of the formula industry and the impact of these practices. It then presents the strategic approach taken by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and its partners to change hospital practices and educate health care providers and the public on the benefits of breast milk, and provides lessons learned from these efforts to make breastfeeding the normative and usual method of infant feeding in New York City.

  13. Maternal mental health symptoms are positively related to emotional and restrained eating attitudes in a statewide sample of mothers participating in a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emerson, Jillian A; Hurley, Kristen M; Caulfield, Laura E; Black, Maureen M

    2017-01-01

    Postpartum, low-income mothers are at risk for mental health symptoms and obesity, and disordered eating attitudes may be associated with both mental health and obesity in this vulnerable population. The study objective is to determine whether higher levels of mental health symptoms are associated with increased odds of emotional and restrained eating attitudes in this sample of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants. Data on 711 mothers of infants Maternal mental health symptoms were measured on continuous scales for depression (PRIME-MD), stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and anxiety (Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Emotional and restrained eating attitudes were measured with questions adapted from the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. Obesity [body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30] was explored as a moderating variable. Mothers reporting higher levels of depression symptoms [odds ratio (OR) = 3.93, 95%CI: 2.71-5.69], anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.96, 95%CI: 1.47-2.65), stress symptoms (OR = 2.09, 95%CI: 1.67-2.61) and high overall mental health symptomatology (OR = 3.51, 95%CI: 2.43-5.3) had increased odds of emotional eating attitudes. There were significant associations between symptoms of depression (OR = 1.59, 95% CI: 1.12-2.25) and increased odds of restrained eating attitudes. Obesity did not moderate the association. Mothers with mental health symptoms are at risk for disordered eating attitudes, which may increase risk of poor diet. These findings underscore the need for greater focus on addressing maternal mental health status and eating attitudes in the postpartum period. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Developmentally sensitive diagnostic criteria for mental health disorders in early childhood: the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-IV, the research diagnostic criteria-preschool age, and the diagnostic classification of mental health and developmental disorders of infancy and early childhood-revised.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egger, Helen L; Emde, Robert N

    2011-01-01

    As the infant mental health field has turned its focus to the presentation, course, and treatment of clinically significant mental health disorders, the need for reliable and valid criteria for identifying and assessing mental health symptoms and disorders in early childhood has become urgent. In this article we offer a critical perspective on diagnostic classification of mental health disorders in young children. We place the issue of early childhood diagnosis within the context of classification of psychopathology at other ages and describe, in some detail, diagnostic classifications that have been developed specifically for young children, including the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:0-3R; ZERO TO THREE, 2005), a diagnostic classification for mental health symptoms and disorders in infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. We briefly outline the role of diagnostic classification in clinical assessment and treatment planning. Last, we review the limitations of current approaches to the diagnostic classification of mental health disorders in young children. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  15. Evoking communication in Rett syndrome: comparisons with conversations and games in mother-infant interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burford, B; Trevarthen, C

    1997-01-01

    Girls with Rett syndrome retain a responsiveness with care-givers that corresponds in many respects with the preverbal communication observed with normal infants. This has characteristic rhythmic patterns and phrases, mutual imitation, reciprocal emotional phases and rudimentary oral, vocal and gestural expressions. After individuals with Rett syndrome have passed the critical stage in dissolution of their attention, co-ordination and voluntary control, they retain positive orientation to human faces and eyes with smiling. Video analyses show that they can engage with rhythms and phrases of conversation, sometimes showing a sense of humour and sensitivity to playful teasing. They respond to repeated patterns of expression in rhythmic/prosodic play and to certain forms in music. It is suggested that sensitive and appropriately attuned support for the rudimentary motives for human contact that survive in Rett syndrome can help stabilisation of self-regulatory states, alleviate panic and confusion and facilitate learning. The effects of the disorder may be a consequence of a genetic fault in the elaboration of an Intrinsic Motive Formation in the reticular core of the embryo brain, leading to dysregulation of differentiation in higher cognitive systems and learning, but leaving partially intact motive principles for human intersubjective response.

  16. Developmentally Sensitive Diagnostic Criteria for Mental Health Disorders in Early Childhood: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, the Research Diagnostic Criteria-Preschool Age, and the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood-Revised

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egger, Helen L.; Emde, Robert N.

    2011-01-01

    As the infant mental health field has turned its focus to the presentation, course, and treatment of clinically significant mental health disorders, the need for reliable and valid criteria for identifying and assessing mental health symptoms and disorders in early childhood has become urgent. In this article we offer a critical perspective on…

  17. "I Didn't Think He Remembered": Healing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Infants and Toddlers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellison, James R.

    2014-01-01

    The First Steps Domestic Violence Program (First Steps) was developed to address the mental health needs of infants and toddlers entering a domestic violence shelter. When domestic violence occurs, the primary caregiver's ability to help restore a sense of safety for the infant--through regulation of the infant's emotions, sleep, arousal, and…

  18. Influence of breast-feeding on the infant's intellectual development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Temboury, M C; Otero, A; Polanco, I; Arribas, E

    1994-01-01

    The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of breast-feeding on the intellectual development of the infant, controlling for possible confounding factors. A prospective study of cohorts was carried out in a group of 229 healthy infants, studied from birth to 2 years of age. The infants were divided into two groups: group 1, 99 infants who were bottle-fed; and group 0, 130 who were breast-fed. All other characteristics in both groups were similar. Psychomotor development was measured between 18 and 29 months using the Bayley scales. Lower results on the Index of Mental Development were associated with bottle-fed infants, lower-middle and lower social class, elementary education of the mother, temper tantrums, and having siblings. Lower results on the Index of Motor Development were associated only with lower and lower-middle social class.

  19. Auditory observation of infant-directed speech by mothers: Experience-dependent interaction between language and emotion in the basal ganglia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshi-Taka eMatsuda

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Adults address infants with a special speech register known as infant-directed speech (IDS, which conveys both linguistic and emotional information through its characteristic lexicon and exaggerated prosody (e.g., higher pitched, slower, and hyperarticulated. Although caregivers are known to regulate the usage of IDS (linguistic and emotional components depending on their child’s development, the underlying neural substrates of this flexible modification are largely unknown. Here, using an auditory observation method and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI of four different groups of females, we revealed the experience-dependent influence of the emotional component on linguistic processing in the right caudate nucleus when mothers process IDS: (1 non-mothers, who do not use IDS regularly, showed no significant difference between IDS and adult-directed speech (ADS; (2 mothers with preverbal infants, who primarily use the emotional component of IDS, showed the main effect of the emotional component of IDS; (3 mothers with toddlers at the two-word stage, who use both linguistic and emotional components of IDS, showed an interaction between the linguistic and emotional components of IDS; and (4 mothers with school-age children, who use ADS rather than IDS toward their children, showed a tendency toward the main effect of ADS. The task that was most comparable to the naturalistic categories of IDS (i.e., explicit-language and implicit-emotion processing recruited the right caudate nucleus, but it was not recruited in the control, less naturalistic condition (explicit-emotion and implicit-language processing. Our results indicate that the right caudate nucleus processes experience- and task-dependent interactions between language and emotion in mothers’ IDS.

  20. [Pre-verbality in focusing and the need for self check. An attempt at "focusing check"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masui, T; Ikemi, A; Murayama, S

    1983-06-01

    Though the Focusing process is not entirely non-verbal, in Focusing, careful attention is paid by the Focuser and the Listener to the pre-verbal experiential process. In other words, Focusing involves attending to the felt sense that is not easily expressed in words immediately. Hence, during the process of learning to Focus, the Focusing teacher attempts to communicate the experiences of Focusing to the student which are not easily done by words. Due to such difficulties, the Focusing student may (and quite frequently does) mistake the experiential process in Focusing with other processes. Often, the felt sense can be confused with other phenomena such as "autogenic discharge". Also the Focuser may not stay with the felt sense and drift into "free association" or frequently, certain processes in "meditation" can be confused with Focusing. Therefore, there is a need for a "check" by which the Focusing student can confirm the Focusing experience for himself. For the Focusing student, such a "check" serves not only to confirm the Focusing process, but also an aid to learning Focusing. We will report here a "Focusing Check" which we developed by translating Eugene Gendlin's "Focusing Check" and making several modifications in it so that it will be more understandable to the Japanese. Along with the "Focusing Check" we developed, the authors discuss the need for such a check.

  1. Focusing the lens: The infant's point of view. Discussion of "Brief interventions with parents, infants, and young children: A Framework for thinking".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Brigid

    2011-11-01

    This is a discussion of the article "Brief Interventions With Parents, Infants, and Young Children: A Framework for Thinking by Louise Emmanuel." Questions of symptom formation, the difference between a defense and developmental phenomena, and different therapeutic techniques are explored from the perspective of The Baby as Subject (an infant-parent psychotherapy approach developed at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia). The relationship between feeding difficulties and the dynamics of the infant-parent attachment relationship are discussed with reference to whether the infant's apparent self-sufficiency is interpersonally generated and whether bids for autonomy are a sign of healthy, age-appropriate developmental drives at play. The use of representational toys in infant-parent psychotherapy to enable infants and toddlers to represent their experience or for the therapist to visually express what he or she understands the infant's experience to be and thus to work directly with the infant's representations is outlined. In addition to the linguistic content of verbal interpretations, the infant is receptive to the experience of another thinking mind and the emotional language, facial expressions, and gestures that also convey to the baby the experience of being understood or misunderstood. Copyright © 2011 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  2. The Ububele Baby Mat Service – A primary preventative mental ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Ububele Baby Mat Service is a community-based, parent–infant mental health intervention offered at five primary health care clinics in Alexandra Township, in Johannesburg. The aim of the intervention is to promote healthy caregiver-infant attachments. There has been a steady increase in the number of mother-baby ...

  3. THE IMPACT OF DEPRESSION ON MATERNAL RESPONSES TO INFANT FACES IN PREGNANCY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macrae, J A; Pearson, R M; Lee, R; Chauhan, D; Bennert, K; Burns, A; Baxter, H; Evans, J

    2015-01-01

    Research has suggested that prenatal depression may be associated with disrupted maternal responses to infant stimuli, with depressed pregnant women not showing the bias toward distressed infants as that observed in nondepressed pregnant women. The current study examined the effects of depression on self- reported responses to infant stimuli, in early pregnancy. Women with clinical depression (n = 38), and nondepressed women (n = 67) were recruited from a wider cognitive behavioral therapy trial. They completed Maternal Response Scales in which they were presented with images of distressed, neutral, and happy infant faces, with no time limit. The women rated their responses to these images along three dimensions--wanting to comfort, wanting to turn away, and feelings of anxiety--using Likert scales via a computerized task. There was evidence that women with depression in pregnancy showed different responses than did women without depression. Women with depression were substantially more likely to be in the highest quartile for ratings of wanting to turn away, odds (OR) ratio = 4.15, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.63-10.5, p = .003, and also were substantially less likely to be in the highest quartile for wanting to comfort a distressed infant face, OR = 0.22, 95% CIs = 0.09-0.54, p < .001. Findings are consistent with there being both a heightened avoidant and a reduced comforting response toward distressed infants in depressed pregnant women, providing some support that depression disrupts maternal preparations at a conscious level. © 2015 The Authors. Infant Mental Health Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  4. Mental Retardation: Diagnosis and Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poser, Charles M., Ed.

    A collection of writings by 17 authors, the text includes the following discussions: general principles of diagnosis and management of mental retardation, neurologic evaluation of the infant and child, psychological evaluation, educational information, and treatment of pseudoretardation, communicative disorders, and metabolic and endocrine causes.…

  5. MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH MODERATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OXYTOCIN AND INTERACTIVE BEHAVIOR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuel, Simcha; Hayton, Barbara; Gold, Ian; Feeley, Nancy; Carter, C Sue; Zelkowitz, Phyllis

    2015-01-01

    Mothers with mood or anxiety disorders exhibit less optimal interactive behavior. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been linked to more optimal interactive behaviors in mothers without mental illness, and it may play a particularly beneficial role in mothers with mood or anxiety disorders given its antidepressant and anxiolytic functions. We compared the relationship between OT and interactive behavior in mothers with and without mental health problems. Participants included 20 women diagnosed with postpartum mood or anxiety disorders (clinical sample) and 90 women with low levels of depression and anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum (community sample). At 2 months' postpartum, blood was drawn to assess maternal OT levels, and mother-infant interaction was coded for maternal sensitivity, intrusiveness, remoteness, and depressiveness. Clinical mothers exhibited less sensitive, more intrusive, and more depressive interactive behaviors than did community mothers. The groups did not differ in OT levels. Mothers with higher OT levels were less intrusive with their infants. Higher OT levels were associated with less depressive interactive behavior only in clinical mothers. OT was associated with positive interactive behaviors in both groups. In clinical mothers, the calming and soothing effects of OT may promote more relaxed, energetic, and infant-focused interactive behaviors. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  6. Attachment and caregiver-infant interaction: a review of observational-assessment tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tryphonopoulos, Panagiota D; Letourneau, Nicole; Ditommaso, Enrico

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between maternal-infant interaction and attachment quality to infant developmental outcomes has long been established. As children mature, problems stemming from troubled caregiver-infant relations may result in referral to mental health or child protection services. The accurate and appropriate assessment of attachment is critical for early recognition of problematic relations and for informing suitable treatment modalities. Evaluating the quality of attachment poses a challenge for researchers and clinicians seeking to explore the association between infant development and the quality of early caregiving experiences. Although providing a definitive answer to the question of which of these assessment procedures is the single universal standard for measuring attachment quantity is beyond the scope of this article, readers will be provided with a description and comparison of strengths and limitations of the most commonly used measures of attachment, including the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978), Attachment Q-Sort (E. Waters & K.E. Deane, 1985), Toddler Attachment Sort (TAS-45; J. Kirkland, D. Bimler, A. Drawneek, M. McKim, & A. Scholmerich, 2004), CARE-Index (P. Crittenden, 1985), Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE; E. Bronfman, E. Parsons, & K. Lyons-Ruth, 1999), Massie-Campbell Scale of Mother-Infant Attachment Indicators During Stress Scale (Attachment During Stress Scale; H.N. Massie & B.K. Campbell, 1983), and the Risky Situation Procedure (D. Paquette & M. Bigras, 2010). © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  7. Infant intersubjectivity: research, theory, and clinical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trevarthen, C; Aitken, K J

    2001-01-01

    We review research evidence on the emergence and development of active "self-and-other" awareness in infancy, and examine the importance of its motives and emotions to mental health practice with children. This relates to how communication begins and develops in infancy, how it influences the individual subject's movement, perception, and learning, and how the infant's biologically grounded self-regulation of internal state and self-conscious purposefulness is sustained through active engagement with sympathetic others. Mutual self-other-consciousness is found to play the lead role in developing a child's cooperative intelligence for cultural learning and language. A variety of preconceptions have animated rival research traditions investigating infant communication and cognition. We distinguish the concept of "intersubjectivity", and outline the history of its use in developmental research. The transforming body and brain of a human individual grows in active engagement with an environment of human factors--organic at first, then psychological or inter-mental. Adaptive, human-responsive processes are generated first by interneuronal activity within the developing brain as formation of the human embryo is regulated in a support-system of maternal tissues. Neural structures are further elaborated with the benefit of intra-uterine stimuli in the foetus, then supported in the rapidly growing forebrain and cerebellum of the young child by experience of the intuitive responses of parents and other human companions. We focus particularly on intrinsic patterns and processes in pre-natal and post-natal brain maturation that anticipate psychosocial support in infancy. The operation of an intrinsic motive formation (IMF) that developed in the core of the brain before birth is evident in the tightly integrated intermodal sensory-motor coordination of a newborn infant's orienting to stimuli and preferential learning of human signals, by the temporal coherence and intrinsic

  8. A Diagnosis of Denial: How Mental Health Classification Systems Have Struggled to Recognise Family Violence as a Serious Risk Factor in the Development of Mental Health Issues for Infants, Children, Adolescents and Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunston, Wendy; Franich-Ray, Candice; Tatlow, Sara

    2017-10-17

    Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) routinely overlook assessing for, and providing treatment to, infants and children living with family violence, despite family violence being declared endemic across the globe. As contemporary neuro-developmental research recognises the harm of being exposed to early relational trauma, key international diagnostic texts such as the DSM-5 and ICD-10 struggle to acknowledge or appreciate the relational complexities inherent in addressing family violence and its impacts during childhood. These key texts directly influence thinking, funding and research imperatives in adult services as well as CAMHS, however, they rarely reference family violence. Their emphasis is to pathologise conditions over exploring causality which may be attributable to relational violence. Consequently, CAMHS can miss important indicators of family violence, misdiagnose disorders and unwittingly, not address unacceptable risks in the child's caregiving environment. Notwithstanding urgent safety concerns, ongoing exposure to family violence significantly heightens the development of mental illness amongst children. CAMHS providers cannot and should not rely on current diagnostic manuals alone. They need to act now to see family violence as a significant and important risk factor to mental health and to treat its impacts on children before these develop into enduring neurological difficulties.

  9. A Diagnosis of Denial: How Mental Health Classification Systems Have Struggled to Recognise Family Violence as a Serious Risk Factor in the Development of Mental Health Issues for Infants, Children, Adolescents and Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wendy Bunston

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS routinely overlook assessing for, and providing treatment to, infants and children living with family violence, despite family violence being declared endemic across the globe. As contemporary neuro-developmental research recognises the harm of being exposed to early relational trauma, key international diagnostic texts such as the DSM-5 and ICD-10 struggle to acknowledge or appreciate the relational complexities inherent in addressing family violence and its impacts during childhood. These key texts directly influence thinking, funding and research imperatives in adult services as well as CAMHS, however, they rarely reference family violence. Their emphasis is to pathologise conditions over exploring causality which may be attributable to relational violence. Consequently, CAMHS can miss important indicators of family violence, misdiagnose disorders and unwittingly, not address unacceptable risks in the child’s caregiving environment. Notwithstanding urgent safety concerns, ongoing exposure to family violence significantly heightens the development of mental illness amongst children. CAMHS providers cannot and should not rely on current diagnostic manuals alone. They need to act now to see family violence as a significant and important risk factor to mental health and to treat its impacts on children before these develop into enduring neurological difficulties.

  10. Massage therapy improves the development of HIV-exposed infants living in a low socio-economic, peri-urban community of South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, E M; Carrara, H; Bourne, L; Berg, A; Swanevelder, S; Hendricks, M K

    2015-02-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the effect of massage therapy on the growth and development of infants of HIV-infected mothers in a low socio-economic community in Cape Town. It was a prospective, randomised, controlled intervention trial that included massage therapy and control groups of HIV-infected mothers and their normal birth weight infants who were enrolled in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme. Participants were recruited at the 6-week clinic visit and followed up every 2 weeks until their infants were 9 months of age. Mother-infant pairs in the massage therapy and control groups included 73 and 88 at 6 weeks and 55 and 58 at 9 months, respectively. Mothers in the intervention group were trained to massage their infants for 15 min daily. The socioeconomic status, immunity, relationship with the partner and mental pain of mothers; the infants' dietary intake, anthropometry and development (Griffiths Mental Development Scales); and haematological and iron status of mothers and infants were assessed at baseline and follow-up. Nine infants (5.3%) were HIV-infected on the HIV DNA PCR test at 6 weeks. Despite significantly higher levels of maternal mental pain, infants in the massage therapy compared to control group scored higher in all five of the Griffiths Scales of Mental Development and significantly higher in the mean quotient (p=0.002) and mean percentile (p=0.004) for the hearing and speech scale at 9 months. Based on the mean difference in scores, the massage therapy group showed greater improvement for all five scales compared to the control group. The mean difference in scores was significantly greater for the hearing and speech quotient (21.9 vs. 11.2) (pdevelopment and had a significant effect on the hearing and speech and general quotient of HIV-exposed infants in this study. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. "Idiots, infants, and the insane": mental illness and legal incompetence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szasz, T

    2005-02-01

    Prior to the second world war, most persons confined in insane asylums were regarded as legally incompetent and had guardians appointed for them. Today, most persons confined in mental hospitals (or treated involuntarily, committed to outpatient treatment) are, in law, competent; nevertheless, in fact, they are treated as if they were incompetent. Should the goal of mental health policy be providing better psychiatric services to more and more people, or the reduction and ultimate elimination of the number of persons in the population treated as mentally ill?

  12. Thinking Across Generations: Unique Contributions of Maternal Early Life and Prenatal Stress to Infant Physiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Sarah A O; Jones, Christopher W; Theall, Katherine P; Glackin, Erin; Drury, Stacy S

    2017-11-01

    Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a parasympathetic-mediated biomarker of self-regulation linked to lifespan mental and physical health outcomes. Intergenerational impacts of mothers' exposure to prenatal stress have been demonstrated, but evidence for biological embedding of maternal preconception stress, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), on infant RSA is lacking. We examine the independent effects of maternal ACEs and prenatal stress on infant RSA, seeking to broaden the understanding of the earliest origins of mental and physical health risk. Mothers reported on ACEs and prenatal stress. RSA was recorded in a sample of 167 4-month-old infants (49% female and 51% male) during a dyadic stressor, the Still Face Paradigm. Independent contributions of maternal ACEs and prenatal stress to infant RSA were observed. High maternal ACEs were associated with lower RSA, whereas prenatal stress was associated with failure to recover following the stressor. Sex but not race differences were observed. Prenatal stress was associated with higher RSA among boys but lower RSA among girls. Infants' RSA is affected by mothers' life course experiences of stress, with ACEs predicting a lower set point and prenatal stress dampening recovery from stress. For prenatal stress but not ACEs, patterns vary across sex. Findings underscore that stress-reducing interventions for pregnant women or those considering pregnancy may lead to decreased physical and mental health risk across generations. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Preterm infants fed nutrient-enriched formula until 6 months show improved growth and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Ga Won; Jung, Yu Jin; Koh, Sun Young; Lee, Yeon Kyung; Kim, Kyung Ah; Shin, Son Moon; Kim, Sung Shin; Shim, Jae Won; Chang, Yun Sil; Park, Won Soon

    2011-10-01

    The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of feeding nutrient-enriched preterm formula to preterm infants until 6 months' corrected age (CA) on growth and development in the first 18 months of life. Very low-birthweight preterm infants were fed preterm formula until term (40 weeks CA). Infants were then assigned to one of three groups and were fed term formula until 6 months' CA (group 1, n= 29); preterm formula to 3 months' CA and then term formula to 6 months' CA (group 2, n= 30); or preterm formula until 6 months' CA (group 3, n= 31). Anthropometry was performed at term, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and at s18 months' CA. Mental and psychomotor development were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II at 18 months' CA. Although body weight, length, head circumference and z score for CA at term in group 3 were significantly lower than those of groups 1 and 2, growth rates of these parameters were significantly higher in group 3 up to 18 months CA', as compared to groups 1 and 2. The mental developmental index and psychomotor developmental index of the Bayley test were not significantly different between the three groups. Very low-birthweight preterm infants fed nutrient-enriched preterm formula until 6 months' CA demonstrated significantly improved growth rates for bodyweight, length and head circumference, and comparable mental and psychomotor development throughout the first 18 months of life. © 2011 The Authors. Pediatrics International © 2011 Japan Pediatric Society.

  14. Maternal consumption of pulque, a traditional central Mexican alcoholic beverage: relationships to infant growth and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Backstrand, J R; Allen, L H; Martinez, E; Pelto, G H

    2001-08-01

    To document the consumption during pregnancy of pulque, a traditional central Mexican alcoholic beverage, and its relationship to subsequent infant size, physical growth and performance on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Prospective cohort study. Six villages in rural, central Mexico in 1984-1985. Seventy mother-infant pairs. Most women (72.9%) consumed pulque during pregnancy, and 28.6% consumed more than 150 g ethanol week(-1) from the beverage. Individuals who consumed pulque showed no compensating decrease in energy obtained from other foods. Pulque consumption possessed curvilinear relationships with both infant length (at 1 and 6 months) and Bayley mental performance (at 6 months). Heavy pulque intakes were associated with smaller infant size and poorer mental performance. In modest quantities, pulque consumption may have been beneficial due to its micronutrient content. Intakes of alcohol from pulque were common among pregnant women in these rural, central Mexican villages. Given current scientific knowledge of the adverse effects of ethanol on foetal development, public health interventions are needed to reduce heavy pulque consumption during pregnancy in some areas of rural Mexico.

  15. Perinatal nutrition in maternal mental health and child development: Birth of a pregnancy cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Brenda M Y; Giesbrecht, Gerald F; Letourneau, Nicole; Field, Catherine J; Bell, Rhonda C; Dewey, Deborah

    2016-02-01

    Mental disorders are one of the leading contributors to the global burden of disease. The Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study was initiated in 2008 to better understand perinatal environmental impacts on maternal mental health and child development. This pregnancy cohort was established to investigate the relationship between the maternal environment (e.g. nutritional status), maternal mental health status, birth outcomes, and child development. The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation of this longitudinal cohort, the data collection tools and procedures, and the background characteristics of the participants. Participants were pregnant women age 16 or older, their infants and the biological fathers. For the women, data were collected during each trimester of pregnancy and at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36months after the birth of their infant. Maternal measures included diet, stress, current mental and physical health, health history, and lifestyle. In addition, maternal biological samples (DNA, blood, urine, and spot breast milk samples) were banked. Paternal data included current mental and physical health, health history, lifestyle, and banked DNA samples. For infants, DNA and blood were collected as well as information on health, development and feeding behavior. At the end of recruitment in 2012, the APrON cohort included 2140 women, 2172 infants, and 1417 biological fathers. Descriptive statistics of the cohort, and comparison of women who stayed in the study and those who dropped out are discussed. Findings from the longitudinal cohort may have important implications for health policy and clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Left hemisphere EEG coherence in infancy predicts infant declarative pointing and preschool epistemic language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühn-Popp, N; Kristen, S; Paulus, M; Meinhardt, J; Sodian, B

    2016-01-01

    Pointing plays a central role in preverbal communication. While imperative pointing aims at influencing another person's behavior, declarative gestures serve to convey epistemic information and to share interest in an object. Further, the latter are hypothesized to be a precursor ability of epistemic language. So far, little is known about their underlying brain maturation processes. Therefore, the present study investigated the relation between brain maturation processes and the production of imperative and declarative motives as well as epistemic language in N = 32 infants. EEG coherence scores were measured at 14 months, imperative and declarative point production at 15 months and epistemic language at 48 months. Results of correlational analyses suggest distinct behavioral and neural patterns for imperative and declarative pointing, with declarative pointing being associated with the maturation of the left hemisphere. Further, EEG coherence measures of the left hemisphere at 14 months and declarative pointing at 15 months are related to individual differences in epistemic language skills at 48 months, independently of child IQ. In regression analyses, coherence measures of the left hemisphere prove to be the most important predictor of epistemic language skills. Thus, neural processes of the left hemisphere seem particularly relevant to social communication.

  17. Implementation and assessment of an early home-based intervention on infant attachment organisation: the CAPEDP attachment study in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tereno, Susana; Guedeney, Nicole; Dugravier, Romain; Greacen, Tim; Saïas, Thomas; Tubach, Florence; Guédeney, Antoine

    2013-06-01

    Attachment is a long-term emotional link between infants and their mothers. Attachment quality influences subsequent psychosocial relationships, the ability to manage stress and, consequently, later mental health. Home intervention programmes targeting infant attachment have been implemented in several contexts with varying degrees of efficacy. Within the CAPEDP study (Parental Skills and Attachment in Early Childhood: reduction of risks linked to mental health problems and promotion of resilience), a subsample of 120 families were recruited with the objective of assessing the impact of this home-visiting programme on infant attachment organisation using the Strange Situation Procedure. The present paper describes the methodology used in this ancillary study.

  18. Liaison Problems among Infant Psychiatry, Psychology, Pediatrics, Nursing, and Social Work in Infant Mental Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bry, Thea

    Discussed are attempts made by staff at the Community Mental Health Center of the New Jersey School of Medicine to develop an ongoing working relationship with pediatric neonatologists, house staff, and nursing staff in order to promote their attunement to mental health needs and obtain access to their expertise. After a description of the center…

  19. Influence of breastfeeding and iron status on mental and psychomotor development during the first year of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jardí, Cristina; Hernández-Martínez, Carmen; Canals, Josefa; Arija, Victoria; Bedmar, Cristina; Voltas, Núria; Aranda, Núria

    2018-02-01

    Breastfeeding (BF) confers numerous benefits on the developing infant in both the short and the long term including psychological development, but there are multiple other factors that must be taken into account when these relationships are studied. To analyse how breastfeeding during the first 4 months of life affects infant mental and psychomotor development (MPD) at 6 and 12 months in a group of healthy infants from a Mediterranean Spanish city considering many important potential confounds. This is a longitudinal study conducted on infants from birth until the age of 12 months. A total of 154 healthy infants were evaluated by Paediatric Unit of Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus, Spain. Type of feeding, clinical history, anthropometry, iron status and mental and psychomotor development were assessed and analysed. At 4 months, 24% of infants received BF and 26% received mixed feeding (MF). Multiple Linear Regression models were applied adjusting for potential prenatal, perinatal and postnatal confounds showing that infants who received BF for at least four months presented higher psychomotor development index (PDI) at 6 and at 12 months of age. Also, gestational age and BMI at 6m were associated positively with PDI at 6 m, and haemoglobin levels at 12m and birth height were associated with PDI and MDI at 12m (respectively). In conclusion, after the adjustment of important potential confounds, BF during at least four months and adequate infant iron status are related to better psychomotor development during the first year. No associations were found between BF and mental development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The protective role of maternal post-traumatic growth and cognitive trauma processing in Palestinian mothers and infants: a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diab, Safwat Y; Isosävi, Sanna; Qouta, Samir R; Kuittinen, Saija; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

    2018-02-21

    Women at pre partum and post partum are especially susceptible to war trauma because they struggle to protect their infants from danger. Trauma research suggests increased problems in maternal mental health and infant development. Yet many cognitive-emotional processes affect the trauma survivors' mental health, such as post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic cognition. The aim of this study was to examine whether a mother's high post-traumatic growth and optimal post-traumatic cognition could protect their own mental health and their infant's stress regulation from the effects of traumatic war experiences. This three-wave prospective study involved Palestinian women living in the Gaza Strip who were at the second trimester of pregnancy (T1), women with infants aged 4 months (T2), and women with children aged 12 months (T3) months. The participants reported their war experiences in a 30-item checklist of losses, destruction, and atrocities in the 2008-09, 2012, and 2014 military offensives. Post-traumatic growth was assessed by a 21-item scale and post-traumatic cognition by a 36-item scale. Maternal mental health was assessed by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive, anxiety, and dissociation symptoms at T1 and T3, and infants' stress regulation was assessed with the Infant Behaviour Questionnaire at T2 and T3. We included 511 women at T1, 481 women at T2, and 454 women at T3. High maternal post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic cognition had protective roles. Post-traumatic growth had a protective effect on maternal mental health since severe exposure to traumatic war experiences was not associated with maternal PTSD, depression, and dissociation if women showed high post-traumatic growth, as indicated by the significant interaction effect between post-traumatic growth and war trauma on each of the three symptoms. Post-traumatic cognition had a protective effect on infant development since severe exposure was not associated with dysfunctional

  1. On the Relation between Maternal State of Mind and Sensitivity in the Prediction of Infant Attachment Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, Leslie; Goldberg, Susan; Raval, Vaishali; Pederson, David; Benoit, Diane; Moran, Greg; Poulton, Lori; Myhal, Natalie; Zwiers, Michael; Leung, Eman

    2005-01-01

    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…

  2. Early psychomotor development of low-risk preterm infants: Influence of gestational age and gender.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romeo, Domenico M; Brogna, Claudia; Sini, Francesca; Romeo, Mario G; Cota, Francesco; Ricci, Daniela

    2016-07-01

    The influence of gestational age and gender in the neurodevelopment of infants during the first year of age is not yet fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to identify the early occurrence of neurodevelopmental differences, between very preterm, late preterm and term born infants and the possible influence of the gender on the neurodevelopment in early infancy. A total of 188 low-risk infants, 69 very preterms, 71 late-preterms, and 48 term infants were assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12 months corrected age using the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE). At two years of age infants performed the Mental Developmental Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. The main results indicate that both very preterms and late-preterms showed significant lower global scores than term born infants at each evaluation (p development of infants assessed during the first 2 years of life. Copyright © 2016 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Predictors of Haitian-American Infant Development at Twelve Months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widmayer, Susan M.; And Others

    1990-01-01

    Families in urban and rural settings were studied in an investigation of environmental influences on the development of Haitian-American infants. Birthweight and scores on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment predicted mental development. Psychomotor development was related to birthweight and household crowding. (PCB)

  4. BABY EMPATHY: INFANT DISTRESS AND PEER PROSOCIAL RESPONSES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liddle, Mitzi-Jane E; Bradley, Ben S; Mcgrath, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    Empathy is an important competence in our social world, a motivator of prosocial behavior, and thought to develop throughout the second year of life. The current study examined infants' responses to naturalistic peer distress to explore markers of empathy and prosocial behavior in young babies. Seventeen 8-month-old infants participated in a repeated measures design using the "babies-in-groups" paradigm, with maternal presence as the independent variable. Significant differences were found between response types: Gaze was the standard response to infant distress, followed by socially directed behaviors and affect, with self-distress rarely occurring. Maternal presence was not found to impact the nature or frequency of babies' responses to peer distress. During distress episodes, babies looked preferentially at the distressed peer, then other mothers, and least to their own mother. Data revealed that infant responses to peer distress resulted in a successful cessation of that distress episode over one third of the time. Case studies are provided to illustrate the quantitative data. The results provided evidence of empathic concern and prosocial behavior in the first year of life, and provoke a challenge to developmental theories of empathy. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  5. PERKEMBANGAN MENTAL BAYI DAN ANAK INDONESIA: HASIL SEANUTS INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Basuki Budiman

    2013-09-01

    MENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDONESIAN INFANTS AND CHILDREN: RESULTS OF SEANUTS INDONESIA Maternal nutrition during gestation has consequences on mental development of the offspring. The physical and mental disorders can be identified in early life. South East Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS is a multicenter nutrition study on children aged 0.5 to 12.9 years in which measurement of mental development is also included. The aim of this paper was to describe mental development of Indonesian children 0.5-5.9 years old. Denver Development Screening Test (DDST was used to identify the deviation of development. Child’s height was measured to reflect posture. Detailed study design was described by Sandjaja, et al earlier in this issue. The results revealed that total suspected of late all four development was 21.6 percent, including 11.5, 14.5, 11.8, and 15.8 percent for gross-motor development, personal social, adaptation-fine motor, and language skill, respectively. Infants were the most often detected as severe suspected of late developments (45.8%, especially for language and personal social skill. Unadjusted data revealed that there were no associations found between neuropsychological deviation (all four and posture. When it was adjusted, a significant difference was found only in 1.0-2.9 years old group. We concluded that parenting stimulation as be shown in language skill and personal-social were important risk factors.  Keyword: mental development, DDST, posture, multi-center study

  6. Neurobehaviour between birth and 40 weeks' gestation in infants born parental psychological wellbeing: predictors of brain development and child outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spittle, Alicia J; Thompson, Deanne K; Brown, Nisha C; Treyvaud, Karli; Cheong, Jeanie L Y; Lee, Katherine J; Pace, Carmen C; Olsen, Joy; Allinson, Leesa G; Morgan, Angela T; Seal, Marc; Eeles, Abbey; Judd, Fiona; Doyle, Lex W; Anderson, Peter J

    2014-04-24

    Infants born long term neurodevelopmental problems compared with term born peers. The predictive value of neurobehavioural examinations at term equivalent age in very preterm infants has been reported for subsequent impairment. Yet there is little knowledge surrounding earlier neurobehavioural development in preterm infants prior to term equivalent age, and how it relates to perinatal factors, cerebral structure, and later developmental outcomes. In addition, maternal psychological wellbeing has been associated with child development. Given the high rate of psychological distress reported by parents of preterm children, it is vital we understand maternal and paternal wellbeing in the early weeks and months after preterm birth and how this influences the parent-child relationship and children's outcomes. Therefore this study aims to examine how 1) early neurobehaviour and 2) parental mental health relate to developmental outcomes for infants born preterm compared with infants born at term. This prospective cohort study will describe the neurobehaviour of 150 infants born at term equivalent age, and explore how early neurobehavioural deficits relate to brain growth or injury determined by magnetic resonance imaging, perinatal factors, parental mental health and later developmental outcomes measured using standardised assessment tools at term, one and two years' corrected age. A control group of 150 healthy term-born infants will also be recruited for comparison of outcomes. To examine the effects of parental mental health on developmental outcomes, both parents of preterm and term-born infants will complete standardised questionnaires related to symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress at regular intervals from the first week of their child's birth until their child's second birthday. The parent-child relationship will be assessed at one and two years' corrected age. Detailing the trajectory of infant neurobehaviour and parental psychological

  7. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF INTERVENTIONS TARGETING PATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH IN THE PERINATAL PERIOD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rominov, Holly; Pilkington, Pamela D; Giallo, Rebecca; Whelan, Thomas A

    2016-05-01

    Interventions targeting parents' mental health in the perinatal period are critical due to potential consequences of perinatal mental illness for the parent, the infant, and their family. To date, most programs have targeted mothers. This systematic review explores the current status and evidence for intervention programs aiming to prevent or treat paternal mental illness in the perinatal period. Electronic databases were systematically searched to identify peer-reviewed studies that described an intervention targeting fathers' mental health in the perinatal period. Mental health outcomes included depression, anxiety, and stress as well as more general measures of psychological functioning. Eleven studies were identified. Three of five psychosocial interventions and three massage-technique interventions reported significant effects. None of the couple-based interventions reported significant effects. A number of methodological limitations were identified, including inadequate reporting of study designs, and issues with the timing of interventions. The variability in outcomes measures across the studies made it difficult to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the interventions. Father-focused interventions aimed at preventing perinatal mood problems will be improved if future studies utilize more rigorous research strategies. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  8. Selecting Effective Treatments: A Comprehensive, Systematic Guide to Treating Mental Disorders. Revised Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seligman, Linda

    This book presents an overview of the major types of mental disorders, accompanied by treatment models that are structured, comprehensive, grounded in research, and likely to be effective. Chapter topics are: (1) "Introduction to Effective Treatment Planning"; (2) "Mental Disorders in Infants, Children, and Adolescents"; (3) "Situationally…

  9. Indoor air pollution from gas cooking and infant neurodevelopment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrijheid, Martine; Martinez, David; Aguilera, Inma; Bustamante, Mariona; Ballester, Ferran; Estarlich, Marisa; Fernandez-Somoano, Ana; Guxens, Mònica; Lertxundi, Nerea; Martinez, M Dolores; Tardon, Adonina; Sunyer, Jordi

    2012-01-01

    Gas cooking is a main source of indoor air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide and particles. Because concerns are emerging for neurodevelopmental effects of air pollutants, we examined the relationship between indoor gas cooking during pregnancy and infant neurodevelopment. Pregnant mothers were recruited between 2004 and 2008 to a prospective birth cohort study (INfancia y Medio Ambiente) in Spain during the first trimester of pregnancy. Third-trimester questionnaires collected information about the use of gas appliances at home. At age 11 to 22 months, children were assessed for mental development using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Linear regression models examined the association of gas cooking and standardized mental development scores (n = 1887 mother-child pairs). Gas cookers were present in 44% of homes. Gas cooking was related to a small decrease in the mental development score compared with use of other cookers (-2.5 points [95% confidence interval = -4.0 to -0.9]) independent of social class, maternal education, and other measured potential confounders. This decrease was strongest in children tested after the age of 14 months (-3.1 points [-5.1 to -1.1]) and when gas cooking was combined with less frequent use of an extractor fan. The negative association with gas cooking was relatively consistent across strata defined by social class, education, and other covariates. This study suggests a small adverse effect of indoor air pollution from gas cookers on the mental development of young children.

  10. A Path Analysis of the Effects of Mental Health and Socio-personal Factors on Breastfeeding Problems in Infants Aged Less than Six Months

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohreh Mahmoodi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite the large number of studies conducted on breastfeeding, no studies have yet examined the direct and indirect effects of socio-personal factors and mental health on breastfeeding. Aim: This study aimed to analyze of the effects of mental health and socio-personal factors on breastfeeding in infants aged less than six months. Method: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 465 eligible mothers visiting general health centers in a northern city of Iran, in 2015. Data were collected using the researcher-made scale of socio-personal factors of breastfeeding, Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck’s Depression Inventory, Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale, the Breastfeeding Difficulties Questionnaire, the Access to Healthcare Questionnaire, and the Poor Health Behaviors Questionnaire. Results: The path analysis of the mental health variables showed that breastfeeding problems are associated through a direct path with depression, through an indirect path with stress, and through both paths with anxiety; a positive correlation was thus observed between these variables and breastfeeding problems. Poor health behaviors also contributed to mothers’ breastfeeding problems through a direct path and indirectly by affecting their level of depression. Income had the highest positive effect (B=0.66, while the number of children had the highest negative effect (B=-3.16 on breastfeeding problems through a direct path. Poor health behaviors had the highest positive effect (B=0.75 and family support had the highest negative effect (B=-0.11 on breastfeeding. Implications for Practice: The early diagnosis of poor postpartum mental health in mothers can help reduce breastfeeding problems.

  11. The development of teleological versus mentalizing observational learning strategies in infancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gergely, György

    2003-01-01

    The author introduces the concept of mentalization as a central interpretative mechanism of social reality testing. It is argued that developmentally the emergence of this mentalizing capacity to interpret other people's actions in terms of their causal intentional mind states (such as beliefs, desires, intentions, and emotions) is preceded by an earlier, nonmentalistic, teleological action interpretational system that represents others' actions in terms of their concrete and visible outcomes. Then the early psychosocial determinants of the developmental unfolding of our mentalizing capacity are considered from the points of view of attachment theory and developmental psychopathology. It is argued that, in severely dysfunctional (neglecting, abusive, and/or dissociative) caregiving environments, the development of mentalization becomes inhibited and results in a predominantly teleological, nonmentalistic interpretation of intimate attachment relationships that is a core feature of certain developmental psychopathologies such as borderline personality disorder. The normal developmental shift from a teleological to a mentalistic mode of action interpretation is illustrated in terms of recently discovered qualitative changes in imitative and observational learning styles during infancy. It is hypothesized that these changes are related to the infant's developing capacity to interpret the communicative-referential behavioral cues that frame the caregiver's infant-directed actions as signaling a cooperative and benevolent mentalistic attitude toward the baby. In closing, it is proposed that the hypothesized role of severely dysfunctional attachment environments in inhibiting the establishment of mentalization skills could be directly tested in early development in the domain of observational learning. It is predicted that differential patterns of "teleological emulation" versus "mentalistic imitative learning" will be found in infants raised in severely dysfunctional

  12. Help-seeking for early childhood mental health problems

    OpenAIRE

    Oh, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    Children's mental health has significant implications for functioning across home, school, and community settings. The infant to preschool years has been found to be a crucial stage in a child’s development. As such, problems that arise during these years are likely to impact a child’s social and emotional development if no treatment is sought. Childhood mental health problems affect up to almost one quarter of children globally (Belfer, 2008; Canino, Bird, Rubio-Stipec, & Bravo, 1995; Egger ...

  13. Caregiver Soothing Behaviors After Immunization and Infant Attachment: A Longitudinal Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillgrove-Stuart, Jessica; Pillai Riddell, Rebecca; Flora, David B; Greenberg, Saul; Garfield, Hartley

    2015-01-01

    There were 2 primary objectives to the current study: (1) to relate caregiver behavior trajectories across immunization appointments over the first year of life to subsequent infant attachment and (2) to relate caregiver behavior trajectories within each immunization appointment over the first year of life to subsequent infant attachment. A subsample of 130 caregivers and their infants were recruited from a sample of 760 caregivers who were part of an ongoing longitudinal cohort that videotaped infants' 2-, 4-, 6-, and 12-month immunization appointments. This subsample of caregivers and their infants (n = 130) were invited to participate in an assessment of attachment when infants were between 12 and 18 months of age at the local children's hospital. Caregiver proximal soothing behaviors were the only caregiver behaviors postimmunization that were related to subsequent infant attachment. Higher frequencies of caregiver proximal soothing at 12 months were related to infants' organized attachment, whereas steeper decreases in proximal soothing across the first year were associated with disorganized infant attachment. In addition, when caregivers engaged in proximal soothing for longer after their 12 month olds' immunizations, these infants were more likely to be secure or organized in their attachment. These results provide empirical support for the ecological validity of studying infant attachment in a pediatric pain context. The pediatric "well-baby" visit may provide a potential opportunity to feasibly integrate brief infant mental health screening and intervention.

  14. Influences of maternal postpartum depression on fathers and on father-infant interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Janice H

    2008-11-01

    Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) has been shown to negatively influence mother-infant interaction; however, little research has explored how fathers and father-infant interaction are affected when a mother is depressed. This study examined the influence of maternal PPD on fathers and identified maternal and paternal factors associated with father-infant interaction in families with depressed as compared with nondepressed mothers. A convenience sample of 128 mother-father-infant triads, approximately half of which included women with significant symptoms of PPD at screening, were recruited from a screening sample of 790 postpartum women. Mothers and fathers completed measures of depression, marital satisfaction, and parenting stress at 2 to 3 months' postpartum and were each videotaped interacting with their infants. Results indicate that maternal PPD is associated with increased paternal depression and higher paternal parenting stress. Partners of depressed women demonstrated less optimal interaction with their infants, indicating that fathers do not compensate for the negative effects of maternal depression on the child. Although mother-infant interaction did not influence father-infant interaction, how the mother felt about her relationship with the infant did, even more so than maternal depression. The links between maternal PPD, fathers, and father-infant interaction indicate a need for further understanding of the reciprocal influences between mothers, fathers, and infants. Copyright © 2008 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  15. Predictive validity of a service-setting-based measure to identify infancy mental health problems: a population-based cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ammitzbøll, Janni; Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Holstein, Bjørn E; Andersen, Anette; Skovgaard, Anne Mette

    2018-06-01

    Measures to identify infancy mental health problems are essential to guide interventions and reduce the risk of developmental psychopathology in early years. We investigated a new service-setting-based measure the Copenhagen Infant Mental Health Screening (CIMHS) within the general child health surveillance by community health nurses (CHN). The study population of 2973 infants was assessed by CIMHS at age 9-10 months. A subsample of 416 children was examined at age 1½ years, using parent interviews including the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1½-5), Check List of Autism and Toddlers (CHAT), Infant-Toddler Symptom Checklist (ITSCL), and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID) and observations of behavior, communication, and interaction. Child mental disorders were diagnosed according to ICD-10 and parent-child relationship disorders according to DC:0-3R. Statistical analyses included logistic regression analyses adjusted and weighted to adjust for sampling and bias. CIMHS problems of sleep, feeding and eating, emotions, attention, communication, and language were associated with an up to fivefold increased risk of child mental disorders across the diagnostic spectrum of ICD-10 diagnoses. Homo-type continuity was seen in problems of sleep and feeding and eating being associated with a threefold increased risk of disorders within the same area, OR 3.0 (95% CI 1.6-5.4) and OR 2.7 (95% CI 1.7-4.2), respectively. The sensitivity at high CIMHS problem scores was 32% and specificity 86%. In summary, CIMHS identify a broad range of infants' mental health problems that are amenable to guide intervention within the general child health surveillance.

  16. "Idiots, infants, and the insane": mental illness and legal incompetence

    OpenAIRE

    Szasz, T

    2005-01-01

    Prior to the second world war, most persons confined in insane asylums were regarded as legally incompetent and had guardians appointed for them. Today, most persons confined in mental hospitals (or treated involuntarily, committed to outpatient treatment) are, in law, competent; nevertheless, in fact, they are treated as if they were incompetent. Should the goal of mental health policy be providing better psychiatric services to more and more people, or the reduction and ultimate elimination...

  17. SAFE START: AN EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM IN A TERTIARY HEALTHCARE SETTING-A CRITICAL REVIEW.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dirani, Julien; Raad, Hala; Akoury-Dirani, Leyla

    2018-01-01

    Early childhood mental health programs are vital for the current and future mental health and brain development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Founded in 2014, Safe Start is the only early childhood mental health program in Beirut, Lebanon. It aims at being the prototype of such services at the national level. A retrospective analysis of the outcomes of the first year of operations has resulted in important findings about the age of the participants, their diagnoses, previous therapies that the participants have undergone, types of referrals recommended, and the number of participants who were lost to follow-up. This first analysis pointed at the need for more in-depth research to encompass the gaps and benefits of such services. It shows the pivotal importance of designing awareness strategies about the importance of early childhood mental health services and care; to move from a diagnostic seeking behavior to commitment to psychotherapy and follow-up interventions. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  18. Early Neurological Outcome of Young Infants Exposed to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors during Pregnancy : Results from the Observational SMOK Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, N.K.S.; van der Veere, C.N.; Reijneveld, S.A.; Bos, A.F.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) during pregnancy is common while the effect on the infant's neurological outcome is unknown. Our objective was to determine the effects of prenatal SSRI-exposure on the infants' neurological functioning, adjusted for maternal mental

  19. Pathways from Prematurity and Infant Abilities to Later Cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Susan A.; Feldman, Judith F.; Jankowski, Jeffery J.; Van Rossem, Ronan

    2005-01-01

    This study examined the relation of information processing in 7-month-old preterms ([less than] 1750g at birth) and full-terms to Bayley Mental Development Indexes (MDIs) at 2 and 3 years. The infant measures were drawn from four cognitive domains: attention, speed, memory, and representational competence. Structural equation modeling showed that…

  20. Music therapy with hospitalized infants-the art and science of communicative musicality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malloch, Stephen; Shoemark, Helen; Črnčec, Rudi; Newnham, Carol; Paul, Campbell; Prior, Margot; Coward, Sean; Burnham, Denis

    2012-07-01

    Infants seek contingent, companionable interactions with others. Infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), while receiving care that optimizes their chances of survival, often do not have the kind of interactions that are optimal for their social development. Live music therapy (MT) with infants is an intervention that aims for contingent, social interaction between therapist and infant. This study, with a limited numbers of infants, examined the effectiveness of an MT intervention in the NICU at The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. Two groups of late pre-term and full-term infants were recruited to the study; one was given MT and the other was not. A healthy group of infants not given MT served as an additional control. The effect of MT was indexed using two measures reflecting infant social engagement: the Neurobehavioral Assessment of the Preterm Infant (NAPI) and the Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB). Results suggest that the MT intervention used at The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne supports infants' neurobehavioral development. In particular, hospitalized infants who received MT were better able to maintain self-regulation during social interaction with an adult, were less irritable and cried less, and were more positive in their response to adult handling, when compared with infants who did not receive the intervention. These are important prerequisites for social interaction and development. Further and larger scale research using MT with this population is indicated. Copyright © 2012 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  1. Infant motor development in rural Vietnam and intrauterine exposures to anaemia, iron deficiency and common mental disorders: a prospective community-based study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Thach D; Tran, Tuan; Simpson, Julie A; Tran, Ha T; Nguyen, Trang T; Hanieh, Sarah; Dwyer, Terence; Biggs, Beverley-Ann; Fisher, Jane

    2014-01-08

    Antenatal anaemia, iron deficiency and common mental disorders (CMD) are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of antenatal exposures to these risks and infant motor development. A cohort of women who were pregnant with a single foetus and between 12 and 20 weeks pregnant in 50 randomly-selected rural communes in Ha Nam province was recruited. Participants provided data twice during pregnancy (early and late gestation) and twice after giving birth (8 weeks and 6 months postpartum). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used at all four data collection waves to detect CMD (score ≥ 4). Maternal anaemia (Hb anaemia was 21.5% in early pregnancy and 24.4% in late pregnancy. There was 4.1% iron deficiency at early pregnancy and 48.2% at late pregnancy. Clinically significant symptoms of CMD were apparent among 40% women in early pregnancy and 28% in late pregnancy. There were direct adverse effects on infant BSID-M scores at 6 months of age due to antenatal anaemia in late pregnancy (an estimated mean reduction of 2.61 points, 95% Confidence Interval, CI, 0.57 to 4.65) and CMD in early pregnancy (7.13 points, 95% CI 3.13 to 11.13). Iron deficiency and anaemia in early pregnancy were indirectly related to the outcome via anaemia during late pregnancy. Antenatal anaemia, iron deficiency, and CMD have a negative impact on subsequent infant motor development. These findings highlight the need to improve the quality of antenatal care when developing interventions for pregnant women that aim to optimise early childhood development in low- and middle-income countries.

  2. Clinical characteristics and mental health outcomes for women admitted to an Australian Mother-Baby Unit: a focus on borderline personality disorder and emotional dysregulation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yelland, Chris; Girke, Teresa; Tottman, Charlotte; Williams, Anne Sved

    2015-12-01

    To describe the clinical population of women admitted to a Mother-Baby Unit in Adelaide, South Australia and to evaluate changes during admission in both Axes I and II diagnoses of maternal mental health, and in mother-infant relationships. Both clinical and self-report assessments of maternal mental health were made at admission and discharge, and self-report comparisons of the mother-infant relationship. Depressive illnesses (46.2%) were found to be the most prevalent conditions leading to admission, with rates of psychosis (10.3%) and bipolar disorder (3.4%) being lower. A high incidence of borderline personality disorder (23.1%) was found clinically, with almost half the admitted women showing features of borderline personality disorder on a self-report measure at admission. Significant improvements in maternal mental health and the mother-infant relationship were found at the time of discharge. Admission to this Mother-Baby Unit on mothers' self-report scales showed improvement in mothers' mental health and the relationship that they have with their infant. Given the high prevalence of borderline personality disorder and emotional dysregulation identified within the population, treatment implications and possible consequences for the infant are discussed for this client group. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

  3. Five-year follow-up of harms and benefits of behavioral infant sleep intervention: randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Anna M H; Wake, Melissa; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Hiscock, Harriet

    2012-10-01

    Randomized trials have demonstrated the short- to medium-term effectiveness of behavioral infant sleep interventions. However, concerns persist that they may harm children's emotional development and subsequent mental health. This study aimed to determine long-term harms and/or benefits of an infant behavioral sleep program at age 6 years on (1) child, (2) child-parent, and (3) maternal outcomes. Three hundred twenty-six children (173 intervention) with parent-reported sleep problems at age 7 months were selected from a population sample of 692 infants recruited from well-child centers. The study was a 5-year follow-up of a population-based cluster-randomized trial. Allocation was concealed and researchers (but not parents) were blinded to group allocation. Behavioral techniques were delivered over 1 to 3 individual nurse consultations at infant age 8 to 10 months, versus usual care. The main outcomes measured were (1) child mental health, sleep, psychosocial functioning, stress regulation; (2) child-parent relationship; and (3) maternal mental health and parenting styles. Two hundred twenty-five families (69%) participated. There was no evidence of differences between intervention and control families for any outcome, including (1) children's emotional (P = .8) and conduct behavior scores (P = .6), sleep problems (9% vs 7%, P = .2), sleep habits score (P = .4), parent- (P = .7) and child-reported (P = .8) psychosocial functioning, chronic stress (29% vs 22%, P = .4); (2) child-parent closeness (P = .1) and conflict (P = .4), global relationship (P = .9), disinhibited attachment (P = .3); and (3) parent depression, anxiety, and stress scores (P = .9) or authoritative parenting (63% vs 59%, P = .5). Behavioral sleep techniques have no marked long-lasting effects (positive or negative). Parents and health professionals can confidently use these techniques to reduce the short- to medium-term burden of infant sleep problems and maternal depression.

  4. Outcome of Premature Infants Born Prior to 32 Weeks' Gestation with Intraventricular Hemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yao-Chia Chuang

    2004-12-01

    Conclusion: In VLBW infants born prior to 32 weeks' gestation, IVH is a risk factor for impaired development. Its effects on psychomotor development, but not mental development, are still apparent at 2 years of age.

  5. Antenatal Dexamethasone Exposure in Preterm Infants Is Associated with Allergic Diseases and the Mental Development Index in Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wan-Ning Tseng

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Antenatal steroid administration may benefit fetal lung maturity in preterm infants. Although some studies have shown that this treatment may increase asthma in childhood, the correlation between antenatal dexamethasone exposure and allergic diseases remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between antenatal dexamethasone and T cell expression in childhood allergic diseases. Methods: We recruited a cohort of preterm infants born at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between 2007 and 2010 with a gestational age of less than 35 weeks and body weight at birth of less than 1500 g. The status of antenatal exposure to steroids and allergic diseases were surveyed using a modified ISAAC questionnaire for subjects aged 2–5 years old. We analyzed Th1/Th2/Th17 expression of mRNA, cytokines (using the Magpix® my-system, and mental development index (MDI. Results: Among the 40 patients that were followed, the data showed that the antenatal dexamethasone exposure group (N = 24 had a significantly higher incidence of allergic diseases (75.0% vs. 18.8%, p < 0.0001 when compared to the non-dexamethasone exposure group (N = 16, especially with regard to asthma (41.7% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.003 and allergic rhinitis (58.3% vs. 18.8%, p = 0.013, but not atopic dermatitis. No statistical difference was observed in the mRNA expression levels of total white blood cell count between the dexamethasone exposure and non-exposure groups (p > 0.05. However, the asthma group had higher IL-5 levels (p = 0.009, and the MDI was shown to be significantly higher in the dexamethasone exposure group (90.38 ± 3.31 vs. 79.94 ± 3.58, p = 0.043 while no significant difference was found between the PDI of the two groups. Conclusions: Exposure to antenatal dexamethasone in preterm infants will increase their susceptibility to allergic diseases, particularly asthma and allergic rhinitis. Preterm infants’ exposure to antenatal

  6. Development of a universal psycho-educational intervention to prevent common postpartum mental disorders in primiparous women: a multiple method approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rowe Heather J

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Prevention of postnatal mental disorders in women is an important component of comprehensive health service delivery because of the substantial potential benefits for population health. However, diverse approaches to prevention of postnatal depression have had limited success, possibly because anxiety and adjustment disorders are also problematic, mental health problems are multifactorially determined, and because relationships amongst psychosocial risk factors are complex and difficult to modify. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a novel psycho-educational intervention to prevent postnatal mental disorders in mothers of firstborn infants. Methods Data from a variety of sources were synthesised: a literature review summarised epidemiological evidence about neglected modifiable risk factors; clinical research evidence identified successful psychosocial treatments for postnatal mental health problems; consultations with clinicians, health professionals, policy makers and consumers informed the proposed program and psychological and health promotion theories underpinned the proposed mechanisms of effect. The intervention was pilot-tested with small groups of mothers and fathers and their first newborn infants. Results What Were We Thinking! is a psycho-educational intervention, designed for universal implementation, that addresses heightened learning needs of parents of first newborns. It re-conceptualises mental health problems in mothers of infants as reflecting unmet needs for adaptations in the intimate partner relationship after the birth of a baby, and skills to promote settled infant behaviour. It addresses these two risk factors in half-day seminars, facilitated by trained maternal and child health nurses using non-psychiatric language, in groups of up to five couples and their four-week old infants in primary care. It is designed to promote confidence and reduce mental disorders by providing skills

  7. Nurses' professional stigma and attitudes towards postpartum women with severe mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordan, Revital; Shor, Ron; Liebergall-Wischnitzer, Michal; Noble, Lawrence; Noble, Anita

    2018-04-01

    To examine professional stigma and attitudes of parenthood towards postpartum women with severe mental illness and the association between postpartum nurses' attitudes and nursing interventions that promote motherhood. Stigma and attitudes towards parenthood of women with severe mental illness may influence nurses' clinical practices. Cross-sectional, mixed methods. The Stigma among Health Professionals towards People with Severe Mental Illness, Attitudes towards Parenthood among People with Severe Mental Illness and Nursing Interventions that Promote Becoming a Mother Questionnaires were used in the study, as well as qualitative analysis. Sixty-one postpartum nurses participated in the study. Increased stigma was associated with an increase in negative attitudes towards parenthood among people with severe mental illness, in general, and towards their parenthood skills, in particular. Postpartum nurses reported a decrease in nursing interventions and a therapeutic nurse-client relationship that fosters mother's empowerment. Themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis were postpartum nurse's perceptions of inadequacy, difficulty of postpartum nurses taking responsibility for managing women with severe mental illness and a paternalistic approach to these women, rather than empowerment, regarding infant care. Nurses providing care to postpartum women with severe mental illness and their infants may provide fewer routine postpartum interventions due to professional stigma and negative attitudes concerning parenting skills. Nurses should provide individualised, tailored care that allows women with severe mental illness to become a mother to the best of her ability. Not all women with severe mental illness are capable of caring for themselves and/or their baby. Nurses should provide individualised, tailored care that allows the women with severe mental illness to become a mother to the best of her ability. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Normative data on mental and motor development in Nigerian children

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Normative data on mental and motor development in Nigerian children. ... Inventory (DSI) and Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID): a screening and ... and the scores made blind to the researchers until after the subject\\'s assessment ...

  9. Cultural transmission through infant signs: Objects and actions in U.S. and Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wen; Vallotton, Claire

    2016-08-01

    Infant signs are intentionally taught/learned symbolic gestures which can be used to represent objects, actions, requests, and mental state. Through infant signs, parents and infants begin to communicate specific concepts earlier than children's first spoken language. This study examines whether cultural differences in language are reflected in children's and parents' use of infant signs. Parents speaking East Asian languages with their children utilize verbs more often than do English-speaking mothers; and compared to their English-learning peers, Chinese children are more likely to learn verbs as they first acquire spoken words. By comparing parents' and infants' use of infant signs in the U.S. and Taiwan, we investigate cultural differences of noun/object versus verb/action bias before children's first language. Parents reported their own and their children's use of first infant signs retrospectively. Results show that cultural differences in parents' and children's infant sign use were consistent with research on early words, reflecting cultural differences in communication functions (referential versus regulatory) and child-rearing goals (independent versus interdependent). The current study provides evidence that intergenerational transmission of culture through symbols begins prior to oral language. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Wellbeing and resilience: mechanisms of transmission of health and risk in parents with complex mental health problems and their offspring--The WARM Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harder, Susanne; Davidsen, Kirstine; MacBeth, Angus; Lange, Theis; Minnis, Helen; Andersen, Marianne Skovsager; Simonsen, Erik; Lundy, Jenna-Marie; Nyström-Hansen, Maja; Trier, Christopher Høier; Røhder, Katrine; Gumley, Andrew

    2015-12-09

    The WARM study is a longitudinal cohort study following infants of mothers with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and control from pregnancy to infant 1 year of age. Children of parents diagnosed with complex mental health problems including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, are at increased risk of developing mental health problems compared to the general population. Little is known regarding the early developmental trajectories of infants who are at ultra-high risk and in particular the balance of risk and protective factors expressed in the quality of early caregiver-interaction. We are establishing a cohort of pregnant women with a lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and a non-psychiatric control group. Factors in the parents, the infant and the social environment will be evaluated at 1, 4, 16 and 52 weeks in terms of evolution of very early indicators of developmental risk and resilience focusing on three possible environmental transmission mechanisms: stress, maternal caregiver representation, and caregiver-infant interaction. The study will provide data on very early risk developmental status and associated psychosocial risk factors, which will be important for developing targeted preventive interventions for infants of parents with severe mental disorder. NCT02306551, date of registration November 12, 2014.

  11. The functional neuroanatomy of maternal love: mother's response to infant's attachment behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noriuchi, Madoka; Kikuchi, Yoshiaki; Senoo, Atsushi

    2008-02-15

    Maternal love, which may be the core of maternal behavior, is essential for the mother-infant attachment relationship and is important for the infant's development and mental health. However, little has been known about these neural mechanisms in human mothers. We examined patterns of maternal brain activation in response to infant cues using video clips. We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements while 13 mothers viewed video clips, with no sound, of their own infant and other infants of approximately 16 months of age who demonstrated two different attachment behaviors (smiling at the infant's mother and crying for her). We found that a limited number of the mother's brain areas were specifically involved in recognition of the mother's own infant, namely orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), periaqueductal gray, anterior insula, and dorsal and ventrolateral parts of putamen. Additionally, we found the strong and specific mother's brain response for the mother's own infant's distress. The differential neural activation pattern was found in the dorsal region of OFC, caudate nucleus, right inferior frontal gyrus, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (PFC), anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, thalamus, substantia nigra, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and PFC. Our results showed the highly elaborate neural mechanism mediating maternal love and diverse and complex maternal behaviors for vigilant protectiveness.

  12. Infant feeding, poverty and human development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Lisa H

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The relationship between poverty and human development touches on a central aim of the International Breastfeeding Journal's editorial policy which is to support and protect the health and wellbeing of all infants through the promotion of breastfeeding. It is proposed that exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, followed by continued breastfeeding to 12 months, could prevent 1,301,000 deaths or 13% of all child deaths under 5 years in a hypothetical year. Although there is a conventional wisdom that poverty 'protects' breastfeeding in developing countries, poverty actually threatens breastfeeding, both directly and indirectly. In the light of increasingly aggressive marketing behaviour of the infant formula manufacturers and the need to protect the breastfeeding rights of working women, urgent action is required to ensure the principles and aim of the International Code of Breastmilk Substitutes, and subsequent relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly, are implemented. If global disparities in infant health and development are to be significantly reduced, gender inequities associated with reduced access to education and inadequate nutrition for girls need to be addressed. Improving women's physical and mental health will lead to better developmental outcomes for their children.

  13. Revisiting maternal–infant bonding’s effects on asthma: A brief history

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Yatsenko

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The concept that asthma is psychosomatic and may be related to parenting has been debated since the 1930s. With the growing focus on the multi-dimensional nature of physical and mental illness currently present in the health fields, recent research has once again begun to support such a theory. This article provides a brief review of the literature pertaining to the possible relationship between the early maternal–infant bond and later onset and severity of asthma with a focus on the history of this theory. Modern research suggests that multiple asthma risk factors are also possible results of poor maternal–infant bonding, supporting the theory that a poor maternal–infant bond may make a child vulnerable to the development of later asthma. However, the impact of such a bond needs to be investigated further and with better methodology to help develop better and more comprehensive models of asthma, maternal–infant bonding, and early experiences.

  14. [Characteristics of interactions between mentally ill parents and their young children].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deneke, Christiane; Lüders, Bettina

    2003-03-01

    Disturbed parent infant interactions are frequently seen in cases of parental mental illness. They are indicating possible risks of the infant's development. Regular and illness-specific patterns are not found. Therefore the interaction has to be observed and classified in each individual case to recognize the relevance of the parental illness to the child. Different interaction patterns and their impact on the child's development are described and illustrated by case vignettes. The importance of preventive intervention is highlighted.

  15. Measurements from preterm infants to guide face mask size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Shea, Joyce E; Thio, Marta; Owen, Louise S; Wong, Connie; Dawson, Jennifer A; Davis, Peter G

    2016-07-01

    International guidelines recommend that an appropriately sized face mask for providing positive pressure ventilation should cover the mouth and nose but not the eyes and should not overlap the chin. This study aimed to measure the dimensions of preterm infants' faces and compare these with the size of the most commonly available face masks (external diameter 50 mm) and the smallest masks available (external diameters 35 and 42 mm). Infants 24-33 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA) were photographed in a standardised manner. Images were analysed using ImageJ software (National Institute of Health, USA) to calculate the distance from the nasofrontal groove to the mental protuberance. This facial measurement corresponds to the external diameter of an optimally fitting mask. A cohort of 107 infants between 24 and 33 weeks' gestational age, including at least 10 infants per week of gestation, was photographed within 72 h after birth and weekly until 33 weeks' PMA. 347 photographs were analysed. Infants of 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32 weeks' PMA had mean (SD) facial measurements of 32 (2), 36 (3), 38 (4), 41 (2) and 43 (4) mm, respectively. There were no significant differences when examined by gender or when small for gestational age infants were excluded. The smallest size of some brands of mask is too large for many preterm infants. Masks of 35 mm diameter are suitable for infants Masks of 42 mm diameter are suitable for infants 27-33 weeks' PMA or 750-2500 g. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  16. INFANT AVOIDANCE DURING A TACTILE TASK PREDICTS AUTISM SPECTRUM BEHAVIORS IN TODDLERHOOD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mammen, Micah A; Moore, Ginger A; Scaramella, Laura V; Reiss, David; Ganiban, Jody M; Shaw, Daniel S; Leve, Leslie D; Neiderhiser, Jenae M

    2015-01-01

    The experience of touch is critical for early communication and social interaction; infants who show aversion to touch may be at risk for atypical development and behavior problems. The current study aimed to clarify predictive associations between infant responses to tactile stimuli and toddler autism spectrum, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors. This study measured 9-month-old infants' (N = 561; 58% male) avoidance and negative affect during a novel tactile task in which parents painted infants' hands and feet and pressed them to paper to make a picture. Parent reports on the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP), Internalizing, and Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist were used to measure toddler behaviors at 18 months. Infant observed avoidance and negative affect were significantly correlated; however, avoidance predicted subsequent PDP scores only, independent of negative affect, which did not predict any toddler behaviors. Findings suggest that incorporating measures of responses to touch in the study of early social interaction may provide an important and discriminating construct for identifying children at greater risk for social impairments related to autism spectrum behaviors. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  17. Focused attention, heart rate deceleration, and cognitive development in preterm and full-term infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrie Thomas, Julianne H; Whitfield, Michael F; Oberlander, Tim F; Synnes, Anne R; Grunau, Ruth E

    2012-05-01

    The majority of children who are born very preterm escape major impairment, yet more subtle cognitive and attention problems are very common in this population. Previous research has linked infant focused attention during exploratory play to later cognition in children born full-term and preterm. Infant focused attention can be indexed by sustained decreases in heart rate (HR). However there are no preterm studies that have jointly examined infant behavioral attention and concurrent HR response during exploratory play in relation to developing cognition. We recruited preterm infants free from neonatal conditions associated with major adverse outcomes, and further excluded infants with developmental delay (Bayley Mental Development Index [MDI attention and concurrent HR response were compared in 83 preterm infants (born 23-32 weeks gestational age [GA]) who escaped major impairment to 46 full-term infants. Focused attention and HR response were then examined in relation to Bayley MDI, after adjusting for neonatal risk. MDI did not differ by group, yet full-term infants displayed higher global focused attention ratings. Among the extremely preterm infants born attention episodes, accounted for 49% of adjusted variance in predicting concurrent MDI. There were no significant associations for later-born gestational age (29-32 weeks) or full-term infants. Among extremely preterm infants who escape major impairment, our findings suggest unique relationships between focused attention, HR deceleration, and developing cognition. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Mental Representation in The Thought of Sidney Blatt: Developmental Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auerbach, John S; Diamond, Diana

    2017-06-01

    Mental representation was a central construct in Sidney Blatt's contributions to psychology and psychoanalysis. This brief review demonstrates that Blatt's understanding of representation was always informed by basic psychoanalytic concepts like the centrality of early caregiver-infant relationships and of unconscious mental processes. Although Blatt's earlier writings were informed by psychoanalytic ego psychology and Piagetian cognitive developmental psychology, they focused nonetheless on how an individual uses bodily and relational experiences to construct an object world; they also consistently presented object representations as having significant unconscious dimensions. From the mid-1980s onward, Blatt's contributions, in dialogue with his many students, moved in an even more experiential/relational direction and manifested the influence of attachment theory, parent-infant interaction research, and intersubjectivity theory. They also incorporated contemporary cognitive psychology, with its emphasis on implicit or procedural, rather than explicit, dimensions as a means of accounting for aspects of object representations that are not in conscious awareness. Throughout his career, however, Blatt regarded mental representation as the construct that mediates between the child's earliest bodily and relational experiences and the mature adult's symbolic, most emotionally profound capacities.

  19. Risk of central nervous system defects in offspring of women with and without mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayoub, Aimina; Fraser, William D; Low, Nancy; Arbour, Laura; Healy-Profitós, Jessica; Auger, Nathalie

    2018-02-22

    We sought to determine the relationship between maternal mental illness and the risk of having an infant with a central nervous system defect. We analyzed a cohort of 654,882 women aged less than 20 years between 1989 and 2013 who later delivered a live born infant in any hospital in Quebec, Canada. The primary exposure was mental illness during pregnancy or hospitalization for mental illness before pregnancy. The outcomes were neural and non-neural tube defects of the central nervous system in any offspring. We computed risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between mental disorders and risk of central nervous system defects in log-binomial regression models adjusted for age at delivery, total parity, comorbidity, socioeconomic deprivation, place of residence, and time period. Maternal mental illness was associated with an increased risk of nervous system defects in offspring (RR 1.76, 95% CI 1.64-1.89). Hospitalization for any mental disorder was more strongly associated with non-neural tube (RR 1.84, 95% CI 1.71-1.99) than neural tube defects (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.08-1.59). Women at greater risk of nervous system defects in offspring tended to be diagnosed with multiple mental disorders, have more than one hospitalization for mental disease, or be 17 or older at first hospitalization. A history of mental illness is associated with central nervous system defects in offspring. Women hospitalized for mental illness may merit counseling at first symptoms to prevent central nervous system defects at pregnancy.

  20. Maternal self-confidence during the first four months postpartum and its association with anxiety and early infant regulatory problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthies, Lina Maria; Wallwiener, Stephanie; Müller, Mitho; Doster, Anne; Plewniok, Katharina; Feller, Sandra; Sohn, Christof; Wallwiener, Markus; Reck, Corinna

    2017-11-01

    Maternal self-confidence has become an essential concept in understanding early disturbances in the mother-child relationship. Recent research suggests that maternal self-confidence may be associated with maternal mental health and infant development. The current study investigated the dynamics of maternal self-confidence during the first four months postpartum and the predictive ability of maternal symptoms of depression, anxiety, and early regulatory problems in infants. Questionnaires assessing symptoms of depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and early regulatory problems (Questionnaire for crying, sleeping and feeding) were completed in a sample of 130 women at three different time points (third trimester (T1), first week postpartum (T2), and 4 months postpartum (T3). Maternal self-confidence increased significantly over time. High maternal trait anxiety and early infant regulatory problems negatively contributed to the prediction of maternal self-confidence, explaining 31.8% of the variance (R=.583, F 3,96 =15.950, pself-confidence, regulatory problems in infants, and maternal mental distress. There is an urgent need for appropriate programs to reduce maternal anxiety and to promote maternal self-confidence in order to prevent early regulatory problems in infants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. The relationship between consanguineous marriage and death in fetus and infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Mehr Mohammadi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Given the high prevalence of consanguineous marriages in rural and urban areas of Iran, the aim of this study was to identify its role in increasing fetal and infant deaths. Materials ans Methods : This was a cross-sectional study in which 494 mothers with more than one exceptional child (mentally retarded and physically-dynamically disabled or with normal children were selected based on multi-stage random sampling method. Data was gathered using the features of parents with more than one exceptional child questionnaire. The validity and reliability of this questionnaire was acceptable. Hierarchical log-linear method was used for statistical analysis. Results: Consanguineous marriage significantly increased the number of births of exceptional children. Moreover, there was a significant relation between the history of fetal/infant death and belonging to the group. There was a significant relation between consanguineous marriage and the history of fetal/infant death which means consanguineous marriage increased the prevalence of fetal/infant death in parents with exceptional children rather than in parents with normal children. Conclusions: The rate of fetal/infant death in exceptional births of consanguineous marriages was higher than that of non-consanguineous marriages.

  2. The relationship between consanguineous marriage and death in fetus and infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammadi, Majid Mehr; Hooman, Heidar Ali; Afrooz, Gholam Ali; Daramadi, Parviz Sharifi

    2012-05-01

    Given the high prevalence of consanguineous marriages in rural and urban areas of Iran, the aim of this study was to identify its role in increasing fetal and infant deaths. This was a cross-sectional study in which 494 mothers with more than one exceptional child (mentally retarded and physically-dynamically disabled) or with normal children were selected based on multi-stage random sampling method. Data was gathered using the features of parents with more than one exceptional child questionnaire. The validity and reliability of this questionnaire was acceptable. Hierarchical log-linear method was used for statistical analysis. Consanguineous marriage significantly increased the number of births of exceptional children. Moreover, there was a significant relation between the history of fetal/infant death and belonging to the group. There was a significant relation between consanguineous marriage and the history of fetal/infant death which means consanguineous marriage increased the prevalence of fetal/infant death in parents with exceptional children rather than in parents with normal children. The rate of fetal/infant death in exceptional births of consanguineous marriages was higher than that of non-consanguineous marriages.

  3. SUPPORTING PRETERM INFANT ATTACHMENT AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: STAFF PERCEPTIONS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twohig, Aoife; Reulbach, Udo; Figuerdo, Ricardo; McCarthy, Anthony; McNicholas, Fiona; Molloy, Eleanor Joan

    2016-01-01

    The infant-parent relationship has been shown to be of particular significance to preterm infant socioemotional development. Supporting parents and infants in this process of developing their relationships is an integral part of neonatal intensive care; however, there is limited knowledge of NICU staff perceptions about this aspect of care. To explore NICU staff perceptions about attachment and socioemotional development of preterm infants, experience of training in this area and the emotional impact of their work. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of staff perceptions of the emotional experiences of parents and the developing parent-infant relationship in an NICU was conducted in a Level III NICU, after pilot testing, revision, and ethical approval. Fifty-seven (68%) of NICU staff responded to the survey. Respondents identified parents' emotional experiences such as "anxiety," "shock," "loss of control," and "lack of feelings of competence as parents" as highly prevalent. Infant cues of "responding to parent's voice" and "quieting-alerting" were ranked most highly; "crying" and "physiological changes" were ranked lowest. Preterm infant medical risk, maternal emotional state, and mental health are perceived to impact most highly on the developing relationship, as compared with infant state or behavior and socioeconomic factors. Fifty-three (93%) respondents felt confident, and 50 (87.8%) felt competent discussing their emotional experiences with parents. Fifty-four (95%) responded that attending to these areas was an integral part of their role; however, staff had seldom received education in this area. Respondents also perceived that specific psychological support for parents was lacking both during and after the infant's discharge. While all staff surveyed perceived the nature of their work to be emotionally stressful, there were differences among NICU staff disciplines and with years of experience in the NICU in terms of their perceptions about education in

  4. When to perform urine cultures in respiratory syncytial virus-positive febrile older infants?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaluarachchi, Dinushan; Kaldas, Virginia; Erickson, Evelyn; Nunez, Randolph; Mendez, Magda

    2014-09-01

    Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are associated with clinically significant rate of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in young infants. Previous research investigating RSV infections and UTIs has been performed mainly in infants younger than 2 to 3 months and has not focused on the risk of UTI in infants 3 to 12 months. This study aimed to assess the rate of UTIs in febrile RSV-positive older infants admitted as inpatients and identify predictors of UTI in febrile RSV-positive older infants. This is a retrospective comparative study of febrile RSV-positive infants 0 to 12 months of age admitted to the inpatient pediatric unit of Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, from September through April 2006 to 2012. Infants 3 to 12 months were considered the cases, and infants 0 to 3 months were the comparative group. The rate of UTIs between the 2 groups was compared. Univariate tests and multiple logistic regression were used to identify demographic/clinical factors associated with UTI in febrile RSV-positive older infants. A total of 414 RSV-positive febrile infants were enrolled including 297 infants 3 to 12 months of age. The rate of UTI in older infants was 6.1% compared with 6.8% in infants younger than 3 months. Positive urinalysis finding was an independent predictor of UTI (P = 0.003) in older infants. All 11 boys with UTI were uncircumcised, and none of the 51 circumcised boys had UTI. Demographic (race, sex, and age) and clinical factors (temperature, white blood cell count, and absolute neutrophil count) were not associated with UTI. Febrile older infants who are RSV positive have a clinically significant rate of UTIs. It seems prudent to examine the urine of these older infants. Positive urinalysis finding was a predictive factor of UTI. Circumcised boys are at a decreased risk of UTI, compared with uncircumcised boys.

  5. Infant and child deaths: Parent concerns about subsequent pregnancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooten, Dorothy; Youngblut, JoAnne M; Hannan, Jean; Caicedo, Carmen; Roche, Rosa; Malkawi, Fatima

    2015-12-01

    Examine parents' concerns about subsequent pregnancies after experiencing an infant or child death (newborn to 18 years). Thirty-nine semistructured parent (white, black, Hispanic) interviews 7 and 13 months post infant/child death conducted in English and/or Spanish, audio-recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed. Mothers' mean age was 31.8 years, fathers' was 39 years; 11 parents were white, 16 black, and 12 Hispanic. Themes common at 7 and 13 months: wanting more children; fear, anxiety, scared; praying to God/God's will; thinking about/keeping the infant's/child's memory and at 7 months importance of becoming pregnant for family members; and at 13 months happy about a new baby. Parents who lost a child in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) commented more than those who lost a child in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Black and Hispanic parents commented more on praying to God and subsequent pregnancies being God's will than white parents. Loss of an infant/child is a significant stressor on parents with documented negative physical and mental health outcomes. Assessing parents' subsequent pregnancy plans, recognizing the legitimacy of their fears about another pregnancy, discussing a plan should they encounter problems, and carefully monitoring the health of all parents who lost an infant/child is an essential practitioner role. ©2015 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

  6. The Relationship Between Infant Feeding Outcomes and Maternal Emotional Well-being Among Mothers of Late Preterm and Term Infants: A Secondary, Exploratory Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tully, Kristin P; Holditch-Davis, Diane; Silva, Susan; Brandon, Debra

    2017-02-01

    Late preterm birth is associated with lower rates of breastfeeding and earlier breastfeeding cessation than term birth. The objectives of this secondary analysis were to compare the incidence of exclusive breastfeeding after late preterm and term childbirth and to examine the association between infant feeding outcomes and maternal emotional well-being. Participants were 105 mother-infant dyads (54 late preterm and 51 term) at a southeastern US medical center. Face-to-face data collection and telephone follow-up occurred during 2009-2012. Late preterm mothers were less likely to exclusively provide their milk than were term mothers during hospitalization. Feeding at 1 month did not differ between late preterm and term infants. Among late preterm mothers, (1) formula supplementation during hospitalization was associated with greater severity of anxiety than among those exclusively providing formula and (2) exclusive provision of human milk at 1 month was associated with less severe depressive symptoms than among those supplementing or exclusively formula feeding. Among term mothers, feeding outcome was not related to emotional well-being measures at either time point. Mothers of late preterm infants may particularly benefit from anticipatory guidance and early mental health screening, with integrated, multidisciplinary lactation teams to support these interrelated healthcare needs. Prospective research is critical to document women's intentions for infant feeding and how experiences with childbirth and the early postpartum period impact achievement of their breastfeeding goals.

  7. When Infants Talk, Infants Listen: Pre-Babbling Infants Prefer Listening to Speech with Infant Vocal Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masapollo, Matthew; Polka, Linda; Ménard, Lucie

    2016-01-01

    To learn to produce speech, infants must effectively monitor and assess their own speech output. Yet very little is known about how infants perceive speech produced by an infant, which has higher voice pitch and formant frequencies compared to adult or child speech. Here, we tested whether pre-babbling infants (at 4-6 months) prefer listening to…

  8. [Development and evaluation of an e-learning program for mothers of premature infants].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Nae-Young; Kim, Young-Hae

    2008-02-01

    It has been attempted to support mother of premature infants by providing information of premature infant care using e-learning because premature infants need continuous care from birth to after discharge. The e-Learning Program for mother of premature was developed with Xpert, Namo web editor, Adobe Photoshop, and PowerPoint and applied for 4 weeks from 4 to 30 September 2006. 1) We found that the contents of information which premature infants' need when being in the hospital and after discharge were the definition of a premature infant, orientation of NICU, care of premature infants, care of premature infants' common diseases, the connection of healthcare resources, exchange of information, and the management of rearing stress. 2) The program content consisted of cause of premature birth, comparison to full-term baby, physiology character, orientation of NICU, common health problems, follow up care, infection control, feeding, normal development physically and mentally, weaning method, and vaccination. Considering the results, this program for mother of premature is a useful means to provide premature-care information to mothers. This information can be readily accessible and can be varied and complex enough to be able to help mothers to the information and assistance they require.

  9. Growth and development of infants with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Ruobing; Wang, Xiaoliang; Fu, Ping

    2009-10-31

    To observe changes in audiology, intellectual development, behavior development, and physical growth during systematic follow-up of infants with asymptomatic congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. Fifty-two infants diagnosed with asymptomatic congenital HCMV infection from July 2003 to July 2007 served as the infection group, and 21 healthy infants served as the control group. All infants were confirmed to have HCMV infection by Fluorescent Quantative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR). In both the infection and control groups, the neonates and infants at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year of age underwent examinations. 1) 20 items of National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) scores of neonates 12-14 days after birth in 2 groups were 38.3 +/- 1.95 and 38.5 +/- 2.29, without significant differences. 2) Auditory test: 50 ears of 25 cases in the infection group showed abnormal auditory thresholds in V waves with an abnormal rate of 14%, while no abnormalities were found in 21 cases in the control group. 3) Mental and psychomotor development index scores in the control group (107.49 +/- 11.31 and 107.19 +/- 10.98) were compared with those in 41 asymptomatically infected infants at 1 year of age (107.21 +/- 9.96 and 108.31 +/- 11.25), and no statistically significant difference was noted. 1) An elevated threshold in the V wave was present in asymptomatically infected infants, but could not be detected through otoacoustic emission (OAE) screening. 2) Either in the neonatal or infant periods, asymptomatic congenital HCMV infection did not have a significant influence on nervous behavior or on physical and intellectual development.

  10. Women's liberation and the rhetoric of "choice" in infant feeding debates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hausman Bernice L

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This short essay examines infant formula marketing and information sources for their representation of "choice" in the infant feeding context, and finds that while providing information about breast and bottle feeding, infant formula manufacturers focus on mothers' feelings and intuition rather than knowledge in making decisions. In addition, the essay considers how "choice" operates in the history of reproductive rights, shifting the discourse from a rights-based set of arguments to one based on a consumerist mentality. Utilizing the work of historian Rickie Solinger and a 2007 paper for the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, I argue that the structure of market work, and not abstract maternal decision making, determine mothers' choices and practices concerning infant feeding. For true freedoms for mothers to be achieved, freedoms that would include greater social provisions for mothers, our culture will have to confront how structural constraints make breastfeeding difficult, as well as how the concept of choice divides mothers into those who make good choices and those who do not.

  11. Randomized controlled trial of a book-sharing intervention in a deprived South African community: effects on carer-infant interactions, and their relation to infant cognitive and socioemotional outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Lynne; De Pascalis, Leonardo; Tomlinson, Mark; Vally, Zahir; Dadomo, Harold; MacLachlan, Brenda; Woodward, Charlotte; Cooper, Peter J

    2016-12-01

    improving infant socioemotional outcomes in this context. Benefits are mediated by improvements in carer-infant interactions, particularly in book-sharing contexts. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  12. IMPLEMENTATION OF AN EVIDENCED-BASED PARENTING PROGRAM IN A COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SETTING.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roosa Ordway, Monica; McMahon, Thomas J; De Las Heras Kuhn, Lourdes; Suchman, Nancy E

    2018-01-01

    The process of mental health intervention implementation with vulnerable populations is not well-described in the literature. The authors worked as a community-partnered team to adapt and pilot an empirically supported intervention program for mothers of infants and toddlers in an outpatient mental health clinic that primarily serves a low-income community. We used qualitative ethnographic methods to document the adaption of an evidence-based intervention, Mothering from the Inside Out, and the pilot implementation in a community mental health clinic. Seventeen mothers and their identified 0- to 84-month-old children were enrolled in the study. Key lessons from this implementation include (a) the importance of formative work to build community relationships and effectively adapt the intervention to meet the needs of the therapists and their clients, (b) the importance of designing plans for training and reflective supervision that fit within the flow of the clinic and can tolerate disruptions, and (c) that use of an interdisciplinary approach is feasible with the development of a plan for communication and the support of a trained reflective clinical supervisor. These key lessons advance the scientific knowledge available to healthcare managers and researchers who are looking to adapt mental health clinical interventions previously tested in clinical trials to implementation in community settings. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  13. Validity of the ages and stages questionnaires in Korean compared to Bayley Scales of infant development-II for screening preterm infants at corrected age of 18-24 months for neurodevelopmental delay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwun, Yoojin; Park, Hye Won; Kim, Min-Ju; Lee, Byong Sop; Kim, Ellen Ai-Rhan

    2015-04-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the validity of the ages and stages questionnaire in Korean (ASQ 1st edition, Korean Questionnaires, Seoul Community Rehabilitation Center, 2000) for premature infants. The study population consisted of 90 premature infants born between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2011, who were tested using the ASQ (Korean) and Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) (II) at a corrected age of 18-24 months. The validity of the ASQ (Korean) using cut-off values set at < -2 SD was examined by comparing it to the BSID (II) components, namely, the mental developmental index (MDI) or psychomotor developmental index (PDI), which were both set at < 85. The calculation of the sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values, and negative predictive values of the ASQ (Korean) components revealed that they detected infants with neurodevelopmental delay with low sensitivity and positive predictive values, however, the communication domain showed moderate correlations with MDI. The failure in more than one domain of the ASQ (Korean) was significantly correlated with the failure in MDI. The ASQ (Korean) showed low validity for screening neurodevelopmentally delayed premature infants.

  14. MATERNAL REPRESENTATIONS AND INFANT ATTACHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE PROTOTYPE HYPOTHESIS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madigan, Sheri; Hawkins, Erinn; Plamondon, Andre; Moran, Greg; Benoit, Diane

    2015-01-01

    The prototype hypothesis suggests that attachment representations derived in infancy continue to influence subsequent relationships over the life span, including those formed with one's own children. In the current study, we test the prototype hypothesis by exploring (a) whether child-specific representations following actual experience in interaction with a specific child impacts caregiver-child attachment over and above the prenatal forecast of that representation and (b) whether maternal attachment representations exert their influence on infant attachment via the more child-specific representation of that relationship. In a longitudinal study of 84 mother-infant dyads, mothers' representations of their attachment history were obtained prenatally with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; M. Main, R. Goldwyn, & E. Hesse, 2002), representations of relationship with a specific child were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; C.H. Zeanah, D. Benoit, & L. Barton, 1986), collected both prenatally and again at infant age 11 months, and infant attachment was assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Walters, & S. Wall, 1978) when infants were 11 months of age. Consistent with the prototype hypothesis, considerable correspondence was found between mothers' AAI and WMCI classifications. A mediation analysis showed that WMCI fully accounted for the association between AAI and infant attachment. Postnatal WMCI measured at 11 months' postpartum did not add to the prediction of infant attachment, over and above that explained by the prenatal WMCI. Implications for these findings are discussed. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  15. MENTAL STATE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: THE LONGITUDINAL ROLES OF ATTACHMENT AND MATERNAL LANGUAGE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker Razuri, Erin; Hiles Howard, Amanda R; Purvis, Karyn B; Cross, David R

    2017-05-01

    Maternal mental state language is thought to influence children's mental state language and sociocognitive understanding (e.g., theory of mind), but the mechanism is unclear. The current study examined the longitudinal development of mental state language in mother-child interactions. The methodology included assessments of the child and/or mother-child dyad at six time points between 12 to 52 months of the child's age. Measures determined child's attachment style and language abilities, and mental state language used by mother and child during a block-building task. Results showed that (a) mental state talk, including belief and desire language, increased over time; (b) there were differences between the type of mental state words used by the mother in insecure versus secure dyads; (c) there were differences in patterns of mental state words used in both mothers and children in insecure versus secure dyads; and (d) attachment appeared to exert a consistent influence over time. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  16. Adaptations Supporting Relationships between Parents with Physical Disabilities and Their Infants and Toddlers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirshbaum, Megan

    2013-01-01

    This article focuses on a disability culture-based organization's process of addressing baby care adaptation issues of parents with physical disabilities and their babies and toddlers. The author describes the role of teamwork between infant mental health specialists and occupational therapists, application in custody situations, and public policy…

  17. Infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment in Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooya, Haatembo; Sichimba, Francis; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian

    2016-12-01

    This study, the first in Zambia using the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) to observe attachment relationships and the "very first" observational study of infant-sibling attachment, examined patterns of infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment, and tested their association. We included siblings who were substantially involved in caregiving activities with their younger siblings. We hypothesized that infants would develop attachment relationships to both mothers and siblings; the majority of infants would be classified as securely attached to both caregivers, and infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment would be unrelated. The sample included 88 low-income families in Lusaka, Zambia (average of 3.5 children; SD = 1.5). The SSP distributions (infant-mother) were 59% secure, 24% avoidant and 17% resistant, and 46% secure, 20% avoidant, 5% resistant and 29% disorganized for three- and four-way classifications, respectively. The infant-sibling classifications were 42% secure, 23% avoidant and 35% resistant, and 35% secure, 23% avoidant, 9% resistant and 33% disorganized for three- and four-way classifications, respectively. Infant-mother and infant-sibling attachment relationships were not associated.

  18. No difference in urinary iodine concentrations between Boston-area breastfed and formula-fed infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Joshua H; Leung, Angela M; Hale, Andrea R; Pearce, Elizabeth N; Braverman, Lewis E; He, Xuemei; Belfort, Mandy B; Nelson, Sara M; Brown, Rosalind S

    2014-08-01

    Thyroid hormone is essential for normal mental and physical development in infancy and childhood and is dependent on adequate iodine intake. During the first few months of life, infants are reliant on breastmilk and/or infant formula as their sole sources of dietary iodine. The iodine status of U.S. infants has not been well studied. This was a cross-sectional study of 95 breastfed and/or formula-fed infants less than 3 months of age in the Boston area. We measured iodine content from infants' single spot urine samples and assessed associations with infant feeding type as well as maternal demographic data, salt and multivitamin use, smoking status, and diet. The median infant urine iodine concentration was 197.5 μg/L (range 40-897.5 μg/L). Median infant urine iodine concentrations were similar between infants who were exclusively breastfed (n=39, 203.5 μg/L; range 61.5-395.5 μg/L), formula-fed (n=44, 182.5 μg/L; range 40-897.5 μg/L), and mixed (n=10, 197.8 μg/L; range 123-592.5) (p=0.88). There were no significant correlations of infant urinary iodine with maternal salt or multivitamin use (regularly or in the past 24 hours), active or secondhand cigarette smoke exposures, infant weight, infant length, or recent maternal ingestion of common iodine-containing foods, although the correlations with iodine-containing foods are difficult to accurately determine due to the small sample sizes of these variables. Both breastfed and formula-fed infants less than 3 months of age in the Boston area were generally iodine sufficient. Larger studies are needed to confirm these observations among infants nationwide and elucidate other factors that may contribute to infant iodine nutrition.

  19. Does a triplet birth pose a special risk for infant development? Assessing cognitive development in relation to intrauterine growth and mother-infant interaction across the first 2 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, Ruth; Eidelman, Arthur I

    2005-02-01

    To examine whether a triplet birth per se poses a risk to the development of infants' cognitive competencies and to the mother-infant relationship. Twenty-three sets of triplets were matched with 23 sets of twins and 23 singleton infants (n = 138) with respect to gestational age, birth weight, and medical and demographic features. Infants with perinatal asphyxia, intraventricular hemorrhage of grade 3 or 4, periventricular leukomalacia, or central nervous system infection were excluded from the study. At 6, 12, and 24 months of age, mother-infant interaction was observed and infants' cognitive development was tested with the Bayley II test. Mothers of triplets displayed lower levels of sensitivity at 6, 12, and 24 months and infants were less socially involved at 6 and 24 months, compared with singletons and twins. Triplets scored lower than singletons and twins on the Bayley Mental Developmental Index at 6, 12, and 24 months. A weight discordance of >15% was found for 15 triplet sets (65.2%). The discordant triplets showed decreased cognitive skills at 12 and 24 months, compared with their siblings, and received the lowest scores for maternal sensitivity. Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis revealed that greater medical risk at birth, multiple-birth status, lower maternal sensitivity, and reduced infant social involvement in the first 2 years were each predictive of lower cognitive outcomes at 2 years (R2 = 0.33). Triplets appear to be at higher risk for cognitive delays in the first 2 years of life, and discordant infants are at especially high risk. This delay is related in part to the difficulty of providing sensitive mothering to 3 infants at the same time. The findings may assist practitioners in guiding prenatal and postpartum parental care and management.

  20. The Relationship Between Infant Feeding Outcomes and Maternal Emotional Well-Being Among Mothers of Late Preterm and Term Infants. A Secondary, Exploratory Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tully, Kristin P.; Holditch-Davis, Diane; Silva, Susan; Brandon, Debra

    2016-01-01

    Background Late preterm birth is associated with lower rates of breastfeeding and earlier breastfeeding cessation than term birth. Purpose The objectives of this secondary analysis were to compare the incidence of exclusive breastfeeding after late preterm and term childbirth and to examine the association between infant feeding outcomes and maternal emotional well-being. Methods Participants were 105 mother-infant dyads (54 late preterm and 51 term) at a southeastern U.S. medical center. Face-to-face data collection and telephone follow up occurred during 2009-2012. Results Late preterm mothers were less likely to exclusively provide their milk than were term mothers during hospitalization. Feeding at one month did not differ between late preterm and term infants. Among late preterm mothers, (1) formula supplementation during hospitalization was associated with greater severity of anxiety compared to those exclusively providing formula and (2) exclusive provision of human milk at one month was associated with less severe depressive symptoms relative to those supplementing or exclusively formula feeding. Among term mothers, feeding outcome was not related to emotional well-being measures at either time point. Implications for Practice Mothers of late preterm infants may particularly benefit from anticipatory guidance and early mental health screening, with integrated, multidisciplinary lactation teams to support these interrelated health care needs Implications for Research Prospective research is critical to document women’s intentions for infant feeding and how experiences with childbirth and the early postpartum period impact achievement of their breastfeeding plans. PMID:27533332

  1. Improved Cognitive Development in Preterm Infants with Shared Book Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braid, Susan; Bernstein, Jenny

    2015-01-01

    To examine the effect of shared book reading on the cognitive development of children born preterm and to determine what factors influence shared book reading in this population. Secondary analysis using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a large, nationally representative survey of children born in the United States in 2001. One thousand four hundred singleton preterm infants (22-36 weeks gestation). Cognitive development measured using the Bayley Mental Scale score from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development Research Edition. Adjusting for neonatal, maternal, and socioeconomic characteristics, reading aloud more than two times a week is associated with higher cognitive development scores in two-year-old children born preterm (p book reading holds potential as an early developmental intervention for this population.

  2. Comparison of skin-to-skin (kangaroo) and traditional care: parenting outcomes and preterm infant development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, Ruth; Eidelman, Arthur I; Sirota, Lea; Weller, Aron

    2002-07-01

    To examine whether the kangaroo care (KC) intervention in premature infants affects parent-child interactions and infant development. Seventy-three preterm infants who received KC in the neonatal intensive care unit were matched with 73 control infants who received standard incubator care for birth weight, gestational age (GA), medical severity, and demographics. At 37 weeks' GA, mother-infant interaction, maternal depression, and mother perceptions were examined. At 3 months' corrected age, infant temperament, maternal and paternal sensitivity, and the home environment (with the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment [HOME]) were observed. At 6 months' corrected age, cognitive development was measured with the Bayley-II and mother-infant interaction was filmed. Seven clusters of outcomes were examined at 3 time periods: at 37 weeks' GA, mother-infant interaction and maternal perceptions; at 3-month, HOME mothers, HOME fathers, and infant temperament; at 6 months, cognitive development and mother-infant interaction. After KC, interactions were more positive at 37 weeks' GA: mothers showed more positive affect, touch, and adaptation to infant cues, and infants showed more alertness and less gaze aversion. Mothers reported less depression and perceived infants as less abnormal. At 3 months, mothers and fathers of KC infants were more sensitive and provided a better home environment. At 6 months, KC mothers were more sensitive and infants scored higher on the Bayley Mental Developmental Index (KC: mean: 96.39; controls: mean: 91.81) and the Psychomotor Developmental Index (KC: mean: 85.47; controls: mean: 80.53). KC had a significant positive impact on the infant's perceptual-cognitive and motor development and on the parenting process. We speculate that KC has both a direct impact on infant development by contributing to neurophysiological organization and an indirect effect by improving parental mood, perceptions, and interactive behavior.

  3. TEMPERAMENTAL ADAPTABILITY, PERSISTENCE, AND REGULARITY: PARENTAL RATINGS OF NORWEGIAN INFANTS AGED 6 TO 12 MONTHS, WITH SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR PREVENTIVE PRACTICE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olafsen, Kåre S; Ulvund, Stein Erik; Torgersen, Anne Mari; Wentzel-Larsen, Tore; Smith, Lars; Moe, Vibeke

    2018-03-01

    There is a need for standardized measures of infant temperament to strengthen current practices in prevention and early intervention. The present study provides Norwegian data on the Cameron-Rice Infant Temperament Questionnaire (CRITQ; J.R. Cameron & D.C. Rice, 1986a), which comprises 46 items and is used within a U.S. health maintenance organization. The CRITQ was filled out by mothers and fathers at 6 and again at 12 months as part of a longitudinal study of mental health during the first years of life (the "Little in Norway" study, N = 1,041 families enrolled; V. Moe & L. Smith, 2010). Results showed that internal consistencies were comparable with U.S. The temperament dimensions of persistence, adaptability, and regularity had acceptable or close-to-acceptable reliabilities in the U.S. study as well as in this study, and also were unifactorial in confirmatory factor analysis. These dimensions are the focus in this article. Findings concerning parents' differential ratings of their infants on the three dimensions are reported, as is the stability of parents' ratings of temperament from 6 to 12 months. In addition, results on the relation between temperament and parenting stress are presented. The study suggests that temperamental adaptability, persistence, and regularity may be relevant when assessing infant behavior, and may be applied in systematic prevention trials for families with infants. The inclusion of concepts related to individual differences in response tendencies and regulatory efforts may broaden the understanding of parent-infant transactions, and thus enrich prevention and sensitizing interventions with the aim of assisting infants' development. © 2018 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  4. FATHERS' AND MOTHERS' REPRESENTATIONS OF THE INFANT: ASSOCIATIONS WITH PRENATAL RISK FACTORS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vreeswijk, Charlotte M J M; Rijk, Catharina H A M; Maas, A Janneke B M; van Bakel, Hedwig J A

    2015-01-01

    Parents' representations of their infants consist of parents' subjective experiences of how they perceive their infants. They provide important information about the quality of the parent-infant relationship and are closely related to parenting behavior and infant attachment. Previous studies have shown that parents' representations emerge during pregnancy. However, little is known about prenatal (risk) factors that are related to parents' representations. In a prospective study, 308 mothers and 243 fathers were followed during pregnancy and postpartum. Prenatal risk factors were assessed with an adapted version of the Dunedin Family Services Indicator (T.G. Egan et al., ; R.C. Muir et al., ). At 26 weeks' gestation and 6 months' postpartum, parents' representations of their children were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (C.H. Zeanah, D. Benoit, L. Hirshberg, M.L. Barton, & C. Regan). Results showed stability between pre- and postnatal representations, with fathers having more disengaged representations than did mothers. In addition, prenatal risk factors of parenting problems were associated with the quality of parents' prenatal (only in mothers) and postnatal representations. This study provides valuable information concerning parents at risk of developing nonbalanced representations of their children. In clinical practice, these families could be monitored more intensively and may be supported in developing a more optimal parent-infant relationship. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  5. Metabolic alterations and neurodevelopmental outcome of infants with transposition of the great arteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, I Sook; Yoon, S Young; Min, J Yeon; Kim, Y Hwue; Ko, J Kok; Kim, K Soo; Seo, D Man; Lee, J Hee

    2006-01-01

    Abnormal neurodevelopment has been reported for infants who were born with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and underwent arterial switch operation (ASO). This study evaluates the cerebral metabolism of TGA infants at birth and before ASO and neurodevelopment 1 year after ASO. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was performed on 16 full-term TGA brains before ASO within 3-6 days after birth. The brain metabolite ratios of [NAA/Cr], [Cho/Cr], and [mI/Cr] evaluated measured. Ten infants were evaluated at 1 year using the Bayley Scales of Infants Development II (BSED II). Cerebral metabolism of infants with TGA was altered in parietal white matter (PWM) and occipital gray matter (OGM) at birth before ASO. One year after ASO, [Cho/Cr] in PWM remained altered, but all metabolic ratios in OGM were normal. The results of BSID II at 1 year showed delayed mental and psychomotor development. This delayed neurodevelopmental outcome may reflect consequences of the altered cerebral metabolism in PWM measured by 1H-MRS. It is speculated that the abnormal hemodynamics due to TGA in utero may be responsible for the impaired cerebral metabolism and the subsequent neurodevelopmental deficit.

  6. Infant nutrition in Saskatoon: barriers to infant food security.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partyka, Brendine; Whiting, Susan; Grunerud, Deanna; Archibald, Karen; Quennell, Kara

    2010-01-01

    We explored infant nutrition in Saskatoon by assessing current accessibility to all forms of infant nourishment, investigating challenges in terms of access to infant nutrition, and determining the use and effectiveness of infant nutrition programs and services. We also examined recommendations to improve infant food security in Saskatoon. Semi-structured community focus groups and stakeholder interviews were conducted between June 2006 and August 2006. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes related to infant feeding practices and barriers, as well as recommendations to improve infant food security in Saskatoon. Our study showed that infant food security is a concern among lower-income families in Saskatoon. Barriers that limited breastfeeding sustainability or nourishing infants through other means included knowledge of feeding practices, lack of breastfeeding support, access and affordability of infant formula, transportation, and poverty. Infant nutrition and food security should be improved by expanding education and programming opportunities, increasing breastfeeding support, and identifying acceptable ways to provide emergency formula. If infant food security is to be addressed successfully, discussion and change must occur in social policy and family food security contexts.

  7. The relation of infant attachment to attachment and cognitive and behavioural outcomes in early childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Yan-hua; Xu, Xiu; Wang, Zheng-yan; Li, Hui-rong; Wang, Wei-ping

    2014-09-01

    In China, research on the relation of mother-infant attachment to children's development is scarce. This study sought to investigate the relation of mother-infant attachment to attachment, cognitive and behavioural development in young children. This study used a longitudinal study design. The subjects included healthy infants (n=160) aged 12 to 18 months. Ainsworth's "Strange Situation Procedure" was used to evaluate mother-infant attachment types. The attachment Q-set (AQS) was used to evaluate the attachment between young children and their mothers. The Bayley scale of infant development-second edition (BSID-II) was used to evaluate cognitive developmental level in early childhood. Achenbach's child behaviour checklist (CBCL) for 2- to 3-year-olds was used to investigate behavioural problems. In total, 118 young children (73.8%) completed the follow-up; 89.7% of infants with secure attachment and 85.0% of infants with insecure attachment still demonstrated this type of attachment in early childhood (κ=0.738, pInfants with insecure attachment collectively exhibited a significantly lower mental development index (MDI) in early childhood than did infants with secure attachment, especially the resistant type. In addition, resistant infants were reported to have greater social withdrawal, sleep problems and aggressive behaviour in early childhood. There is a high consistency in attachment development from infancy to early childhood. Secure mother-infant attachment predicts a better cognitive and behavioural outcome; whereas insecure attachment, especially the resistant attachment, may lead to a lower cognitive level and greater behavioural problems in early childhood. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Predictors of infant foster care in cases of maternal psychiatric disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glangeaud-Freudenthal, Nine M-C; Sutter-Dallay, Anne-Laure; Thieulin, Anne-Claire; Dagens, Véronique; Zimmermann, Marie-Agathe; Debourg, Alain; Amzallag, Corinne; Cazas, Odile; Cammas, Rafaële; Klopfert, Marie-Emmanuelle; Rainelli, Christine; Tielemans, Pascale; Mertens, Claudine; Maron, Michel; Nezelof, Sylvie; Poinso, François

    2013-04-01

    Our aim was to investigate the factors associated with mother-child separation at discharge, after joint hospitalization in psychiatric mother-baby units (MBUs) in France and Belgium. Because parents with postpartum psychiatric disorders are at risk of disturbed parent-infant interactions, their infants have an increased risk of an unstable early foundation. They may be particularly vulnerable to environmental stress and have a higher risk of developing some psychiatric disorders in adulthood. This prospective longitudinal study of 1,018 women with postpartum psychiatric disorders, jointly admitted with their infant to 16 French and Belgian psychiatric mother-baby units (MBUs), used multifactorial logistic regression models to assess the risk factors for mother-child separation at discharge from MBUs. Those factors include some infant characteristics associated with personal vulnerability, parents' pathology and psychosocial context. Most children were discharged with their mothers, but 151 (15 %) were separated from their mothers at discharge. Risk factors independently associated with separation were: (1) neonatal or infant medical problems or complications; (2) maternal psychiatric disorder; (3) paternal psychiatric disorder; (4) maternal lack of good relationship with others; (5) mother receipt of disability benefits; (6) low social class. This study highlights the existence of factors other than maternal pathology that lead to decisions to separate mother and child for the child's protection in a population of mentally ill mothers jointly hospitalized with the baby in the postpartum period.

  9. Maternal mood and concordant maternal and infant salivary cortisol during heel lance while in kangaroo care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castral, T C; Warnock, F; Dos Santos, C B; Daré, M F; Moreira, A C; Antonini, S R R; Scochi, C G S

    2015-03-01

    Maternal kangaroo care (MKC) is a naturalistic intervention that alleviates neonatal pain, and mothers are assumed to play a stress regulatory role in MKC. Yet, no MKC infant pain study has examined relationship between maternal and infant stress reactivity concurrently, or whether post-partum depression and/or anxiety (PPDA) alters maternal and neonatal stress response and the regulatory effects of MKC. To examine the concordance of salivary cortisol reactivity between 42 mothers and their stable preterm infants during routine infant heel lance (HL) while in MKC and to compare salivary cortisol between groups of mothers with and without PPDA and their infants. Maternal and infant salivary cortisol samples were collected pre-HL and 20 min post-HL with two additional maternal samples at night and in the morning. Mothers and infants were allocated to with PPDA versus without PPDA study groups on the basis of maternal post-natal mental health assessment scores. Higher mothers' cortisol pre-HL was weakly associated with higher infants' salivary cortisol in response to the HL procedure. Maternal depression and/or anxiety were not associated with infants' cortisol. During HL, both groups of mothers and infants showed no change in salivary cortisol. Concordance between mother and infant salivary cortisol supports the maternal stress regulatory role in MKC. MKC may have stress regulatory benefits for mothers and their preterm infants during HL independent of PPDA. Future MKC studies that target mothers with altered mood will help to build on these findings. © 2014 European Pain Federation - EFIC®

  10. Effects of overweight and obesity on motor and mental development in infants and toddlers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cataldo, R; Huang, J; Calixte, R; Wong, A T; Bianchi-Hayes, J; Pati, S

    2016-10-01

    A consequence of childhood obesity may be poor developmental outcomes. This study aimed to examine the relationship between weight and developmental delays in young children. We conducted a secondary analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort data. Logistic regression models quantified the association between different weight statuses (normal weight obese ≥95th percentile for weight) and delays in motor and mental development. Children classified as overweight in both waves had higher percentages of delays in wave 2 (motor [7.5 vs. 6.2-6.4%], mental [8.6 vs. 5.9-6.7%]), as well as wave 1 and/or wave 2 (motor [14.8 vs. 10.9-13.0%], mental [11.9 vs. 9.0-10.1%]), compared with other children. This association was also found in children who were obese at both time points in wave 2 (motor delay [8.9 vs. 4.9-7.3%], mental delay [10.3 vs. 6.0-7.2%]), as well as wave 1 and/or wave 2 (motor delay [14.5 vs. 10.9-12.9%], mental delay [14.1 vs. 9.4-10.1%]). In the adjusted models, children classified as always obese were more likely to have a mental delay in wave 2 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-2.95) as well as wave 1 and/or wave 2 (aOR 1.56, 95% CI: 1.08-2.26). These children were also more likely to have motor delay (aOR 1.47, 95% CI: 1.02-2.13) in wave 1 and/or wave 2. Overweight children are more likely than their normal-weight peers to have motor and mental developmental delays. Preventing obesity during infancy may facilitate reducing developmental delays in young children. © 2015 World Obesity.

  11. Infant Mortality

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... After hours (404) 639-2888 Contact Media Infant Mortality Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir On This ... differences in rates among population groups. About Infant Mortality Infant mortality is the death of an infant ...

  12. Mother-infant interaction assessment at discharge and at 6 months in a French cohort of infants born very preterm: The OLIMPE study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilles Cambonie

    Full Text Available The principal aim was to investigate the feasibility of assessing mother-infant interactions at discharge and at 6 months infant corrected age in singletons born before 32 weeks of gestation. The secondary aims were to describe these interactions and their disorders, explore the association between maternal emotional state and the interactions, and assess the relationship between disordered interactions and infant social withdrawal behaviour.OLIMPE is an ancillary study of the population-based study EPIPAGE 2, which recruited preterm neonates in France in 2011. 163 dyads participated at discharge and 148 at 6 months. Interactions were observed with the Attachment During Stress (ADS scale, which includes two behavioural subscales, for the mother (m-ADS and her infant (i-ADS. Two professionals independently completed the ADS scales for one third of the observations. Maternal emotional state was assessed using self-administered questionnaires of depression, anxiety, and stress. Infant's social withdrawal behaviour at 6 months was measured by the Alarm Distress Baby scale.At discharge, 15.3% of the m-ADS scales and 43.3% of the i-ADS scales had at least one unobserved component. At 6 months, all items on both scales were noticeable in >90% of the dyads. Reliability, estimated by the kappa coefficient, ranged between 0.39 and 0.76 at discharge, and between 0.21 and 0.69 at 6 months. Disordered interactions were indicated on 48.6% of the m-ADS scales and 36.5% of the i-ADS scales at discharge. At 6 months, these rates were 32.6% and 26.0%. Disordered interactions at 6 months were associated with identified disorder at discharge. Insecure infant attachment was not influenced by maternal mental health but was strongly associated with infant social withdrawal behaviour.The ADS scale can be used to screen for early interaction disorders after premature birth and may help to target dyads that would most benefit from early intervention.

  13. Effects of Micronutrients during Pregnancy and Early Infancy on Mental and Psychomotor Development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verhoef, H.; West, C.E.; Bleichrodt, N.; Dekker, P.H.; Born, M.P.

    2003-01-01

    The questions that are addressed in this chapter concern the extent to which a shortage of iodine and iron during fetal and infant development impairs mental development and the extent to which this impairment can be redressed by increasing the intake of these micronutrients

  14. Effective Mental Health Interventions and Treatments for Young Children with Diverse Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osofsky, Joy; Wieder, Serena; Noroña, Carmen Rosa; Lowell, Darcy; Worthy, D'Lisa Ramsey

    2018-01-01

    Infant and early childhood mental health interventions and treatment take place in many different settings including clinics serving adults and children, primary care centers, pediatric clinics, private practice offices, homes, early intervention offices, and child care centers. In addition, the types of evaluations and services offered in these…

  15. Maternal fish oil supplementation in lactation: effect on developmental outcome in breast-fed infants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauritzen, L.; Jørgensen, M.H.; Olsen, S.F.

    2005-01-01

    Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) accumulates in the brain during the 1st and 2nd years of life. The objective of this study was to see if an increased content of DHA in breast-milk via maternal fish oil (FO)-supplementation affects mental development in term infants. one hundred twenty-two Danish mothe...

  16. Maternal depression in association with fathers' involvement with their infants: spillover or compensation/buffering?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Sherryl H; Lusby, Cara M; Thompson, Katina; Newport, D Jeffrey; Stowe, Zachary N

    2014-01-01

    Both concurrent and prospective associations between maternal depression and father involvement were tested to evaluate support for the spillover model (higher depressive symptom levels associated with lower father involvement) and the compensatory/buffering model (higher depressive symptom levels associated with higher father involvement). Participants in this longitudinal study were women at risk for perinatal depression in association with their histories of mood or anxiety disorders, their husbands/partners, and their infants at 3, 6, and 12 months of age. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured with depression rating scales at multiple times over the infants' first year. Paternal involvement was measured with a questionnaire (relative perceived responsibility) and a time diary (accessibility and engagement) inquiring about a recent weekday and a recent weekend, completed in a telephone interview, at infant ages 3, 6, and 12 months. Findings consistently supported the compensatory/buffering model for depression in the first 6 months' postpartum, along with an indication of spillover regarding maternal depressive symptoms that persist into the second half of the infants' first year. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for clinical practice and policy as well as suggestions for future research. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  17. Low plasma triiodothyronine concentrations and outcome in preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, A; Rennie, J; Baker, B A; Morley, R

    1988-01-01

    A major association has been found between low plasma triiodothyronine concentrations in preterm neonates and their later developmental outcome. Plasma triiodothyronine concentration was measured longitudinally in 280 preterm infants below 1850 g birth weight. Babies whose lowest recorded concentration was less than 0.3 nmol/l had, at 18 months' corrected age, 8.3 and 7.4 point disadvantages in Bayley mental and motor scales and a 8.6 point disadvantage on the academic scale of Developmental Profile II, even after adjusting for a range of antenatal and neonatal factors known to influence later development. Low concentrations of triiodothyronine were strongly associated with infant mortality, but not after adjusting for the presence of respiratory illness. There was no association between plasma triiodothyronine concentrations and somatic growth up to 18 months, and no association with necrotising enterocolitis or later cerebral palsy. Data on postnatal changes in plasma triiodothyronine concentrations are presented for reference purposes. While cited reference ranges for plasma triiodothyronine concentration appear suitable for well infants above 1500 g birth weight, smaller or ill babies often have very low values for many weeks. Our data are relevant to the debate on endocrine 'replacement' treatment in premature babies. PMID:2461683

  18. A prelinguistic gestural universal of human communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liszkowski, Ulf; Brown, Penny; Callaghan, Tara; Takada, Akira; de Vos, Conny

    2012-01-01

    Several cognitive accounts of human communication argue for a language-independent, prelinguistic basis of human communication and language. The current study provides evidence for the universality of a prelinguistic gestural basis for human communication. We used a standardized, semi-natural elicitation procedure in seven very different cultures around the world to test for the existence of preverbal pointing in infants and their caregivers. Results were that by 10-14 months of age, infants and their caregivers pointed in all cultures in the same basic situation with similar frequencies and the same proto-typical morphology of the extended index finger. Infants' pointing was best predicted by age and caregiver pointing, but not by cultural group. Further analyses revealed a strong relation between the temporal unfolding of caregivers' and infants' pointing events, uncovering a structure of early prelinguistic gestural conversation. Findings support the existence of a gestural, language-independent universal of human communication that forms a culturally shared, prelinguistic basis for diversified linguistic communication. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  19. Ethical issues in perinatal mental health research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandon, Anna R; Shivakumar, Geetha; Lee, Simon Craddock; Inrig, Stephen J; Sadler, John Z

    2009-11-01

    To review the background of current ethical standards for the conduct of perinatal mental health research and describe the ethical challenges in this research domain. Current literature reflects a growing sentiment in the scientific community that having no information regarding the impact of psychiatric treatment on the mother and developing fetus/infant poses dangers that may exceed the risks involved in research. However, without sufficient consensus across the scientific community, both regulatory bodies and perinatal researchers find themselves without a framework for decision making that satisfactorily limits the risks and facilitates the benefits of participation of pregnant and lactating women in clinical research. Psychiatric research in perinatal mental health is critically important as it enables clinicians and patients to participate in informed decision-making concerning treatment for psychiatric disorders. Specific areas of concern include fetal safety, maternal risk, the therapeutic misconception, commercial interests, forensic/legal issues, the informed consent process, and study design. Developing guidelines that address ethical challenges and include the views and concerns of multiple stakeholders could improve the access of perinatal women to the benefits of participation in mental health research in addition to providing evidence-based mental healthcare for this subpopulation.

  20. The Ha Noi Expert Statement: recognition of maternal mental health in resource-constrained settings is essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Jane Rw; de Mello, Meena Cabral; Izutsu, Takashi; Tran, Tuan

    2011-01-07

    Mental health problems in women during pregnancy and after childbirth and their adverse consequences for child health and development have received sustained detailed attention in high-income countries. In contrast, evidence has only been generated more recently in resource-constrained settings.In June 2007 the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health Organization, the Key Centre for Women's Health in Society, a WHO Collaborating Centre for Women's Health and the Research and Training Centre for Community Development in Vietnam convened the first international expert meeting on maternal mental health and child health and development in resource-constrained settings. It aimed to appraise the evidence about the nature, prevalence and risks for common perinatal mental disorders in women; the consequences of these for child health and development and ameliorative strategies in these contexts.The substantial disparity in rates of perinatal mental disorders between women living in high- and low-income settings, suggests social rather than biological determinants. Risks in resource-constrained contexts include: poverty; crowded living situations; limited reproductive autonomy; unintended pregnancy; lack of empathy from the intimate partner; rigid gender stereotypes about responsibility for household work and infant care; family violence; poor physical health and discrimination. Development is adversely affected if infants lack day-to-day interactions with a caregiver who can interpret their cues, and respond effectively. Women with compromised mental health are less able to provide sensitive, responsive infant care. In resource-constrained settings infants whose mothers are depressed are less likely to thrive and to receive optimal care than those whose mothers are well.The meeting outcome is the Hanoi Expert Statement (Additional file 1). It argues that the Millennium Development Goals to improve maternal health, reduce child mortality, promote gender equality

  1. Effects of lay support for pregnant women with social risk factors on infant development and maternal psychological health at 12 months postpartum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma Popo

    Full Text Available The ELSIPS (Evaluation of Lay Support in Pregnant Women with Social Risk RCT showed that lay support for women with social risk had a positive effect on maternal mental health and mother-infant bonding. This exploratory study examined whether these observed benefits would impact infant development at 1 year.A sub-sample of women whose infants were under one year who had participated in the ELSIPS RCT which randomised women to receive either standard care or the services of a Pregnancy Outreach Worker (POW, and who were contactable, were eligible to participate in the follow up. At home visits, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (3rd Edition and standardised measures of depression, self efficacy, mind-mindedness and bonding were completed.486 women were eligible for follow up, of whom 154 agreed to participate. 61/273 were successfully followed up in the standard maternity care arm and 51/213 in the POW arm. Women who completed follow up were less depressed and had higher selfefficacy scores at 8-12 weeks postpartum than those who did not complete follow up. There were no significant differences in maternal outcomes, infant cognitive development, receptive communication, expressive communication, fine motor development or social/emotional functioning between groups at 12 month follow up. Infants of mothers who received the POW intervention had significantly better gross motor development than infants whose mothers received standard care (p<0.03.The provision of lay support to women with social risk may facilitate infant gross motor skill development at one year but there were no other demonstrable benefits. The effects of the intervention may be underestimated given that those women who completed follow up had better mental health than the original study sample.Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN35027323.

  2. Effects of lay support for pregnant women with social risk factors on infant development and maternal psychological health at 12 months postpartum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popo, Emma; Kenyon, Sara; Dann, Sophie-Anna; MacArthur, Christine; Blissett, Jacqueline

    2017-01-01

    The ELSIPS (Evaluation of Lay Support in Pregnant Women with Social Risk) RCT showed that lay support for women with social risk had a positive effect on maternal mental health and mother-infant bonding. This exploratory study examined whether these observed benefits would impact infant development at 1 year. A sub-sample of women whose infants were under one year who had participated in the ELSIPS RCT which randomised women to receive either standard care or the services of a Pregnancy Outreach Worker (POW), and who were contactable, were eligible to participate in the follow up. At home visits, the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (3rd Edition) and standardised measures of depression, self efficacy, mind-mindedness and bonding were completed. 486 women were eligible for follow up, of whom 154 agreed to participate. 61/273 were successfully followed up in the standard maternity care arm and 51/213 in the POW arm. Women who completed follow up were less depressed and had higher selfefficacy scores at 8-12 weeks postpartum than those who did not complete follow up. There were no significant differences in maternal outcomes, infant cognitive development, receptive communication, expressive communication, fine motor development or social/emotional functioning between groups at 12 month follow up. Infants of mothers who received the POW intervention had significantly better gross motor development than infants whose mothers received standard care (p<0.03). The provision of lay support to women with social risk may facilitate infant gross motor skill development at one year but there were no other demonstrable benefits. The effects of the intervention may be underestimated given that those women who completed follow up had better mental health than the original study sample. Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN35027323.

  3. Self-Regulation and Infant-Directed Singing in Infants with Down Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de l'Etoile, Shannon K

    2015-01-01

    Infants learn how to regulate internal states and subsequent behavior through dyadic interactions with caregivers. During infant-directed (ID) singing, mothers help infants practice attentional control and arousal modulation, thus providing critical experience in self-regulation. Infants with Down syndrome are known to have attention deficits and delayed information processing as well as difficulty managing arousability, factors that may disrupt their efforts at self-regulation. The researcher explored responses to ID singing in infants with Down syndrome (DS) and compared them with those of typically developing (TD) infants. Behaviors measured included infant gaze and affect as indicators of self-regulation. Participants included 3- to 9-month-old infants with and without DS who were videotaped throughout a 2-minute face-to-face interaction during which their mothers sang to them any song(s) of their choosing. Infant behavior was then coded for percentage of time spent demonstrating a specific gaze or affect type. All infants displayed sustained gaze more than any other gaze type. TD infants demonstrated intermittent gaze significantly more often than infants with DS. Infant status had no effect on affect type, and all infants showed predominantly neutral affect. Findings suggest that ID singing effectively maintains infant attention for both TD infants and infants with DS. However, infants with DS may have difficulty shifting attention during ID singing as needed to adjust arousal levels and self-regulate. High levels of neutral affect for all infants imply that ID singing is likely to promote a calm, curious state, regardless of infant status. © the American Music Therapy Association 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. The effect of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on intelligence in low birth weight infant during lactation: A meta-analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yuan; Liu, Ya; Pan, Yun; Yuan, Xiaofeng; Chang, Pengyu; Tian, Yuan; Cui, Weiwei

    2018-01-01

    Background Low birth weight infant (LBWIs) are prone to mental and behavioural problems. As an important constituent of the brain and retina, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential for foetal infant mental and visual development. The effect of lactation supplemented with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) on the improvement of intelligence in low birth weight children requires further validation. Methods In this study, a comprehensive search of multiple databases was performed to identify studies focused the association between intelligence and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in LBWIs. Studies that compared the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) or the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence for Children (WISC) scores between LBWIs who were supplemented and controls that were not supplemented with LCPUFA during lactation were selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results The main outcome was the mean difference in the mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) of the BSID and the full scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ), verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ) and performance intelligence quotient (PIQ) of the WISC between LBWIs and controls. Our findings indicated that the mean BSID or WISC scores in LBWIs did not differ between the supplemented groups and controls. Conclusion This meta-analysis does not reveal that LCPUFA supplementation has a significant impact on the level of intelligence in LBWIs. PMID:29634752

  5. Perinatal mental health, parenting and infant outcomes: Studies on the mechanisms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oosterman, M.; Kohlhoff, J.; Barnett, B.; Kunseler, F.C.; Schuengel, C.; Wernand, J.J.; Flykt, M.

    2012-01-01

    Maternal mental health problems are linked to negative parenting and child outcomes. However, evidence for mechanisms that may explain the undermining influence of psychological problems is less well specified and the influence of possible moderators is relatively unexplored. (Dix & Meunier, 2009).

  6. Improving the outcome of infants born at <30 weeks' gestation - a randomized controlled trial of preventative care at home

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orton Jane

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Early developmental interventions to prevent the high rate of neurodevelopmental problems in very preterm children, including cognitive, motor and behavioral impairments, are urgently needed. These interventions should be multi-faceted and include modules for caregivers given their high rates of mental health problems. Methods/Design We have designed a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a preventative care program delivered at home over the first 12 months of life for infants born very preterm ( Discussion This paper presents the background, study design and protocol for a randomized controlled trial in very preterm infants utilizing a preventative care program in the first year after discharge home designed to improve cognitive, motor and behavioral outcomes of very preterm children and caregiver mental health at two-years' corrected age. Clinical Trial Registration Number ACTRN12605000492651

  7. Predictors of infant foster care in cases of maternal psychiatric disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glangeaud-Freudenthal, Nine M.-C.; Sutter-Dallay, Anne-Laure; Thieulin, Anne-Claire; Dagens, Véronique; Zimmermann, Marie-Agathe; Debourg, Alain; Amzallag, Corinne; Cazas, Odile; Cammas, Rafaële; Klopfert, Marie-Emmanuelle; Rainelli, Christine; Tielemans, Pascale; Mertens, Claudine; Maron, Michel; Nezelof, Sylvie; Poinso, François

    2013-01-01

    Purpose Our aim was to investigate the factors associated with mother-child separation at discharge, after joint hospitalization in psychiatric mother-baby units (MBUs) in France and Belgium. Because parents with postpartum psychiatric disorders are at risk of disturbed parent-infant interactions, their infants have an increased risk of an unstable early foundation. They may be particularly vulnerable to environmental stress and have a higher risk of developing some psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Methods: This prospective longitudinal study of 1018 women with postpartum psychiatric disorders, jointly admitted with their infant, to 16 French and Belgian psychiatric mother-baby units (MBUs), used multifactorial logistic regression models to assess the risk factors for mother-child separation at discharge from MBUs. Those factors include some infant characteristics associated with personal vulnerability, parents’ pathology and psychosocial context. Results Most children were discharged with their mothers, but 151 (15%) were separated from their mothers at discharge. Risk factors independently associated with separation were: i) neonatal or infant medical problems or complications; ii) maternal psychiatric disorder; iii) paternal psychiatric disorder; iv) maternal lack of good relationships with others; v) mother receipt of disability benefits; vi) low social class. Conclusions This study highlights the existence of factors other than maternal pathology that lead to decisions to separate mother and child for the child’s protection in a population of mentally ill mothers jointly hospitalized with the baby in the postpartum period. PMID:22706788

  8. A WEB-BASED SURVEY OF MOTHER-INFANT BOND, ATTACHMENT EXPERIENCES, AND METACOGNITION IN POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS FOLLOWING CHILDBIRTH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Charlotte; Patricia Taylor, Emily; Schwannauer, Matthias

    2016-05-01

    Postnatal depression is linked to adverse outcomes for parent and child, with metacognition and parenting experiences key variables in the development and maintenance of depression. The attachment between mother and infant is especially vulnerable to the effects of untreated postnatal depression. Despite high levels of reported postnatal stress symptoms, less attention has been given the relationship between attachment, metacognition, and postnatal traumatic symptoms in the context of birth trauma. This study tested several hypotheses regarding the relationships between recalled parenting experiences, metacognition, postnatal symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression and perceptions of the mother-infant bond, confirming and extending upon metacognitive and mentalization theories. A Web-based, cross-sectional, self-report questionnaire design was employed in an analog sample of new mothers. Participants were 502 women recruited via open-access Web sites associated with birth organizations. Structural equation modeling was employed for the principal analysis. Metacognition fully mediated the relationship between recalled parenting experiences and postnatal psychological outcomes. Posttraumatic stress was indirectly associated with maternal perceptions of the bond, with this relationship mediated by depression. Metacognition may have a key role in postnatal psychological distress. Where postnatal depression or traumatic birth experiences are identified, screening for posttraumatic stress is strongly indicated. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  9. State infant mortality: an ecologic study to determine modifiable risks and adjusted infant mortality rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, David A; Mackley, Amy; Locke, Robert G; Stefano, John L; Kroelinger, Charlan

    2009-05-01

    To determine factors contributing to state infant mortality rates (IMR) and develop an adjusted IMR in the United States for 2001 and 2002. Ecologic study of factors contributing to state IMR. State IMR for 2001 and 2002 were obtained from the United States linked death and birth certificate data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Factors investigated using multivariable linear regression included state racial demographics, ethnicity, state population, median income, education, teen birth rate, proportion of obesity, smoking during pregnancy, diabetes, hypertension, cesarean delivery, prenatal care, health insurance, self-report of mental illness, and number of in-vitro fertilization procedures. Final risk adjusted IMR's were standardized and states were compared with the United States adjusted rates. Models for IMR in individual states in 2001 (r2 = 0.66, P < 0.01) and 2002 (r2 = 0.81, P < 0.01) were tested. African-American race, teen birth rate, and smoking during pregnancy remained independently associated with state infant mortality rates for 2001 and 2002. Ninety five percent confidence intervals (CI) were calculated around the regression lines to model the expected IMR. After adjustment, some states maintained a consistent IMR; for instance, Vermont and New Hampshire remained low, while Delaware and Louisiana remained high. However, other states such as Mississippi, which have traditionally high infant mortality rates, remained within the expected 95% CI for IMR after adjustment indicating confounding affected the initial unadjusted rates. Non-modifiable demographic variables, including the percentage of non-Hispanic African-American and Hispanic populations of the state are major factors contributing to individual variation in state IMR. Race and ethnicity may confound or modify the IMR in states that shifted inside or outside the 95% CI following adjustment. Other factors including smoking during pregnancy and teen birth rate, which are

  10. Social gradients in health for Pakistani and White British women and infants in two UK birth cohorts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uphoff, Eleonora P; Pickett, Kate E; Wright, John

    2016-10-01

    This study aims to examine social gradients in low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth, smoking during pregnancy and maternal health for women and infants of Pakistani origin and White British women and infants in the UK. The sample included women and singleton infants from the Born in Bradford (BiB) study (n = 8181) and the first sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) (n = 8980). Social gradients in health for four measures of socioeconomic status (SES): maternal education, means-tested benefits, financial situation, and occupation of the father were analysed in multivariate regression models adjusting for maternal age and parity. For White British mothers and infants in the MCS sample, social gradients in health were observed for at least three out of four measures of SES for each health outcome (p for trend social gradient in health for Pakistani women was demonstrated with the self-reported measure of financial situation, in relation to mental health (p for trend social gradients in health for Pakistani women and infants and discusses potential explanations for this finding.

  11. Neonatal sepsis as a risk factor for neurodevelopmental changes in preterm infants with very low birth weight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira, Rachel C; Mello, Rosane R; Silva, Kátia S

    2014-01-01

    to evaluate neonatal sepsis as a risk factor for abnormal neuromotor and cognitive development in very low birth weight preterm infants at 12 months of corrected age. this was a prospective cohort study that followed the neuromotor and cognitive development of 194 very low birth weight preterm infants discharged from a public neonatal intensive care unit. The Bayley Scale of Infant Development (second edition) at 12 months of corrected age was used. The outcomes were the results of the clinical/neurological evaluation and the scores of the psychomotor development index (PDI) and mental development index (MDI) of the Bayley Scale of Infant Development II. The association between neonatal sepsis and neuromotor development and between neonatal sepsis and cognitive development was verified by logistic regression analysis. mean birth weight was 1,119g (SD: 247) and mean gestational age was 29 weeks and 6 days (SD: 2). Approximately 44.3%(n=86) of the infants had neonatal sepsis and 40.7% (n=79) had abnormal neuromotor development and/or abnormal psychomotor development index (PDI de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  12. Infant-Directed Speech Drives Social Preferences in 5-Month-Old Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schachner, Adena; Hannon, Erin E.

    2011-01-01

    Adults across cultures speak to infants in a specific infant-directed manner. We asked whether infants use this manner of speech (infant- or adult-directed) to guide their subsequent visual preferences for social partners. We found that 5-month-old infants encode an individuals' use of infant-directed speech and adult-directed speech, and use this…

  13. Predictors of early postpartum mental distress in mothers with midwifery home care--results from a nested case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staehelin, Katharina; Kurth, Elisabeth; Schindler, Christian; Schmid, Monika; Zemp Stutz, Elisabeth

    2013-08-27

    The prevalence of early postpartum mental health conditions is high. Midwives and other health professionals visiting women at home may identify mothers at risk. This seems crucial given decreasing trends of length of hospital stay after childbirth. This study aimed to identify predictors of maternal mental distress in a midwifery home care setting. Using the statistical database of independent midwives' services in Switzerland in 2007, we conducted a matched nested case-control study. Out of a source population of 34,295 mothers with midwifery home care in the first ten days after childbirth, 935 mothers with maternal distress and 3,645 controls, matched by midwife, were included. We analysed whether socio-demographic, maternal and neonatal factors predict maternal mental distress by multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis. Infant crying problems and not living with a partner were the strongest predictors for maternal distress, whereas higher parity was the most protective factor. Significantly elevated risks were also found for older age, lower educational levels, breast/breastfeeding problems, infant weight gain concerns, neonatal pathologies and use of midwifery care during pregnancy. A lower likelihood for maternal distress was seen for non-Swiss nationality, full-time employment before birth, intention to return to work after birth and midwife-led birth. The study informs on predictors of maternal mental distress identified in a home care setting in the early postpartum period. Midwives and other health care professionals should pay particular attention to mothers of excessively crying infants, single mothers and primipara, and assess the need for support of these mothers.

  14. Infant Gaze Following during Parent-Infant Coviewing of Baby Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demers, Lindsay B.; Hanson, Katherine G.; Kirkorian, Heather L.; Pempek, Tiffany A.; Anderson, Daniel R.

    2013-01-01

    A total of 122 parent–infant dyads were observed as they watched a familiar or novel infant-directed video in a laboratory setting. Infants were between 12-15 and 18-21 months old. Infants were more likely to look toward the TV immediately following their parents' look toward the TV. This apparent social influence on infant looking at television…

  15. Infant difficult behaviors in the context of perinatal biomedical conditions and early child environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sirvinskiene Giedre

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Problems experienced within the first year of an infant's life can be precursors of later mental health conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and continuity of difficult behaviors in infants at 3 and 6 months of age and the associations of these difficulties with biomedical and psychosocial factors. Methods This study was a part of an ongoing prospective birth-cohort study. Study participants were 189 uniparous mothers and their full-term newborns. The index of infant difficult behavior was constructed. This index was then associated with the following factors: delivery mode, newborn function after birth, maternal emotional well-being, risk behavior, subjective evaluation of the quality of the relationship of the couple, and attitudes toward infant-rearing. Results Common difficult behaviors, including crying, sleeping and eating problems, were characteristic for 30.2% of 3 month old and for 22.2% of 6 month old full-term infants. The expression of infant difficult behaviors at the age of 3 months increased the likelihood of the expression of these difficulties at 6 months by more than 5 times. Factors including younger maternal age, poor prenatal and postnatal emotional well-being, prenatal alcohol consumption, low satisfaction with the couple's relationship before pregnancy, and deficiency of infant-centered maternal attitudes towards infant-rearing increased the likelihood of difficult behaviors in infants at the age of 3 months. Low maternal satisfaction with the relationship of the couple before pregnancy, negative emotional reactions of both parents toward pregnancy (as reported by the mother and the deficiency of an infant-centered maternal attitude towards infant-rearing increased the likelihood of infant difficult behaviors continuing between the ages of 3 to 6 months. Perinatal biomedical conditions were not related to the difficult behaviors in infants. Conclusions Our study suggests

  16. Motor Testing at 1 Year Improves the Prediction of Motor and Mental Outcome at 2 Years after Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Schie, Petra Em; Becher, Jules G.; Dallmeijer, Annet J.; Barkhof, Frederik; van Weissenbruch, Mirjam M.; Vermeulen, R. Jeroen

    2010-01-01

    Aim: To investigate the predictive value of motor testing at 1 year for motor and mental outcome at 2 years after perinatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) in term neonates. Method: Motor and mental outcome at 2 years was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, 2nd edition (BSID-II) in 32 surviving children (20 males, 12…

  17. Adding some notes to the "Music of Containment". Discussion of paper: "The Music of Containment: Addressing the participants in mother-infant psychoanalytic treatment".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moggio, Françoise

    2011-11-01

    Thinking about the psychoanalytical process in parent-infant psychotherapy is the purpose of Björn Salomonsson's article. He proposes to consider that containment is the core of the treatment and that musicality is his main vehicle. His thought is linked with the research on primary intersubjectivity and is so exciting for all the parent-infant therapists. For myself, I emphasize the use of the psychoanalytical concept of affects rather than emotions, and I present my understanding of the transference phenomena with the part of the infantile sexuality of all the participants. Copyright © 2011 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  18. “Expectant Parents”: Study protocol of a longitudinal study concerning prenatal (risk factors and postnatal infant development, parenting, and parent-infant relationships

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maas A Janneke BM

    2012-06-01

    National Health Care Centres. Discussion The results of this study may contribute to early identification of families at risk for adverse parent-infant relationships, infant development, or parenting. Thereby this study will be relevant for the development of policy, practice, and theory concerning infant mental health.

  19. Antenatal interpersonal sensitivity is more strongly associated than perinatal depressive symptoms with postnatal mother-infant interaction quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raine, Karen; Cockshaw, Wendell; Boyce, Philip; Thorpe, Karen

    2016-10-01

    Maternal mental health has enduring effects on children's life chances and is a substantial cost driver for child health, education and social services. A key linking mechanism is the quality of mother-infant interaction. A body of work associates maternal depressive symptoms across the antenatal and postnatal (perinatal) period with less-than-optimal mother-infant interaction. Our study aims to build on previous research in the field through exploring the association of a maternal personality trait, interpersonal sensitivity, measured in early pregnancy, with subsequent mother-infant interaction quality. We analysed data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to examine the association between antenatal interpersonal sensitivity and postnatal mother-infant interaction quality in the context of perinatal depressive symptoms. Interpersonal sensitivity was measured during early pregnancy and depressive symptoms in the antenatal year and across the first 21 months of the postnatal period. In a subsample of the ALSPAC, mother-infant interaction was measured at 12 months postnatal through a standard observation. For the subsample that had complete data at all time points (n = 706), hierarchical regression examined the contribution of interpersonal sensitivity to variance in mother-infant interaction quality. Perinatal depressive symptoms predicted little variance in mother-infant interaction. Antenatal interpersonal sensitivity explained a greater proportion of variance in mother-infant interaction quality. The personality trait, interpersonal sensitivity, measured in early pregnancy, is a more robust indicator of subsequent mother-infant-interaction quality than perinatal depressive symptoms, thus affording enhanced opportunity to identify vulnerable mother-infant relationships for targeted early intervention.

  20. The relationship of women's postpartum mental health to employment, childbirth, and social support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gjerdingen, D K; Chaloner, K M

    1994-05-01

    This study was conducted to examine changes in women's mental health over the first postpartum year and factors that are associated with mental health. Participants included women who were married, employed, English-speaking, and giving birth to their first child at one of two hospitals in St Paul, Minnesota. Women who were eligible and willing to participate were mailed questionnaires at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postpartum. There were significant changes in mothers' general mental health, depression, and anxiety over the first postpartum year (P appearance, and infant illnesses. In addition, postpartum symptoms were predicted by physical illness, previous mental problems, poor general health, poor social support, fewer recreational activities, young age, and low income (R2 = 37% to 57%). In this select group of women, postpartum mental health was found to be least favorable 1 month after delivery and related to factors associated with employment, recent delivery, and level of social support.

  1. A Community-Based Study of Sleep and Cognitive Development in Infants and Toddlers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wanqi; Li, Shirley Xin; Jiang, Yanrui; Xu, Xiaojuan; Spruyt, Karen; Zhu, Qi; Tseng, Chia-Huei; Jiang, Fan

    2018-05-29

    To examine the prevalence and correlates of nighttime awakenings and to explore the association between sleep and cognitive development in a community sample of infants and toddlers. A total of 590 healthy infants (aged 2-11 months) and 512 toddlers (aged 12-30 months) from 8 provinces of China were assessed for their sleep and cognitive development. Data on sleep duration and nighttime awakenings were collected through the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire. Cognitive development was assessed by trained pediatricians using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Prevalence of no nighttime awakening, and nighttime awakening(s) for 1×/night, 2×/night, and ≥ 3×/night was 6.8%, 20.2%, 33.2%, and 39.3% in infants, and was 25.8%, 34.6%, 23.8%, and 15.8% in toddlers, respectively. Nighttime awakenings were generally associated with younger age, lower maternal education level, and being currently breastfed. In addition, nighttime awakenings were associated with being boys in toddlers. After controlling for potential confounders, infants with nighttime awakenings for 2×/night were found to have significantly higher Mental Development Index (MDI) score, as compared to those without and those with more frequent nighttime awakenings. However, toddlers with nighttime awakenings for ≥ 3×/night had significantly lower MDI, as compared to those with fewer nighttime awakenings. Total sleep duration was not associated with any developmental indices in both infants and toddlers. Frequent nighttime awakenings are associated with poor cognitive functions in toddlers. Meanwhile, a nonlinear association between nighttime awakenings and cognitive performance was found among infants. The findings provide a developmental context for the effect of sleep on cognitive abilities in young children. Further longitudinal studies and interventional studies on the effects of parent-based sleep-focused intervention on cognitive abilities among young children are warranted. Copyright © 2018

  2. The relationship between consanguineous marriage and death in fetus and infants

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammadi, Majid Mehr; Hooman, Heidar Ali; Afrooz, Gholam Ali; Daramadi, Parviz Sharifi

    2012-01-01

    Background: Given the high prevalence of consanguineous marriages in rural and urban areas of Iran, the aim of this study was to identify its role in increasing fetal and infant deaths. Materials ans Methods : This was a cross-sectional study in which 494 mothers with more than one exceptional child (mentally retarded and physically-dynamically disabled) or with normal children were selected based on multi-stage random sampling method. Data was gathered using the features of parents with more...

  3. Parenting stress trajectories in mothers of very preterm infants to 2 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Peter H; Edwards, Dawn M; Gibbons, Kristen

    2018-01-01

    To examine levels of parenting stress in mothers of preterm and term infants when the children were 2 years old; to determine the trajectory of stress over three time periods and to examine the association of maternal and neonatal factors and developmental outcomes with parenting stress. It is a prospective longitudinal study to determine parenting stress in mothers of preterm and term infants with outcomes having been previously obtained at 4 and 12 months. At 2 years, 79 preterm mothers (96 babies) and 64 term mothers (77 babies) participated. The mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF), the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS) and the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). The infants had a neurological examination and the Bayley-III scales were administered. The mean total PSI-SF at 2 years was significantly higher for the preterm group compared with the term group of mothers (p=0.007). There was a significant increase in the mean total PSI over time for the preterm mothers (pparenting stress and abnormal scores on the DASS (pparenting stress and maternal demographics, neonatal factors or Bayley-III results. Parenting stress in mothers of preterm infants continues to be high at 2 years having increased over time. Maternal mental health problems and infant behavioural issues contribute to the stress. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  4. Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Infants with Retinopathy of Prematurity and Bevacizumab Treatment.

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    Reyin Lien

    Full Text Available The current study aims to investigate the neurodevelopment of premature infants after intravitreal injections of bevacizumab (IVB for the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP up to the age of 2 years.The study design was retrospective observational case series conducted at an institutional referral center. Infants with type 1 ROP were classified into 3 groups: laser only, IVB only, and a combination of IVB and laser treatment. Main Outcome Measures were neurodevelopmental outcomes of the patients after treatment were assessed by Bayley Scales for Infant Development.Sixty-one patients who finished the neurodevelopmental survey were included. No detrimental effects on neurodevelopment were found in IVB group compared with the patients who received laser treatment only. The patients in the IVB + laser group had a higher incidence of significant mental (p = 0.028 and psychomotor (p = 0.002 impairment at 24 months than the patients in the laser group. The odds ratio of having severe psychomotor defects in the IVB + laser group was 5.3 compared with the laser group (p = 0.041. The causal source for the differences that were detected remained unknown due to lack of randomization in the study and accompanying bias in patient selection.Two years after laser and/or intravitreal injections of bevacizumab for infants with retinopathy of prematurity, no difference on neurodevelopment for those who received only bevacizumab versus only laser treatment were found. Those infants who required rescue therapy with laser or bevacizumab injection after initial, unsuccessful treatment showed some detrimental, neurodevelopmental effects.

  5. Development and Validation of a Self-Report Measure of Mentalizing: The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire.

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    Peter Fonagy

    Full Text Available Reflective functioning or mentalizing is the capacity to interpret both the self and others in terms of internal mental states such as feelings, wishes, goals, desires, and attitudes. This paper is part of a series of papers outlining the development and psychometric features of a new self-report measure, the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ, designed to provide an easy to administer self-report measure of mentalizing. We describe the development and initial validation of the RFQ in three studies. Study 1 focuses on the development of the RFQ, its factor structure and construct validity in a sample of patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD and Eating Disorder (ED (n = 108 and normal controls (n = 295. Study 2 aims to replicate these findings in a fresh sample of 129 patients with personality disorder and 281 normal controls. Study 3 addresses the relationship between the RFQ, parental reflective functioning and infant attachment status as assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP in a sample of 136 community mothers and their infants. In both Study 1 and 2, confirmatory factor analyses yielded two factors assessing Certainty (RFQ_C and Uncertainty (RFQ_U about the mental states of self and others. These two factors were relatively distinct, invariant across clinical and non-clinical samples, had satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest stability, and were largely unrelated to demographic features. The scales discriminated between patients and controls, and were significantly and in theoretically predicted ways correlated with measures of empathy, mindfulness and perspective-taking, and with both self-reported and clinician-reported measures of borderline personality features and other indices of maladaptive personality functioning. Furthermore, the RFQ scales were associated with levels of parental reflective functioning, which in turn predicted infant attachment status in the SSP. Overall, this study lends

  6. The Ha Noi Expert Statement: recognition of maternal mental health in resource-constrained settings is essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals

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    Izutsu Takashi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Mental health problems in women during pregnancy and after childbirth and their adverse consequences for child health and development have received sustained detailed attention in high-income countries. In contrast, evidence has only been generated more recently in resource-constrained settings. In June 2007 the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health Organization, the Key Centre for Women's Health in Society, a WHO Collaborating Centre for Women's Health and the Research and Training Centre for Community Development in Vietnam convened the first international expert meeting on maternal mental health and child health and development in resource-constrained settings. It aimed to appraise the evidence about the nature, prevalence and risks for common perinatal mental disorders in women; the consequences of these for child health and development and ameliorative strategies in these contexts. The substantial disparity in rates of perinatal mental disorders between women living in high- and low-income settings, suggests social rather than biological determinants. Risks in resource-constrained contexts include: poverty; crowded living situations; limited reproductive autonomy; unintended pregnancy; lack of empathy from the intimate partner; rigid gender stereotypes about responsibility for household work and infant care; family violence; poor physical health and discrimination. Development is adversely affected if infants lack day-to-day interactions with a caregiver who can interpret their cues, and respond effectively. Women with compromised mental health are less able to provide sensitive, responsive infant care. In resource-constrained settings infants whose mothers are depressed are less likely to thrive and to receive optimal care than those whose mothers are well. The meeting outcome is the Hanoi Expert Statement (Additional file 1. It argues that the Millennium Development Goals to improve maternal health, reduce child

  7. [Effect of family integrate care on the development of preterm infants at 18 months of age].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Y; Gao, X Y; Xiang, X Y; Dai, H M; Yang, L; Shoo K, M Y; Hei, Mingyan

    2016-12-02

    Objective: To study the effect of family integrated care (FIC) in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to the development of preterm infants at 18 months of age. Method: This is a prospective parallel case-control study. Infants in FIC group were preterm infants enrolled in previous FIC study with gestational age (GA) 28-35 weeks. Study period was from July 2015 to July 2016. Subjects were all enrolled from Department of Child Healthcare in the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Infants in control group were gender, birth weight (BW), BW percentile and days of life (DOL) at follow-up matched (1∶1 ratio) preterm infants who did not enter FIC in NICU. The age at follow-up was 18 months. Study parameters were maternal education year, socioeconomic status (SES) by Graffar method, home observation for measurement of the environment (HOME), mental development index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) by mental and psychomotor Bayley scales of infant development (BSID). SPSS 20.0 of χ 2 test, t test, Pearson coefficient test and Spearman coefficient test were used for the statistical analysis. Result: Totally 67 infants were enrolled in each of FIC group and control group, with percentage of male gender 52% (35 infants) and 51% (34 infants), representatively. GA of FIC group and control group was (32.4±1.7) and (32.2±1.6) weeks, BW was (1 690±415) and (1 719±412) g. Weight at 18 months follow-up was (10±1) and (10±1) kg, maternal education year was (15±2) and (15±2) years, SES was (42±6) and (41±6) score, HOME was (31±5) and (32±5) score, representatively. There was no significant difference between FIC group and control group in the above parameters, making these 2 groups comparable. The MDI and PDI of FIC group were significantly higher than those of control group ((95±9) vs . (86±9), (87±9) vs . (80±8) score, t =5.506, 4.502, both P =0.000). The MDI and PDI of all groups were positively correlated to GA ( r =0.398 and 0

  8. Social media as a beneficial tool to support preterm infants and parents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marjan Ghazisaeedi

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Home care, continuous follow-up, and endless post discharge support play vital role in preventing the emergence of mental and physical disabilities and death among preterm infants. Providing necessary care and support for such infants requires huge financial and human resources and exposes heavy costs on hygiene and health system. Internet and information sharing applications, particularly Web 2.0, and social media present innovative techniques to provide a convenient channel to exchange necessary information between infants, parents, and caregivers. Despite the increasingly expanding use of social media in health and medicine, such devices have rarely been applied in more specialized fields, such as the hygiene and health of preterm infants. Thus, the present study aims at investigating studies published on the experiences of parent in regard with the integration of social media in the improvement of preterm infant treatment, determining the function of social media in taking better care of preterm infants, and presenting suggestions for further practical researches in this area of knowledge. This review study was conducted in 2016. To conduct the study, published articles in the years 2005 to 2016, in English with an emphasis on Social media and Preterm infants were studied. Search was done in databases including Pubmed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Proquest. The collected data were analyzed. The role of social media in three areas of preterm infants care, sharing the knowledge of clinical professionals, and sharing parenting experiences was clarified. Social media provide the necessary background for the distribution of the knowledge of medical experts; it also creates the opportunities of exchanging ideas, sharing parenting experiences, and expanding the knowledge of experts and educated individuals in addition to providing a stress free environment. The potential of social media in facilitating medical interventions for preterm infants

  9. Hypothyroidism among military infants born in countries of varied iodine nutrition status

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    Smith Tyler C

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Iodine deficiency is a global problem representing the most common preventable cause of mental retardation. Recently, the impact of subtle deficiencies in iodine intake on children and pregnant women has been questioned. This study was designed to compare hypothyroidism among infants born to US military families in countries of varied iodine nutrition status. Methods A cohort design was used to analyze data from the Department of Defense Birth and Infant Health Registry for infants born in 2000-04 (n = 447,691. Hypothyroidism was defined using ICD-9-CM codes from the first year of life (n = 698. The impact of birth location on hypothyroidism was assessed by comparing rates in Germany, Japan, and US territories with the United States, while controlling for infant gender, plurality, gestational age, maternal age, maternal military status, and military parent's race/ethnicity. Results Hypothyroidism did not vary by birth location with adjusted odds ratios (OR as follows: Germany (OR 0.82, [95% CI 0.50, 1.35], Japan (OR 0.67, [95% CI 0.37, 1.22], and US territories (OR 1.29, [95% CI 0.57, 2.89]. Hypothyroidism was strongly associated with preterm birth (OR 5.44, [95% CI 4.60, 6.42]. Hypothyroidism was also increased among infants with civilian mothers (OR 1.24, [95% CI 1.00, 1.54], and older mothers, especially ages 40 years and older (OR 2.09, [95% CI 1.33, 3.30]. Conclusions In this study, hypothyroidism in military-dependent infants did not vary by birth location, but was associated with other risk factors, including preterm birth, civilian maternal status, and advanced maternal age.

  10. Disparities in Infant Mortality by Race Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Whitney S; Goldfarb, Samantha S; Brisendine, Anne E; Burrows, Stevie; Wingate, Martha S

    2017-07-01

    U.S.-born Hispanic infants have a well-documented health advantage relative to other minority groups. However, little published research has examined racial heterogeneity within the Hispanic population, in relation to health outcomes. The current study aims to explore possible implications of racial identification for the health of U.S. born Hispanic compared to non-Hispanic infants. Methods Data were drawn from 2007 to 2008 NCHS Cohort Linked Live Birth-Infant Death Files, restricted to deliveries of Hispanic black, Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black (NHB) and non-Hispanic white mothers (NHW) (n = 7,901,858). Adjusted odds ratios for first week mortality, neonatal, postneonatal, and overall infant mortality were calculated for each group, using NHW as the reference group. A distinct health gradient was observed in which NHB infants (n = 1,250,222) had the highest risk of first week (aOR 2.29, CI 2.21-2.37), neonatal (aOR 2.23, CI 2.17-2.30), postneonatal (aOR 1.74, CI 1.68-1.81), and infant mortality (aOR 2.05, CI 2.00-2.10) compared to NHW infants (n = 4,578,150). Hispanic black infants (n = 84,377) also experienced higher risk of first-week (aOR 1.28 (1.12-1.47), neonatal (aOR .27, CI 1.13-1.44), postneonatal (aOR 1.34, CI 1.15-1.56), and infant mortality (aOR 1.30, CI 1.18-1.43) compared to both NHW and Hispanic white infants (n = 1,989,109). Conclusions for Practice: Risk of infant mortality varies among Hispanic infants by race, with poorer outcomes experienced by Hispanic black infants. Compared to non-Hispanic infants of the same race, Hispanic black infants experience a smaller health disadvantage and Hispanic white infants have better or similar infant health outcomes. Our findings suggest implications of racial heterogeneity on infant health outcomes, and provide insight into the role of race as a social construct.

  11. Mercury (Hg) exposure and its effects on Saudi breastfed infant's neurodevelopment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Saleh, Iman; Nester, Michael; Abduljabbar, Mai; Al-Rouqi, Reem; Eltabache, Chafica; Al-Rajudi, Tahreer; Elkhatib, Rola

    2016-01-01

    This cross-sectional study analyzed mercury (Hg) levels in healthy Saudi mothers and their infants (age 3-12 months) and examined the influence of Hg on the infants' neurodevelopment using screening tools, such as the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-II) and Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS). A total of 944 mothers and their 944 infants were recruited from 57 Primary Health Care Centers (PHCCs) in Riyadh. The total Hg (THg) levels were measured in the mothers' and infants' urine (UTHg-M and UTHg-I) and hair (HTHg-M and HTHg-I) samples and in the breast milk and mothers' blood. Methylmercury (MeHg) levels were determined in hair samples from the mothers (MeHg-M) and infants (MeHg-I). Only 40.1% of the infants were breast-fed when enrolled, and 59.9% had stopped breastfeeding. Only 1.8% of the mothers and 0.3% of the infants had MeHg levels above the Environmental Proection Agency (EPA) reference dose (1 μg/g), with low medians of 0.132 and 0.091 μg/g dw, respectively, but the MeHg levels were significantly associated with infant DDST-II performance. The levels of corrected UTHg-M for creatinine (Cr), HTHg-M, HTHg-I, and HMeHg-M, however, displayed an association with infant PEDS performance. The medians and percentage of the tested population that exceeded the recommended limits for Hg in urine and hair set by the World Health Organization (5 μg/g Cr) and EPA (1 μg/g) were 0.695 μg/g Cr and 3% UTHg, 0.118 μg/g dw and 4.1% HTHg-M, 0.101 μg/g dw and 2.8% HTHg-I, and 0.132 μg/g dw and 1.8% HMeHg-M. Our study provides evidence of an association between some Hg measures and delays in infant neurodevelopment, despite their low levels and regardless of the infant's breastfeeding status. The results are of potential concern, because delayed psychomotor or mental performance in infants could be an indicator of later neurocognitive development in children, which may persist into adulthood, as shown in other studies. The absence of local

  12. Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Social Supports Among Parents of Premature and Full-Term Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghorbani, Maryam; Dolatian, Mahrokh; Shams, Jamal; Alavi-Majd, Hamid

    2014-01-01

    Background: Premature birth is one of the most important unresolved reproductive health problems. Premature birth is often traumatic and a source of distress for parents. Increased parental stress during the first year of their infant's life is a risk factor for later behavioral problems in infants. Objectives: This study was designed to compare anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and social supports in parents of premature and mature infants. Patients and Methods: This was a comparative descriptive study conducted at healthcare centers of Qom city, in 2012. In this study, 82 couples (164 parents) divided into two groups including parents who have preterm and term infants. Questionnaires including items such as demographic characteristics, obstetric and post-traumatic stress disorders, Spielberger anxiety and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were completed two months after childbirth. Data were analyzed using χ2 test, Fisher’s exact test, Mann-Whitney test, independent t-test, and regression logistic using SPSS18 software. Results: The levels of anxiety was not significantly different in mothers and fathers in the two groups, but the trait anxiety level of mothers (P Post-traumatic stress disorder was significantly greater in mothers of preterm infants than those of term infants (P = 0.03), but this amount was not significantly different between the two groups of fathers. Mothers' social support did not differ significantly (P = 0.08), however, it was significantly different in fathers (P = 0.01). Conclusions: Premature infants' parents are more at risk of mental disorders than term infants' parents. This result shows the need of interventions, so these parents can better deal with the problems of premature infants. PMID:24829766

  13. Effect of prenatal exposure to maternal cortisol and psychological distress on infant development in Bengaluru, southern India: a prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nath, Anita; Murthy, Gudlavalleti Venkata Satyanarayana; Babu, Giridhara R; Di Renzo, Gian Carlo

    2017-07-17

    The mental health status of a pregnant woman and its consequent impact on foetal well being is not given much importance compared to the risk imposed by obstetric complications and medical conditions. Maternal psychological distress is a major public health problem and needs timely detection and intervention to prevent any adverse pregnancy outcome. There is ample evidence from literature that justifies the association of prenatal maternal mental stress and elevated cortisol with delayed infant motor and cognitive development; evidence from India being rather limited. The study aim is to prospectively assess the association of maternal psychological distress and cortisol level with motor and cognitive development of the infant. A sample of 2612 eligible pregnant women who have been registered for antenatal care at selected public sector hospitals in Bengaluru will be recruited after obtaining written informed consent. They will be assessed for the presence of maternal psychological distress in the form of depression and anxiety using appropriate scales and saliva samples will be collected for cortisol estimation during early, mid and late pregnancy. Follow up visits after delivery will be done on day 10, 3 months, 8 months and 12 months. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development [BSID] (Third edition) will be used to measure both motor and mental milestones in terms of Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) and Mental Development Index (MDI). Logistic regression model will be used to determine the association between the exposure variables and outcomes which will be reported as Odd's Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Our study findings could add to the growing evidence that maternal psychological distress during pregnancy adversely influences growth and development in the offspring and subsequent development of the child. While maternal anxiety and depression can be measured by using self reporting instruments, estimation of maternal

  14. In-utero exposure to DDT and cognitive development among infants and school-aged children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jusko, Todd A.; Klebanoff, Mark A.; Brock, John W.; Longnecker, Matthew P.

    2012-01-01

    Background Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) continues to be used for control of infectious diseases in several countries. In-utero exposure to DDT and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) has been associated with developmental and cognitive impairment among children. We examined this association in an historical cohort in which the level of exposure was greater than in previous studies. Methods The association of in-utero DDT and DDE exposure with infant and child neurodevelopment was examined in approximately 1100 subjects in the Collaborative Perinatal Project, a prospective birth cohort enrolling pregnant women from 12 study centers in the U.S. from 1959 to 1965. Maternal DDT and DDE concentrations were measured in archived serum specimens. Infant mental and motor development was assessed at age 8 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and child cognitive development was assessed at age 7 years using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Results Although levels of both DDT and DDE were relatively high in this population (median DDT concentration, 8.9 µg/L; DDE, 24.5 µg/L), neither was related to Mental or Psychomotor Development scores on the Bayley Scales or to Full-Scale IQ at 7 years of age. Categorical analyses showed no evidence of dose-response for either maternal DDT or DDE, and estimates of the association between continuous measures of exposure and neurodevelopment were indistinguishable from 0. Conclusions Adverse associations were not observed between maternal serum DDT and DDE concentrations and offspring neurodevelopment at 8 months or 7 years of age in this cohort. PMID:22766752

  15. ATTACHMENT IN INFANTS WITH CLEFT LIP AND/OR PALATE: MARGINAL SECURITY AND ITS CHANGES OVER TIME.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borghini, Ayala; Despars, Josée; Habersaat, Stéphanie; Turpin, Hélène; Monnier, Maryline; Ansermet, François; Hohlfeld, Judith; Muller-Nix, Carole

    2018-03-01

    This study examines the attachment quality and how this changed over time among infants who had cleft lip and palate (CLP), by conducting a prospective longitudinal study addressing the effects of this type of perinatal event on the parent-infant relationship and the emotional development of the infants. At 12 months of age, the Strange Situation Paradigm (SSP; M. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & T. Wall, 1978) was administered to a sample of 38 CLP infants (born between 2003 and 2010) and 17 healthy controls. At 4 years of age, the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT; I. Bretherton, D. Ridgeway, & J. Cassidy, 1990) was administered to 32 individuals from the CLP sample and 14 from the control group. As reported in the literature, CLP infants display secure attachment behaviors as frequently as do control infants (55%). However, a more detailed analysis of the attachment scales revealed that CLP infants show more avoidance and less proximity seeking. In addition, a closer examination of the subcategories of attachment styles revealed that most CLP infants (71%) displayed distal attachment strategies such as the B1/B2 or A1/A2 subcategories. At 4 years old, CLP infants clearly displayed more deactivation and less security than did the control sample. Moreover, when detailing the evolution of attachment individually, almost 60% of the CLP children showing distal strategies at 12 months became deactivated or disorganized when they reached 4 years. Indeed, subtle differences in attachment behaviors at 12 months old-which can be considered marginally secure at that age-may reveal attachment vulnerabilities, which seem to be more apparent over the course of development. © 2018 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  16. Acoustic parameters of infant-directed singing in mothers of infants with down syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de l'Etoile, Shannon; Behura, Samarth; Zopluoglu, Cengiz

    2017-11-01

    This study compared the acoustic parameters and degree of perceived warmth in two types of infant-directed (ID) songs - the lullaby and the playsong - between mothers of infants with Down syndrome (DS) and mothers of typically-developing (TD) infants. Participants included mothers of 15 DS infants and 15 TD infants between 3 and 9 months of age. Each mother's singing voice was digitally recorded while singing to her infant and subjected to feature extraction and data mining. Mothers of DS infants and TD infants sang both lullabies and playsongs with similar frequency. In comparison with mothers of TD infants, mothers of DS infants used a higher maximum pitch and more key changes during playsong. Mothers of DS infants also took more time to establish a rhythmic structure in their singing. These differences suggest mothers are sensitive to the attentional and arousal needs of their DS infants. Mothers of TD infants sang with a higher degree of perceived warmth which does not agree with previous observations of "forceful warmth" in mothers of DS infants. In comparison with lullaby, all mothers sang playsong with higher overall pitch and slower tempo. Playsongs were also distinguished by higher levels of spectral centroid properties related to emotional expressivity, as well as higher degrees of perceived warmth. These similarities help to define specific song types, and suggest that all mothers sing in an expressive manner that can modulate infant arousal, including mothers of DS infants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Chimpanzee social intelligence: selfishness, altruism, and the mother-infant bond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirata, Satoshi

    2009-01-01

    To better understand the human mind from an evolutionary perspective, a great deal of research has focused on the closest living relative of humans, the chimpanzee, using various approaches, including studies of social intelligence. Here, I review recent research related to several aspects of social intelligence, including deception, understanding of perception and intention, social learning, trading, cooperation, and regard for others. Many studies have demonstrated that chimpanzees are proficient in using their social intelligence for selfish motives to benefit from their interactions with others. In contrast, it is not yet clear whether chimpanzees engage in prosocial behaviors that benefit others; however, chimpanzee mother-infant interactions indicate the possibility of such behaviors. Therefore, I propose that chimpanzees possess rudimentary traits of human mental competence not only in terms of theory of mind in a broader sense but also in terms of prosociality involving regard for others. Mother-infant interactions appear to be particularly important to understanding the manifestation of social intelligence from an evolutionary perspective.

  18. Family Nurture Intervention in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit improves social-relatedness, attention, and neurodevelopment of preterm infants at 18 months in a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, Martha G; Firestein, Morgan R; Austin, Judy; Hane, Amie A; Stark, Raymond I; Hofer, Myron A; Garland, Marianne; Glickstein, Sara B; Brunelli, Susan A; Ludwig, Robert J; Myers, Michael M

    2015-11-01

    Preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is designed to counteract adverse effects of separation of mothers and their preterm infants. Here, we evaluate effects of FNI on neurobehavioral outcomes. Data were collected at 18 months corrected age from preterm infants. Infants were assigned at birth to FNI or standard care (SC). Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (Bayley-III) were assessed for 76 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 45); the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 57 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 26); and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was obtained for 59 infants (SC, n = 33; FNI, n = 26). Family Nurture Intervention significantly improved Bayley-III cognitive (p = .039) and language (p = .008) scores for infants whose scores were greater than 85. FNI infants had fewer attention problems on the CBCL (p Nurture Intervention is the first NICU intervention to show significant improvements in preterm infants across multiple domains of neurodevelopment, social-relatedness, and attention problems. These gains suggest that an intervention that facilitates emotional interactions between mothers and infants in the NICU may be key to altering developmental trajectories of preterm infants. © 2015 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  19. Face Preferences for Infant- and Adult-Directed Speakers in Infants of Depressed and Nondepressed Mothers: Association with Infant Cognitive Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaplan, Peter S; Asherin, Ryan M; Vogeli, Jo M; Fekri, Shiva M; Scheyer, Kathryn E; Everhart, Kevin D

    2018-01-01

    Face preferences for speakers of infant-directed and adult-directed speech (IDS and ADS) were investigated in 4- to 13.5-month-old infants of depressed and non-depressed mothers. Following 1-min of exposure to an ID or AD speaker (order counterbalanced), infants had an immediate paired-comparison test with a still, silent image of the familiarized versus a novel face. In the test phase, ID face preference ratios were significantly lower in infants of depressed than non-depressed mothers. Infants' ID face preference ratios, but not AD face preference ratios, correlated with their percentile scores on the cognitive ( Cog ) scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant & Toddler Development (3 rd Edition; BSID III), assessed concurrently. Regression analyses revealed that infant ID face preferences significantly predicted infant Cog percentiles even after demographic risk factors and maternal depression had been controlled. Infants may use IDS to select social partners who are likely to support and facilitate cognitive development.

  20. Efficacy of preventative parenting interventions for parents of preterm infants on later child behavior: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herd, Michael; Whittingham, Koa; Sanders, Matthew; Colditz, Paul; Boyd, Roslyn N

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of parenting interventions for parents of preterm infants to improve child behavior. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of parenting interventions for parents of preterm infants were included. Searchers were conducted of PubMed from 1951 to April 2013, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) from 1982 to April 2013, Scopus from 1966 to April 2013, PsycINFO from 1840 to April 2013, the Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Twelve RCTs were identified that assessed child behavior. Of these studies, only data from three were able to be pooled for meta-analysis: the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) at 3 years, the Mother-Infant Transaction Program (modified; MITP-M) at 5 years, and the Victorian Infant Brain Studies (VIBeS Plus) at 4 years. Outcome from this analysis revealed a small, but significant, effect on child behavior favoring the intervention (95% CI: 0.08-0.32; p = .001). There is evidence that preterm parenting interventions can improve child behavior. Streamlined interventions such as MITP-M and VIBeS Plus that have a strong focus on the mother-infant relationship may have greatest potential. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  1. The Intervention Nurses Start Infants Growing on Healthy Trajectories (INSIGHT) study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Ian M; Williams, Jennifer S; Anzman-Frasca, Stephanie; Beiler, Jessica S; Makova, Kateryna D; Marini, Michele E; Hess, Lindsey B; Rzucidlo, Susan E; Verdiglione, Nicole; Mindell, Jodi A; Birch, Leann L

    2014-07-18

    Because early life growth has long-lasting metabolic and behavioral consequences, intervention during this period of developmental plasticity may alter long-term obesity risk. While modifiable factors during infancy have been identified, until recently, preventive interventions had not been tested. The Intervention Nurses Starting Infants Growing on Healthy Trajectories (INSIGHT). Study is a longitudinal, randomized, controlled trial evaluating a responsive parenting intervention designed for the primary prevention of obesity. This "parenting" intervention is being compared with a home safety control among first-born infants and their parents. INSIGHT's central hypothesis is that responsive parenting and specifically responsive feeding promotes self-regulation and shared parent-child responsibility for feeding, reducing subsequent risk for overeating and overweight. 316 first-time mothers and their full-term newborns were enrolled from one maternity ward. Two weeks following delivery, dyads were randomly assigned to the "parenting" or "safety" groups. Subsequently, research nurses conduct study visits for both groups consisting of home visits at infant age 3-4, 16, 28, and 40 weeks, followed by annual clinic-based visits at 1, 2, and 3 years. Both groups receive intervention components framed around four behavior states: Sleeping, Fussy, Alert and Calm, and Drowsy. The main study outcome is BMI z-score at age 3 years; additional outcomes include those related to patterns of infant weight gain, infant sleep hygiene and duration, maternal responsiveness and soothing strategies for infant/toddler distress and fussiness, maternal feeding style and infant dietary content and physical activity. Maternal outcomes related to weight status, diet, mental health, and parenting sense of competence are being collected. Infant temperament will be explored as a moderator of parenting effects, and blood is collected to obtain genetic predictors of weight status. Finally, second

  2. Infants with atopic dermatitis: maternal hopelessness, child-rearing attitudes and perceived infant temperament.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauli-Pott, U; Darui, A; Beckmann, D

    1999-01-01

    Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common disease of childhood. It frequently starts in the first year of life. There is agreement on the existence of psychological influences on this disease. Although some studies in this field examine aspects of the parent-child relationship, studies concerning early infancy are very rare. The present study was conducted in order to find out whether maternal characteristics relevant to the mother-infant relationship, i.e. depressiveness/hopelessness, child-rearing attitudes and perceived infant behaviour, associated with infant AD. Two cohorts (3- to 4-month- and 10- to 12-month-old infants), each with 20 infants suffering from AD, and 20 healthy infants were recruited. AD infants were further divided into subgroups according to the diagnostic criteria: atopic family history, itching and characteristic locations of eczema. After a paediatric examination of the infant, mothers completed standardized questionnaires concerning depressiveness/hopelessness, child-rearing attitudes and perception of infant behaviour. Varying with different diagnostic features of the infants' AD, mothers of AD infants described themselves as more depressive/hopeless, as more anxious/overprotective and characterized their infant as less frequently positive and more frequently negative in its emotional behaviour compared to the control group. The results underline the importance of psychological support for mothers of infants with AD.

  3. Memory by association: Integrating memories prolongs retention by two-year-olds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayne, Harlene; Gross, Julien

    2017-02-01

    Recalling one memory often leads to the recollection of other memories that share overlapping features. This phenomenon, spreading activation, was originally documented in studies conducted with verbal adults, and more recently, it has been demonstrated with preverbal infants. Here, we examine the effect of spreading activation on long-term retention by 2-year-olds. Participants were tested in the Visual Recognition Memory (VRM) paradigm and the deferred imitation paradigm. Typically, infants of this age exhibit retention in the VRM paradigm for 24h, while they exhibit retention in the deferred imitation paradigm for at least 8 weeks. In the present experiment, we paired these tasks together during original encoding and tested infants after an 8-week delay. Two-year-olds exhibited retention in both tasks. That is, when these two tasks initially occurred together - one task that is extremely memorable and one that is not - retrieving the memory of the more memorable task cued retrieval of the less memorable task, extending its longevity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Infant attachment insecurity and dissociative symptomatology: findings from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haltigan, John D; Roisman, Glenn I

    2015-01-01

    Based on data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,149), the current article provides the first large-sample investigation of associations between different forms of infant attachment insecurity and dissociative symptomatology from childhood through midadolescence as measured by scales based on the mother, teacher, and youth self-report versions of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessments. Findings did not replicate the previously reported and highly cited evidence that infant attachment disorganization is associated with dissociative symptomatology. In contrast, correlations of small magnitude were observed between infant avoidance and dissociative symptomatology, as assessed by teachers and mothers (but not self-report). Results were not moderated by contextual risk. Limitations of the study included the absence of measures of maltreatment and interpersonal trauma, leaving open the possibility that infant attachment disorganization is a diathesis for later dissociation in the context of severe and/or chronic trauma. Nevertheless, the present results strongly indicate the need for additional research exploring the possible role of environmental factors in the development of dissociative symptomatology. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  5. Midwifery care: a perinatal mental health case scenario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marnes, Joanne; Hall, Pauline

    2013-12-01

    The establishment of the National Perinatal Depression Initiative (NPDI, 2008-2013) has brought a focus across Australia for the need to identify women at risk of perinatal mental health disorders, suggesting that routine screening by relevant health professionals may aid earlier detection, better care and improved outcomes. Midwives are frequently the primary point of contact in the perinatal period and thus ideally placed to identify, interpret and manage complex situations, including screening for perinatal mental health disorders. This paper offers strategies that could be implemented into daily midwifery practice in order to achieve the goals consistent with the National Perinatal Depression Initiative. A case study (Jen) and discussion, guided by recommendations from the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Competency standards and beyondblue Clinical Practice Guidelines, are used to demonstrate how midwifery care can be provided. In accordance with her legal obligations, the midwife should act within her scope of practice to undertake a series of psychosocial and medical assessments in order to best determine how midwifery care and support can be of benefit to Jen, her infant and her family. Suggestions described include administration of validated screening questionnaires, clinical interview, physical assessment, discussion with partner, awareness of the mother-infant interactions and questioning around baby's sleep and feeding. Based on evaluation of the information gained from a bio-psycho-social assessment, suggestions are made as to the midwifery care options that could be applied. Copyright © 2013 Australian College of Midwives. All rights reserved.

  6. Outcome of extremely low birth weight infants who received delivery room cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyckoff, Myra H; Salhab, Walid A; Heyne, Roy J; Kendrick, Douglas E; Stoll, Barbara J; Laptook, Abbot R

    2012-02-01

    To determine whether delivery room cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DR-CPR) independently predicts morbidities and neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in extremely low birth weight infants. We conducted a cohort study of infants born with birth weight of 401 to 1000 g and gestational age of 23 to 30 weeks. DR-CPR was defined as chest compressions, medications, or both. Logistic regression was used to determine associations among DR-CPR and morbidities, mortality, and NDI at 18 to 24 months of age (Bayley II mental or psychomotor index blindness, or deafness). Data are adjusted ORs with 95% CIs. Of 8685 infants, 1333 (15%) received DR-CPR. Infants who received DR-CPR had lower birth weight (708±141 g versus 764±146g, PCPR had more pneumothoraces (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.48-2.99), grade 3 to 4 intraventricular hemorrhage (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.23-1.74), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.13-1.59), death by 12 hours (OR, 3.69; 95% CI, 2.98-4.57), and death by 120 days after birth (OR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.93-2.57). Rates of NDI in survivors (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.02-1.49) and death or NDI (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.46-1.99) were higher for DR-CPR infants. Only 14% of DR-CPR recipients with 5-minute Apgar score CPR is a prognostic marker for higher rates of mortality and NDI for extremely low birth weight infants. New DR-CPR strategies are needed for this population. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Infant Mortality Statistics From the 2013 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, T J; MacDorman, Marian F; Thoma, Marie E

    2015-08-06

    This report presents 2013 period infant mortality statistics from the linked birth/infant death data set (linked file) by maternal and infant characteristics. The linked file differs from the mortality file, which is based entirely on death certificate data. Descriptive tabulations of data are presented and interpreted. The U.S. infant mortality rate was 5.96 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, similar to the rate of 5.98 in 2012. The number of infant deaths was 23,446 in 2013, a decline of 208 infant deaths from 2012. From 2012 to 2013, infant mortality rates were stable for most race and Hispanic origin groups; declines were reported for two Hispanic subgroups: Cuban and Puerto Rican. Since 2005, the most recent high, the U.S. infant mortality rate has declined 13% (from 6.86), with declines in both neonatal and postneonatal mortality overall and for most groups. In 2013, infants born at 37–38 weeks of gestation (early term) had mortality rates that were 63% higher than for full-term (39–40 week) infants. For multiple births, the infant mortality rate was 25.84, 5 times the rate of 5.25 for singleton births. In 2013, 36% of infant deaths were due to preterm-related causes of death, and an additional 15% were due to causes grouped into the sudden unexpected infant death category. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

  8. Enhancing maternal sensitivity and infant attachment security with video feedback: an exploratory study in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassibba, Rosalinda; Castoro, Germana; Costantino, Elisabetta; Sette, Giovanna; Van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to explore whether a short-term and attachment-based video-feedback intervention, the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting With Discussions on the Representational Level (VIPP-R; F. Juffer, M.J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, & M.H. van IJzendoorn, 2008), might be effective in enhancing maternal sensitivity and in promoting infants' attachment security in an Italian sample of dyads with primiparous mothers. Moreover, we explore whether the effectiveness of VIPP-R might be different for parents with insecure attachment representations who might be most in need of preventive intervention, as compared to parents who already have a more balanced and secure state of mind. Thirty-two infants (40% female) and their mothers participated in the study. The sample was divided into an intervention group (n = 16) and a comparison group (n = 16). At 6 and 13 months of age, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; M. Main, N. Kaplan, & J. Cassidy, 1985) was administered. Moreover, a 30-min mother-infant play situation was videotaped and coded for maternal sensitivity with the Emotional Availability Scales (Z. Biringen, J. Robinson, & R.N. Emde, 2000). At 13 months of age, the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.D. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) was used to assess the security of mother-infant attachment. Results revealed a significant interaction effect between intervention and AAI security for infant attachment security; moreover, main effects of AAI security and intervention for maternal sensitivity were found. The VIPP-R appears effective in enhancing maternal sensitivity and infant attachment security, although only mothers with an insecure attachment representation may benefit from the intervention. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  9. Maternal Employment Effects on Families and Preterm Infants at 18 Months

    Science.gov (United States)

    YOUNGBLUT, JoANNE M.; LOVELAND-CHERRY, CAROL J.; HORAN, MARY

    1994-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of maternal employment, maternal employment attitude/behavior consistency, and degree of choice and satisfaction with the employment decision on family functioning and preterm infant development and to describe changes in family functioning over time. Data were collected in the family’s home (N = 79) when the infant was 3, 9, and 18 months old. Parents in nonemployed-mother families were more satisfied with their families at 18 months than parents in employed-mother families. Decreases in family cohesion and/or adaptability from 9 to 18 months were seen for fathers in employed-mother families, for mothers in nonemployed-mother families, and for mothers in families where the mother’s employment attitudes and behaviors were consistent. Degree of choice was positively related to the child’s mental development, mother’s perception of family cohesion, and mother’s and father’s satisfaction with family. PMID:7971296

  10. Mothers' alexithymia, depression and anxiety levels and their association with the quality of mother-infant relationship: a preliminary study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yürümez, Esra; Akça, Ömer Faruk; Uğur, Çağatay; Uslu, Runa Idil; Kılıç, Birim Günay

    2014-08-01

    To evaluate the relationship between mothers and their developmentally normal infants in terms of maternal alexithymia, depression and anxiety, and marital satisfaction. Fifty children between 18 and 48 months of age, and their mothers, were referred consecutively to the Infant Mental Health Unit of Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The sociodemographic features of the families and the depressive symptoms, anxiety, marital satisfaction and alexithymia levels of the mothers were assessed. The relationships between children in normal developmental stages and their mothers were evaluated and rated using a structured clinical procedure. There was a negative correlation between the mothers' alexithymia scores and the quality of the mother-infant relationship (p Mothers with high alexithymia showed higher depression and lower relationship qualities than mothers with low alexithymia, according to the correlation analysis. When depression and anxiety were controlled, high alexithymia levels were predictive of a low, impaired mother-infant relationship. Since alexithymia is a trait-like variable which has a negative correlation with impairment in a mother-infant relationship, it must be investigated in the assessment of mothers' interactions with their babies.

  11. [Predictive value of qualitative assessment of general movements for adverse outcomes at 24 months of age in infants with asphyxia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Nan; Wen, Xiao-Hong; Huang, Jin-Hua; Wang, Shui-Yun; Zhu, Yue-E

    2015-12-01

    To investigate the predictive value of the qualitative assessment of general movements (GMs) for adverse outcomes at 24 months of age in full-term infants with asphyxia. A total of 114 full-term asphyxiated infants, who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between 2009 and 2012 and took part in follow-ups after discharge were included in the study. All of them received the qualitative assessment of GMs within 3 months after birth. The development quotient was determined with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 24 months of age. The results of the qualitative assessment of GMs within 3 months after birth showed that among 114 infants, 20 (17.5%) had poor repertoire movements and 7 (6.1%) had cramped-synchronized movements during the writhing movements period; 8 infants (7.0%) had the absence of fidgety movements during the fidgety movements period. The results of development quotient at 24 months of age showed that 7 infants (6.1%) had adverse developmental outcomes: 6 cases of cerebral palsy and mental retardation and 1 case of mental retardation. There was a poor consistency between poor repertoire movements during the writhing movements period and the developmental outcomes at 24 months of age (Kappa=-0.019; P>0.05). There was a high consistency between cramped-synchronized movements during the writhing movements period and the developmental outcomes at 24 months of age (Kappa=0.848; Ppredictive values of cramped-synchronized movements were shown as follows: predictive validity 98.2%, sensitivity 85.7%, specificity 99.1%, positive predictive value 85.7%, and negative predictive value 99.1%. There was a high consistency between the absence of fidgety movements during the fidgety movements period and the developmental outcomes at 24 months of age (Kappa=0.786; Ppredictive values were expressed as follows: predictive validity 97.4%, sensitivity 85.7%, specificity 98.1%, positive predictive value 75.0%, and negative predictive value 99.1%. Cramped

  12. Infant Abuse, Neglect, and Failure-to-Thrive: Mother-Infant Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietrich, Kim N.; And Others

    This study was designed to investigate whether or not degree of child maltreatment is related in some meaningful way to the interactional characteristics of the mother/infant dyad and to the infant's developmental status. A group of 53 mother/infant dyads was divided into five diagnostic groups: nonaccidental trauma combined with…

  13. The contribution of maternal psychological functioning to infant length of stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cherry AS

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Amanda S Cherry,1 Melissa R Mignogna,1 Angela Roddenberry Vaz,1 Carla Hetherington,2 Mary Anne McCaffree,2 Michael P Anderson,3 Stephen R Gillaspy1 1Section of General and Community Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 2Neonatal Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK, 3Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, College of Public Health, Oklahoma City, OK, USA Objective: Assess maternal psychological functioning within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU and its contribution to neonate length of stay (LOS in the NICU.Study design: Mothers of infants admitted to the NICU (n=111 were assessed regarding postpartum depression, postpartum social support, postpartum NICU stress, and maternal anxiety at 2 weeks postpartum. Illness severity was assessed with the Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB.Results: Postpartum depression was not significantly correlated with LOS, but was significantly correlated with trait anxiety (r=0.620, which was significantly correlated with LOS (r=0.227. Among mothers with previous mental health history, substance abuse history and CRIB score were the best predictors of LOS. For mothers without a prior mental health issues, delivery type, stress associated with infant appearance, and CRIB scores were the best predictors of LOS. In this group, LOS was found to increase on average by 7.06 days per one unit increase in stress associated with infant appearance among mothers with the same delivery type and CRIB score.Conclusion: Significant correlations of trait anxiety, stress associated with infant appearance, and parental role with LOS support the tenet that postpartum psychological functioning can be associated with NICU LOS. Keywords: NICU, postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, parental stress, CRIB

  14. MATERNAL MENTALIZING CAPACITY AND PREMATURITY: EFFECTS OF AN INTERVENTION IN NICU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcia Pinheiro Schaefer

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Mother-infant interactions and their impact on the formation of the psyche are studied by the Attachment Theory, highlighting the maternal mentalizing capacity as a determinant in the formation of a secure attachment. This study aimed to understand how a psychotherapeutic intervention performed with mother-premature baby pairs during hospitalization in NICU affects the maternal mentalizing capacity through a qualitative intervention research, with exploratory and descriptive character, which surveyed multiple cases and assessments before and after the intervention. The research included two mother-premature neonate dyads hospitalized in NICU. Before the intervention, the instruments used were: Socio-Demographic and Clinical Data Sheets and Live History Interview with the mother; after, the instrument used was the Hospitalization History Interview. Data were analyzed according to two themes: a maternal representations of herself; b maternal representations of the baby. There were changes in maternal mentalizing capacity, favoring the mother-baby bond and a possible implementation of interventions aimed at the early relationship mother-premature baby in NICU.

  15. The Development of Extremely Preterm Infants Born to Women Who Had Genitourinary Infections During Pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leviton, Alan; Allred, Elizabeth N; Kuban, Karl C K; O'Shea, T Michael; Paneth, Nigel; Onderdonk, Andrew B; Fichorova, Raina N; Dammann, Olaf

    2016-01-01

    Gestational genitourinary infections, which have been associated with neurodevelopmental impairments among infants born near term, have not been studied among very preterm infants. The mothers of 989 infants born before 28 weeks of gestation were interviewed about urine, bladder, or kidney infections (UTIs) and cervical or vaginal infections (CVIs) during pregnancy, as well as other exposures and characteristics, and their charts were reviewed for the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns (ELGAN) Study (2002-2004). At 2 years of age, these infants underwent a neurodevelopmental assessment. Generalized estimating equation logistic regression models of developmental adversities were used to adjust for potential confounders. Infants born to women who reported a UTI were less likely than were others to have a very low Mental Development Index (adjusted odds ratio = 0.5; 95% confidence interval: 0.3, 0.8), whereas infants born to women who reported a CVI were more likely than others to have a low Psychomotor Development Index (adjusted odds ratio = 1.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.04, 2.7). In this high-risk sample, maternal gestational CVI, but not UTI, was associated with a higher risk of impaired motor development at 2 years of age. The apparent protective effect of UTI might be spurious, reflect confounding due to untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria among women who were not given a diagnosis of UTI, or reflect preconditioning. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Attentional prioritization of infant faces is limited to own-race infants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Hodsoll

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Recent evidence indicates that infant faces capture attention automatically, presumably to elicit caregiving behavior from adults and leading to greater probability of progeny survival. Elsewhere, evidence demonstrates that people show deficiencies in the processing of other-race relative to own-race faces. We ask whether this other-race effect impacts on attentional attraction to infant faces. Using a dot-probe task to reveal the spatial allocation of attention, we investigate whether other-race infants capture attention.South Asian and White participants (young adults aged 18-23 years responded to a probe shape appearing in a location previously occupied by either an infant face or an adult face; across trials, the race (South Asian/White of the faces was manipulated. Results indicated that participants were faster to respond to probes that appeared in the same location as infant faces than adult faces, but only on own-race trials.Own-race infant faces attract attention, but other-race infant faces do not. Sensitivity to face-specific care-seeking cues in other-race kindenschema may be constrained by interracial contact and experience.

  17. Prebiotics in infant formula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandenplas, Yvan; Greef, Elisabeth De; Veereman, Gigi

    2014-01-01

    The gastrointestinal microbiota of breast-fed babies differ from classic standard formula fed infants. While mother's milk is rich in prebiotic oligosaccharides and contains small amounts of probiotics, standard infant formula doesn’t. Different prebiotic oligosaccharides are added to infant formula: galacto-oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharide, polydextrose, and mixtures of these. There is evidence that addition of prebiotics in infant formula alters the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota resembling that of breastfed infants. They are added to infant formula because of their presence in breast milk. Infants on these supplemented formula have a lower stool pH, a better stool consistency and frequency and a higher concentration of bifidobacteria in their intestine compared to infants on a non-supplemented standard formula. Since most studies suggest a trend for beneficial clinical effects, and since these ingredients are very safe, prebiotics bring infant formula one step closer to breastmilk, the golden standard. However, despite the fact that adverse events are rare, the evidence on prebiotics of a significant health benefit throughout the alteration of the gut microbiota is limited. PMID:25535999

  18. Influence of Infant Feeding Type on Gut Microbiome Development in Hospitalized Preterm Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Xiaomei; Judge, Michelle; Xu, Wanli; Diallo, Ana; Janton, Susan; Brownell, Elizabeth A.; Maas, Kendra; Graf, Joerg

    2016-01-01

    Background Premature infants have a high risk for dysbiosis of the gut microbiome. Mother’s own breastmilk (MOM) has been found to favorably alter gut microbiome composition in infants born at term. Evidence about the influence of feeding type on gut microbial colonization of preterm infants is limited. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of feeding types on gut microbial colonization of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods Thirty-three stable preterm infants were recruited at birth and followed-up for the first 30 days of life. Daily feeding information was used to classify infants into six groups (mother’s own milk [MOM], human donated milk [HDM], formula, MOM+HDM, MOM+Formula, and HDM+forumla) during postnatal days 0–10, 11–20, and 21–30 after birth. Stool samples were collected daily. DNA extracted from stool was used to sequence the 16S rRNA gene. Exploratory data analysis was conducted with a focus on temporal changes of microbial patterns and diversities among infants from different feeding cohorts. Prediction of gut microbial diversity from feeding type was estimated using linear mixed models. Results Preterm infants fed MOM (at least 70% of the total diet) had highest abundance of Clostridiales, Lactobacillales, and Bacillales compared to infants in other feeding groups, whereas infants fed primarily human donor milk or formula had a high abundance of Enterobacteriales compared to infants fed MOM. After controlling for gender, postnatal age, weight and birth gestational age, the diversity of gut microbiome increased over time and was constantly higher in infants fed MOM relative to infants with other feeding types (p breast milk benefits gut microbiome development of preterm infants, including balanced microbial community pattern and increased microbial diversity in early life. PMID:28252573

  19. CT of the infants and children with mental and/or physical handicaps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okada, Junichiro; Takeuchi, Kazuo

    1980-01-01

    Computed tomography (CT) was performed on 47 children and adolescents with mental and/or physical handicaps. Of these series, 22 cases of morphological change were noted. Another 25 cases showed no overt CT abnormality. These 47 cases were divided into three groups in the following manner. Group 1, with no CT abnormality; Group 2, with ventricular dilatation and/or cerebral atrophy, and Group 3, with a major morphological anomaly of the brain. Group 1 (25 cases) showed a marked dissociation between the CT findings and the IQ. EEG showed normal findings in two cases, diffuse abnormality in 5 cases, and focal abnormality in 9 cases. This group alone included 8 cases of athetosis. Group 2 (14 cases). Seven cases of EEG showed diffuse abnormality in 3 cases and focal abnormality in 4 cases. So-called cerebral palsy was noted in 11 cases. Group 3 (8 cases). This group included cases of hemihydranencephaly, porencephaly, agenesis of the corpus callosum, and arachnoid cyst. The mean and standard deviations of the IQ's in the groups are 57.1 +- 21.6, 65.2 +- 20.5, and 72.0 +- 8.0. That is, an inverted correlation between the CT abnormality and the IQ was noted. CT is a noninvasive study and a reasonable method of investigation for mentally handicapped children. DeMyer gave three categories of cerebral malformation: cytogenetic malformations, organogenetic disorders, and histogenetic disorders. On the other hand, EEG aimed at evaluating cerebral function and CT undertaken for morphological evaluation reveal no intimate correlation with one another. Rather, these two procedures each have their one value for the evaluation of the function and the structure of the brain. Mentally and/or physically handicapped patients without any overt cerebral anomaly have been found to be as follows: Murobushi, 12.29%; Malamud, 34%; Gross, 15.8%; Benda, 15%, and Hamada, 45.4%. (author)

  20. Do infant vocabulary skills predict school-age language and literacy outcomes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duff, Fiona J; Reen, Gurpreet; Plunkett, Kim; Nation, Kate

    2015-08-01

    history of language/literacy difficulties alongside infant vocabulary levels. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  1. Reflections on Mental Retardation and Eugenics, Old and New: Mensa and the Human Genome Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, J. David

    1994-01-01

    This article addresses the moral and ethical issues of mental retardation and a continuing legacy of belief in eugenics. It discusses the involuntary sterilization of Carrie Buck in 1927, support for legalized killing of subnormal infants by 47% of respondents to a Mensa survey, and implications of the Human Genome Project for the field of mental…

  2. Mother-preterm infant interactions at three months of corrected age: influence of maternal depression, anxiety and neonatal birth weight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erica eNeri

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Maternal depression and anxiety represent risk factors for the quality of early mother-preterm infant interactions, especially in the case of preterm birth. Despite the presence of many studies on this topic, the comorbidity of depressive and anxious symptoms has not been sufficiently investigated, as well as their relationship with the severity of prematurity and the quality of early interactions. The Aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of early mother-infant interactions and the prevalence of maternal depression and anxiety comparing dyads of Extremely Low Birth Weight-ELBW and Very Low Birth Weight-VLBW preterm infants with full-term ones. 77 preterm infants (32 ELBW; 45 VLBW and 120 full term (FT infants and their mothers were recruited. At 3 months of corrected age, 5 minutes of mother-infant interactions were recorded and later coded through the Global Ratings Scales. Mothers completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Infant levels of development were assessed through the Griffiths Mental Development Scales. A relation emerged among the severity of prematurity, depression, anxiety, and the quality of interactions. When compared with the FT group, the ELBW interactions were characterized by high maternal intrusiveness and low remoteness, while the VLBW dyads showed high levels of maternal sensitivity and infant communication. Depression was related to maternal remoteness and negative affective state, anxiety to low sensitivity, while infant interactive behaviours were impaired only in case of comorbidity. ELBW’s mothers showed the highest prevalence of depressive and anxious symptoms; moreover, only in FT dyads, low maternal sensitivity, negative affective state and minor infant communication were associated to the presence of anxious symptoms. The results confirmed the impact of prematurity on mother–infant interactions and on maternal affective state. Early diagnosis help to plan

  3. Correlation of serum KL-6 and CC16 levels with neurodevelopmental outcome in premature infants at 12 months corrected age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhiqun; Lu, Hui; Zhu, Yunxia; Xiang, Junhua; Huang, Xianmei

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate KL-6 and CC16 levels and their correlation with neurodevelopmental outcome among very low birth weight pre-term infants at 12 months corrected age. This prospective cohort study was performed from 2011 to 2013 by enrolling pre-term neonates of gestational age ≤ 32 weeks and birth weight ≤ 1500 g. Serum KL-6 and CC16 levels were determined 7 days after birth and their correlation with neurodevelopment was evaluated using Gesell Mental Developmental Scales. Of the 86 eligible pre-term infants, 63 completed follow-up, of which 15 had bronchopulmonary dysplasia. At 12 months corrected age, 49 infants had favorable outcomes and 14 infants had poor neurodevelopmental outcome. KL-6 levels were higher and CC16 levels were lower in infants with poor neurodevelopmental outcome compared with those infants who had favourable neurodevelopmental outcome. Serum KL-6 levels less than 90.0 ng/ml and CC16 levels greater than 320.0 pg/ml at 7 days of life were found to be predictive of a favourable outcome at 12 months corrected age. These biological markers could predict neurodevelopmental outcome at 12 months corrected age in very low birth weight premature infants, and help the clinician plan early therapeutic interventions to minimize or avoid poor neurodevelopmental outcome. PMID:25631862

  4. n-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation in Mothers, Preterm Infants, and Term Infants and Childhood Psychomotor and Visual Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shulkin, Masha; Pimpin, Laura; Bellinger, David; Kranz, Sarah; Fawzi, Wafaie; Duggan, Christopher; Mozaffarian, Dariush

    2018-03-01

    Epidemiologic studies link maternal seafood and n-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) consumption with improved childhood cognitive development; trials show mixed results. We investigated effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation on child cognitive and visual outcomes. We systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed randomized controlled trials of n-3 PUFA supplementation in mothers or infants (age ≤2 y) and evaluated standardized measures of cognitive or visual development up to age 18 y. Of 6286 abstracts and 669 full-text articles, 38 trials with 53 intervention arms were included. Data were extracted independently in duplicate. Findings were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis across supplementation periods (maternal, preterm, term infant); we also explored subgroup analyses stratified by supplementation period. Heterogeneity was explored using I2, stratified analysis, and meta-regression. Cognitive development was assessed by Bayley Scales of Infant Development mental and psychomotor developmental indexes (MDI, PDI) and intelligence quotient (IQ); visual acuity was assessed by electrophysiological or behavioral measures. The 38 trials (mothers: n = 13; preterm infants: n = 7; term infants: n = 18) included 5541 participants. When we explored effects during different periods of supplementation, n-3 PUFA supplementation improved MDI in preterm infants (3.33; 95% CI: 0.72, 5.93), without statistically significant effects on PDI or IQ in different intervention period subgroups. Visual acuity [measured as the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR)] was improved by supplementation in preterm (-0.08 logMAR; 95% CI: -0.14, -0.01 logMAR) and term infants (-0.08 logMAR; 95% CI: -0.11, -0.05 logMAR), with a nonsignificant trend for maternal supplementation (-0.02 logMAR; 95% CI: -0.04, 0.00 logMAR). In main analyses pooling all supplementation periods, compared with placebo, n-3 PUFA supplementation improved MDI (n = 21 trials; 0.91; 95% CI

  5. Mother-infant interaction in schizophrenia: transmitting risk or resilience? A systematic review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidsen, Kirstine Agnete; Harder, Susanne; MacBeth, Angus; Lundy, Jenna-Marie; Gumley, Andrew

    2015-12-01

    The parent-infant relationship is an important context for identifying very early risk and resilience factors and targets for the development of preventative interventions. The aim of this study was to systematically review studies investigating the early caregiver-infant relationship and attachment in offspring of parents with schizophrenia. We searched computerized databases for relevant articles investigating the relationship between early caregiver-infant relationship and outcomes for offspring of a caregiver with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Studies were assessed for risk of bias. We identified 27 studies derived from 10 cohorts, comprising 208 women diagnosed with schizophrenia, 71 with other psychoses, 203 women with depression, 59 women with mania/bipolar disorder, 40 with personality disorder, 8 with unspecified mental disorders and 119 non-psychiatric controls. There was some evidence to support disturbances in maternal behaviour amongst those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and there was more limited evidence of disturbances in infant behaviour and mutuality of interaction. Further research should investigate both sources of resilience and risk in the development of offspring of parents with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and psychosis. Given the lack of specificity observed in this review, these studies should also include maternal affective disorders including depressive and bipolar disorders.

  6. Very preterm/very low birthweight infants' attachment: infant and maternal characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolke, Dieter; Eryigit-Madzwamuse, Suna; Gutbrod, Tina

    2014-01-01

    To investigate whether there are differences in attachment security and disorganisation between very preterm or very low birthweight (VP/VLBW) (infants (37-42 weeks gestation) and whether the pathways to disorganised attachment differ between VP/VLBW and full-term infants. The sample with complete longitudinal data consisted of 71 VP/VLBW and 105 full-term children and their mothers matched for twin status, maternal age, income and maternal education. Infant attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation Assessment at 18 months of age. Maternal sensitivity in the VP/VLBW and full-term samples was rated by neonatal nurses and community midwives in the neonatal period, respectively, and mother-infant interaction was observed at 3 months. Infant difficultness was assessed by maternal report at 3 months and infant's developmental status was assessed with the Bayley Scales (BSID-II). Most VP/VLBW (61%) and full-term (72%) children were found to be securely attached. However, more VP/VLBW (32%) than full-term children (17%) had disorganised attachment. Longitudinal path analysis found that maternal sensitivity was predictive of attachment disorganisation in full-term children. In contrast, infant's distressing cry and infant's developmental delay, but not maternal sensitivity, were predictive of disorganised attachment in VP/VLBW children. A third of VP/VLBW children showed disorganised attachment. Underlying neurodevelopmental problems associated with VP/VLBW birth appear to be a common pathway to a range of social relationship problems in this group. Clinicians should be aware that disorganised attachment and relationship problems in VP/VLBW infants are frequent despite sensitive parenting.

  7. Infants in Drug Withdrawal: A National Description of Nurse Workload, Infant Acuity, and Parental Needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jessica G; Rogowski, Jeannette A; Schoenauer, Kathryn M; Lake, Eileen T

    Infants in drug withdrawal have complex physiological and behavioral states, requiring intensive nursing care. The study objectives were to describe acuity, parental needs, and nurse workload of infants in drug withdrawal compared with other infants. The design was cross-sectional and involved secondary nurse survey data from 6045 staff nurses from a national sample of 104 neonatal intensive care units. Nurses reported the care of 15 233 infants, 361 (2.4%) of whom were in drug withdrawal. Three-fourths of hospitals had at least 1 infant in drug withdrawal. In these hospitals, the mean number of infants in drug withdrawal was 4.7. Infant acuity was significantly higher among infants in drug withdrawal. Parents of infants in drug withdrawal required significantly more care to address complex social situations (51% vs 12%). The number of infants assigned to nurses with at least 1 infant in withdrawal (mean = 2.69) was significantly higher than typical (mean = 2.51). Given infant acuity and parental needs, policies legislating patient-to-nurse ratios should permit professional discretion on the number of patients to assign nurses caring for infants in drug withdrawal. Managers and charge nurses should consider the demands of caring for infants in drug withdrawal in assignment decisions and provide support and education.

  8. Mother and Infant Talk about Mental States: Systemic Emergence of Psychological Lexicon and Theory of Mind Understanding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rollo, D.; Buttiglieri, F.

    In recent years, a number of studies that have examined how social experiences are related to children's theory of mind development, have found that: (1) the frequency of mothers' mental state utterances used in mother-child picture-book reading, is correlated with children's theory of mind abilities; (2) mothers' use of cognitive terms is related more strongly to children's theory of mind performances than the mothers' references to other mental states, such as desires or emotions (Adrian, Clemente, Villanueva, Rieffe, 2005; Ruffman, Slade, Crowe, 2002; Taumoepeau, Ruffman, 2006; Dunn, 2002). Despite the evidence for the role of mothers' language, there is disagreement over how exactly it improves children's theory of mind development. In short, mentalistic comments contain distinctive words, grammatical constructions and pragmatic features. The question is, however, which factor is critical (de Rosnay, Pons, Harris, Morrell, 2004). The present study addresses this issue and focuses on relationship between mothers' mental state terms and children's performances in theory of mind tasks (emotion understanding and false belief tasks). Mothers were asked to read some pictures to 10 children between 3;0 and 5;0. Among the different mental state references (perceptual, emotional, volitional, cognitive, moral and communicative), it was found that the frequency and variety of mothers' mental state words were significantly associated with children's mental lexicon. In addition, emotional terms correlated positively with children's false belief performance. Kind of emotional words that are used by the mothers with reference to the Italian language will be discussed.

  9. Mother-Infant and Father-Infant Interaction Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Carol J.

    A total of 20 infants 8 months of age were videotaped in dyads with each parent during 10 minutes of free play in a laboratory setting, to investigate reciprocal behavior among parents and their infants. Questionnaire data on parents' caretaking involvement were also collected. Findings indicated that mothers and fathers did not differ on the…

  10. INITIAL VALIDATION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF PARENTING TOOL: A TASK- AND DOMAIN-LEVEL MEASURE OF PARENTING SELF-EFFICACY FOR PARENTS OF INFANTS FROM BIRTH TO 24 MONTHS OF AGE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Tracy E; Polanin, Joshua R; Evenson, Amber L; Troutman, Beth R; Franklin, Christina L

    2016-05-01

    Parenting self-efficacy (PSE) includes parents' self-perceptions regarding their capabilities in performing the numerous and changing tasks associated with parenting a specific child (i.e., domain-specific PSE) as well as their self-perceptions in the parenting role overall (i.e., domain-general PSE). Prior literature has demonstrated PSE's relations with numerous constructs significant to mental health and the parent-infant relationship. Prior measures of PSE have been limited by focusing on only domain-specific or domain-general PSE, ignoring the importance of infant development to PSE, and other psychometric limitations. This article presents sound psychometric data for a new measure of PSE, the Assessment of Parenting Tool (APT). The APT includes task-level items on the Domain-Specific subscale (APT-DS) for each age-referenced version of the measure as well as a domain-general subscale that taps overall PSE within the first 24 months' postpartum. Initial construct validity of the measure is established, particularly for parents of infants aged 3 months and older. A stable, three-factor structure for the domain-general subscale includes "coping with being a parent," "attuned parenting," and "self-perceived model parenting." Future directions for the APT, including a revised checklist format for the domain-specific subscale, are included. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  11. Do preventive interventions for children of mentally ill parents work? Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thanhäuser, Martina; Lemmer, Gunnar; de Girolamo, Giovanni; Christiansen, Hanna

    2017-07-01

    The transgenerational transmission of mental disorders is one of the most significant causes of psychiatric morbidity. Several risk factors for children of parents with mental illness (COPMI) have been identified in numerous studies and meta-analyses. Many interventions have been developed for this high-risk group, but data about their efficacy are heterogeneous. The current meta-analysis reports on 96 articles including 50 independent samples from randomized controlled trials quantifying effects of preventive interventions for COPMI. Random effect models resulted in small, though significant Effect Sizes (ES) for programs enhancing the mother-infant interaction (ES = 0.26) as well as mothers' (ES = 0.33) and children's (ES = 0.31) behavior that proved to be stable over the 12-month follow-up, except for infants' behavior. Interventions for children/adolescents resulted in significant small effects for global psychopathology (ES = 0.13), as well as internalizing symptoms (ES = 0.17), and increased significantly over time, with externalizing symptoms reaching significance in the follow-up assessments as well (ES = 0.17). Interventions addressing parents and children jointly produced overall larger effects. Higher study quality was associated with smaller effects. There is a dearth of high quality studies that effectively reduce the high risk of COPMI for the development of mental disorders.

  12. Infant and Young Child Feeding: a Key area to Improve Child Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Habibolah Taghizade Moghaddam

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Good nutrition is essential for survival, physical growth, mental development, performance, productivity, health and well-being across the entire life-span: from the earliest stages of fetal development, at birth, and through infancy, childhood, adolescence and on into adulthood. Poor nutrition in the first 1,000 days of children’s lives can have irreversible consequences. For millions of children, it means they are, forever, stunted. Every infant and child has the right to good nutrition according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; so the World Health Assembly has adopted a new target of reducing the number of stunted children under the age of 5 by 40 percent by 2025. The first 2 years of a child’s life are particularly important, as optimal nutrition during this period lowers morbidity and mortality, reduces the risk of chronic disease, and fosters better development overall. Breastfeeding and complementary feeding are a critical aspect of caring for infants and young children.

  13. Infants in cocktail parties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Rochelle S.

    2003-04-01

    Most work on listeners' ability to separate streams of speech has focused on adults. Yet infants also find themselves in noisy environments. In order to learn from their caregivers' speech in these settings, they must first separate it from background noise such as that from television shows and siblings. Previous work has found that 7.5-month-old infants can separate streams of speech when the target voice is more intense than the distractor voice (Newman and Jusczyk, 1996), when the target voice is known to the infant (Barker and Newman, 2000) or when infants are presented with an audiovisual (rather than auditory-only) signal (Hollich, Jusczyk, and Newman, 2001). Unfortunately, the paradigm in these studies can only be used on infants at least 7.5 months of age, limiting the ability to investigate how stream segregation develops over time. The present work uses a new paradigm to explore younger infants' ability to separate streams of speech. Infants aged 4.5 months heard a female talker repeat either their own name or another infants' name, while several other voices spoke fluently in the background. We present data on infants' ability to recognize their own name in this cocktail party situation. [Work supported by NSF and NICHD.

  14. The Effects of Massage by Mothers on Mother-Infant Attachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoghi, Mahnaz; Sohrabi, Soroor; Rasouli, Mahboobe

    2017-11-04

    Context • Transferring a newborn to the intensive care unit due to a premature birth is a major obstacle in the establishment of emotional attachment between a mother and her child. Researchers believe that the formation and continuation of such an attachment have a profound effect on the child's mental development and behavior in the coming years of life. Not all studies have agreed, however, that skin contact alone, such as massage provides, can improve attachment. Objective • The aim of this study was to determine the effects on maternal attachment behaviors of infants hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of massage provided by mothers for their premature neonates. Design • The research team designed a randomized, controlled trial. Setting • The study took place at the Hazrat Ali Asghar Hospital of the Iran University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran). Participants • Participants were 40 mothers and 40 newborns admitted to the NICU at the hospital. Intervention • The study divided participants randomly into a massage (intervention) group and a control group receiving no massages. Mothers in the intervention group trained by watching educational videos and practicing the massage on infant manikins. Subsequently, the intervention group massaged its infants according to a 5-d program, in which each neonate received a 15-min massage session per day. Outcome Measures • Mother-infant attachment behaviors were assessed in both groups 4 times. The maternal attachment scale was used for data collection. Results • According to the statistical analyses, the between-groups difference was not significant at baseline (P > .05). The study showed a statistically significant difference between baseline and postintervention in the mean frequencies of maternal attachment behaviors for both groups (P attachment between the intervention and control groups (P = .000). Conclusion • Massage given to premature neonates by their mothers on a daily

  15. Audio-visual speech perception in infants and toddlers with Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and Williams syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Souza, Dean; D'Souza, Hana; Johnson, Mark H; Karmiloff-Smith, Annette

    2016-08-01

    Typically-developing (TD) infants can construct unified cross-modal percepts, such as a speaking face, by integrating auditory-visual (AV) information. This skill is a key building block upon which higher-level skills, such as word learning, are built. Because word learning is seriously delayed in most children with neurodevelopmental disorders, we assessed the hypothesis that this delay partly results from a deficit in integrating AV speech cues. AV speech integration has rarely been investigated in neurodevelopmental disorders, and never previously in infants. We probed for the McGurk effect, which occurs when the auditory component of one sound (/ba/) is paired with the visual component of another sound (/ga/), leading to the perception of an illusory third sound (/da/ or /tha/). We measured AV integration in 95 infants/toddlers with Down, fragile X, or Williams syndrome, whom we matched on Chronological and Mental Age to 25 TD infants. We also assessed a more basic AV perceptual ability: sensitivity to matching vs. mismatching AV speech stimuli. Infants with Williams syndrome failed to demonstrate a McGurk effect, indicating poor AV speech integration. Moreover, while the TD children discriminated between matching and mismatching AV stimuli, none of the other groups did, hinting at a basic deficit or delay in AV speech processing, which is likely to constrain subsequent language development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Nutritional recommendations for the late-preterm infant and the preterm infant after hospital discharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapillonne, Alexandre; O'Connor, Deborah L; Wang, Danhua; Rigo, Jacques

    2013-03-01

    Early nutritional support of preterm infants is critical to life-long health and well being. Numerous studies have demonstrated that preterm infants are at increased risk of mortality and morbidity, including disturbances in brain development. To date, much attention has focused on enhancing the nutritional support of very low and extremely low birth weight infants to improve survival and quality of life. In most countries, preterm infants are sent home before their expected date of term birth for economic or other reasons. It is debatable whether these newborns require special nutritional regimens or discharge formulas. Furthermore, guidelines that specify how to feed very preterm infants after hospital discharge are scarce and conflicting. On the other hand, the late-preterm infant presents a challenge to health care providers immediately after birth when decisions must be made about how and where to care for these newborns. Considering these infants as well babies may place them at a disadvantage. Late-preterm infants have unique and often-unrecognized medical vulnerabilities and nutritional needs that predispose them to greater rates of morbidity and hospital readmissions. Poor or inadequate feeding during hospitalization may be one of the main reasons why late-preterm infants have difficulty gaining weight right after birth. Providing optimal nutritional support to late premature infants may improve survival and quality of life as it does for very preterm infants. In this work, we present a review of the literature and provide separate recommendations for the care and feeding of late-preterm infants and very preterm infants after discharge. We identify gaps in current knowledge as well as priorities for future research. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Understanding child protection decisions involving parents with mental illness and substance abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roscoe, Joseph N; Lery, Bridgette; Chambers, Jaclyn E

    2018-07-01

    Among children investigated for maltreatment, those with parents experiencing mental illness or substance abuse are more likely to be placed out-of-home; however, little is known about why these children are at greater risk. Using a sample of 2488 Structured Decision Making ® assessments administered in San Francisco county from 2011 to 2015, we identified a profile of safety threats that accounts for why workers are more likely to determine children of parents with mental illness and/or substance abuse unsafe in the home. Eight percent of assessments in our sample involved parents with current mental illness only and 10% had comorbid substance abuse. The odds of an unsafe determination more than doubled among parents with mental illness (OR = 2.52, p mental illness on safety determination: caretaking impairment due to emotional stability/developmental status/cognitive deficiency (57%), failure to meet a child's immediate needs (30%), and threats of harm (14%). Three safety threats accounted for 55% of the effect of comorbid mental illness and substance abuse on safety determination: failure to meet a child's immediate needs (21%), presence of a drug-exposed infant (21%), and caretaking impairment due to emotional stability/developmental status/cognitive deficiency (14%). Results suggest that sustained linkage to effective mental health services and material resources at the outset of a child welfare case may help to promote faster and more likely reunification, and prevent future maltreatment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. [Infants' attachment security in a vulnerable French sample].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tereno, S; Guedeney, N; Dugravier, R; Greacen, T; Saïas, T; Tubach, F; Ulgen, S; Matos, I; Guédeney, A

    2017-04-01

    Attachment is a long lasting emotional link established between infants and their caregivers. The quality of early relationships allows infants to safely explore their environment and contribute to the establishment of a broad range of social skills. Several intervention programs targeting infant attachment have been implemented in different contexts, showing diverse degrees of efficacy. The present paper describes, for the first time, children's attachment quality distributions in a French multi-risk population, with a preventive intervention, usual or reinforced. In the CAPEDP study (Parenting and Attachment in Early Childhood: reducing mental health disorder risks and promoting resilience), a sub-sample of 117 women was recruited to assess the effects of this home-visiting program on children's attachment security. With that intent, the Strange Situation Paradigm was used when infants were between 12 and 16 months of age. In the intervention group, 63% (n=41) of the infants were coded as secure, while 15% (n=10) of them were coded as insecure-avoidant and 22% (n=14) as insecure-ambivalent/resistant. 56% (n=29) of control group infants (usual care) were coded as secure, while 27% (n=14) were coded as insecure-avoidant and 17% (n=9) as insecure-ambivalent/resistant. Even if the percentage of children with a secure attachment in the reinforced intervention group was higher than that of the control group, this difference did not reach the threshold of significance [Chi 2 (2)=2.40, P=0.30]. Intervention group distributions were closer to normative samples, and these distributions show the clinical impact of our program. In general, preventive interventions focused on attachment quality have moderate effects but, in our case, several factors might have contributed to lower the statistical impact of the program. Firstly, the control group cannot be considered has having received zero intervention for two reasons: (a) the French usual perinatal health system (Maternal

  19. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of triplets or higher-order extremely low birth weight infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadhawan, Rajan; Oh, William; Vohr, Betty R; Wrage, Lisa; Das, Abhik; Bell, Edward F; Laptook, Abbot R; Shankaran, Seetha; Stoll, Barbara J; Walsh, Michele C; Higgins, Rosemary D

    2011-03-01

    Extremely low birth weight twins have a higher rate of death or neurodevelopmental impairment than singletons. Higher-order extremely low birth weight multiple births may have an even higher rate of death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Extremely low birth weight (birth weight 401-1000 g) multiple births born in participating centers of the Neonatal Research Network between 1996 and 2005 were assessed for death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 18 to 22 months' corrected age. Neurodevelopmental impairment was defined by the presence of 1 or more of the following: moderate to severe cerebral palsy; mental developmental index score or psychomotor developmental index score less than 70; severe bilateral deafness; or blindness. Infants who died within 12 hours of birth were excluded. Maternal and infant demographic and clinical variables were compared among singleton, twin, and triplet or higher-order infants. Logistic regression analysis was performed to establish the association between singletons, twins, and triplet or higher-order multiples and death or neurodevelopmental impairment, controlling for confounding variables that may affect death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Our cohort consisted of 8296 singleton, 2164 twin, and 521 triplet or higher-order infants. The risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment was increased in triplets or higher-order multiples when compared with singletons (adjusted odds ratio: 1.7 [95% confidence interval: 1.29-2.24]), and there was a trend toward an increased risk when compared with twins (adjusted odds ratio: 1.27 [95% confidence: 0.95-1.71]). Triplet or higher-order births are associated with an increased risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 18 to 22 months' corrected age when compared with extremely low birth weight singleton infants, and there was a trend toward an increased risk when compared with twins.

  20. Neurobehavioural and cognitive development in infants born to mothers with eating disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barona, Manuela; Taborelli, Emma; Corfield, Freya; Pawlby, Susan; Easter, Abigail; Schmidt, Ulrike; Treasure, Janet; Micali, Nadia

    2017-08-01

    Although recent research has focused on the effects of maternal eating disorders (EDs) on children, little is known about the effect of maternal EDs on neurobiological outcomes in newborns and infants. This study is the first to investigate neurobehavioural regulation and cognitive development in newborns and infants of mothers with EDs. Women with an active and past ED and healthy controls were recruited to a prospective longitudinal study during their first trimester or second trimester of pregnancy. Newborns and infants of mothers with ED were compared with newborns and infants of healthy controls on (a) neurobehavioural dysregulation using the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale at 8 days postpartum (active ED, n = 15; past ED, n = 20; healthy controls, n = 28); and (b) cognitive development using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development at 1-year postpartum (active ED, n = 18; past ED, n = 19; healthy controls, n = 28). In order to maintain the largest possible sample at each time point, sample size varied across time points. Newborns of mothers with an active ED had worse autonomic stability when compared with newborns of healthy controls [B = -0.34 (-1.81, -0.26)]. Infants of mothers with a past ED had poorer language [B = -0.33 (-13.6, -1.9)] and motor development [B = -0.32 (-18.4, -1.3)] compared with healthy controls. Children of mothers with ED display neurobehavioural dysregulation early after birth and poorer language and motor development at 1 year. These characteristics suggest evidence of early neurobiological markers in children at risk. Differential outcomes in children of women with active versus past ED suggest that active symptomatology during pregnancy might have an effect on physiological reactivity while cognitive characteristics might be more stable markers of risk for ED. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  1. Observed and Reported Supportive Coparenting as Predictors of Infant-Mother and Infant-Father Attachment Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Geoffrey L.; Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.; Mangelsdorf, Sarah C.; Neff, Cynthia

    2010-01-01

    This study examined associations between supportive coparenting and infant-mother and infant-father attachment security. Observed and parent-reported coparenting, and observed maternal and paternal sensitivity were assessed in a sample of 68 families with 3.5-month-old infants. Infant-mother and infant-father attachment security were assessed in…

  2. Effects of Mother-Infant Social Interactions on Infants' Subsequent Contingency Task Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, Philip; Dunham, Frances

    1990-01-01

    Infants participated in a nonsocial contingency task immediately after a social interaction with their mothers. The amount of time mothers and infants spent in a state of vocal turn-taking predicted individual differences in infants' subsequent performance on the contingency task. (PCB)

  3. Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) Performance of Greek Preterm Infants: Comparisons With Full-Term Infants of the Same Nationality and Impact of Prematurity-Related Morbidity Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syrengelas, Dimitrios; Kalampoki, Vassiliki; Kleisiouni, Paraskevi; Manta, Vassiliki; Mellos, Stavros; Pons, Roser; Chrousos, George P; Siahanidou, Tania

    2016-07-01

    Only a few studies have been conducted with the objective of creating norms of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) for the assessment of gross motor development of preterm infants. The AIMS performance of preterm infants has been compared with that of the Canadian norms of full-term infants, but not with that of full-term infants of the same nationality. Moreover, the possible impact of prematurity-related morbidity factors on AIMS performance is unknown. The aims of this study were: (1) to evaluate AIMS trajectory in a large population of Greek preterm infants and create norms, (2) to compare it with the AIMS trajectory of Greek full-term infants, and (3) to examine the possible influence of neonatal morbidity on AIMS scores in the preterm sample. This was a cross-sectional study. Mean AIMS scores were compared, per month (1-19), between 403 preterm infants (≤32 weeks of age, corrected for prematurity) and 1,038 full-term infants. In preterm infants, the association of AIMS scores with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) of grade ≤III, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and sepsis was assessed by hierarchical regression analysis. Alberta Infant Motor Scale scores were significantly lower in preterm infants than in full-term infants. Mean AIMS scores in preterm infants were significantly associated with RDS (b=-1.93; 95% CI=-2.70, -1.16), IVH (b=-0.97; 95% CI=-1.69, -0.25), and ROP (b=-1.12; 95% CI=-1.99, -0.24) but not with BPD or sepsis in hierarchical regression analysis. Alberta Infant Motor Scale norms were created for Greek preterm infants. This study confirms that AIMS trajectories of preterm infants are below those of full-term infants of the same nationality. The influence of morbidity factors, including RDS, IVH, and ROP, should be taken into account when administering the AIMS in preterm infants. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.

  4. Parenting and mother-infant interactions in the context of maternal postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder: Effects of obsessional symptoms and mood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Challacombe, Fiona L; Salkovskis, Paul M; Woolgar, Matthew; Wilkinson, Esther L; Read, Julie; Acheson, Rachel

    2016-08-01

    Maternal mental illness is associated with negative effects on the infant and child. Increased attention has been paid to the effects of specific perinatal disorders on parenting and interactions as an important mechanism of influence. OCD can be a debilitating disorder for the sufferer and those around them. Although OCD is a common perinatal illness, no previous studies have characterized parenting and mother infant interactions in detail for mothers with OCD. 37 mothers with postpartum OCD and a 6 month old infant were compared with 37 community control dyads on a variety of measures of psychological distress and parenting. Observed mother-infant interactions were assessed independently. Obsessions and compulsions were reported in both groups, although they did not cause interference in the control group. Mothers with OCD were troubled by their symptoms for a mean of 9.6 hours/day. Mothers with OCD were less confident, reported more marital distress and less social support than healthy peers and were less likely to be breastfeeding. Infant temperament ratings did not differ. Mothers with OCD were rated as less sensitive in interactions than the comparison group, partly attributable to levels of concurrent depression. Maternal postpartum OCD is a disorder that can affect experiences of parenting and mother-infant interactions although this may not be driven by OCD symptoms. Longitudinal studies are required to assess the trajectory and impact of maternal difficulties as the infant develops. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INFANT NIGHTTIME-SLEEP LOCATION AND ATTACHMENT SECURITY: NO EASY VERDICT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mileva-Seitz, Viara R; Luijk, Maartje P C M; van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Hofman, Albert; Verhulst, Frank C; Tiemeier, Henning

    2016-01-01

    We tested whether mother-infant bed-sharing is associated with increased secure infant-mother attachment, a previously unexplored association. Frequency of bed-sharing and mothers' nighttime comforting measures at 2 months were assessed with questionnaires in 550 Caucasian mothers from a population-based cohort. Attachment security was assessed with the Strange Situation Procedure (M.D.S. Ainsworth, M.C. Blehar, E. Waters, & S. Wall, 1978) at 14 months. When using a dichotomous variable, "never bed-sharing" (solitary sleepers) versus "any bed-sharing," the relative risk of being classified as insecurely attached for solitary-sleeping infants (vs. bed-sharers) was 1.21 (95% confidence interval: 1.05-1.40). In multivariate models, solitary sleeping was associated with greater odds of insecure attachment, adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.50, 95% CI = 1.02-2.20) and, in particular, with greater odds of resistant attachment, adjusted OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.10-2.76); and with a lower attachment security score, β = -0.12, t(495) = -2.61, p = .009. However, we found no evidence of a dose-response association between bed-sharing and secure attachment when using a trichotomous bed-sharing variable based on frequency of bed-sharing. Our findings demonstrate some evidence that solitary sleeping is associated with insecure attachment. However, the lack of a dose-response association suggests that further experimental study is necessary before accepting common notions that sharing a bed leads to children who are better or not better adjusted. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  6. Birthweight, HIV exposure and infant feeding as predictors of malnutrition in Botswanan infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalashika, P; Essex, C; Mellor, D; Swift, J A; Langley-Evans, S

    2017-12-01

    A better understanding of the nutritional status of infants who are HIV-Exposed-Uninfected (HEU) and HIV-Unexposed-Uninfected (HUU) during their first 1000 days is key to improving population health, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. A cross-sectional study compared the nutritional status, feeding practices and determinants of nutritional status of HEU and HUU infants residing in representative selected districts in Botswana during their first 1000 days of life. Four hundred and thirteen infants (37.3% HIV-exposed), aged 6-24 months, attending routine child health clinics, were recruited. Anthropometric, 24-h dietary intake and socio-demographic data was collected. Anthropometric Z-scores were calculated using 2006 World Health Organization growth standards. Modelling of the determinants of malnutrition was undertaken using logistic regression. Overall, the prevalences of stunting, wasting and being underweight were 10.4%, 11.9% and 10.2%, respectively. HEU infants were more likely to be underweight (15.6% versus 6.9%), (P economic status. HEU infants aged 6-24 months had worse nutritional status compared to HUU infants. Low birthweight was the main predictor of undernutrition in this population. Optimisation of infant nutritional status should focus on improving birthweight. In addition, specific interventions should target HEU infants aiming to eliminate growth disparity between HEU and HUU infants. © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  7. Infant joint attention, neural networks and social cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mundy, Peter; Jarrold, William

    2010-01-01

    Neural network models of attention can provide a unifying approach to the study of human cognitive and emotional development (Posner & Rothbart, 2007). In this paper we argue that a neural network approach to the infant development of joint attention can inform our understanding of the nature of human social learning, symbolic thought process and social cognition. At its most basic, joint attention involves the capacity to coordinate one's own visual attention with that of another person. We propose that joint attention development involves increments in the capacity to engage in simultaneous or parallel processing of information about one's own attention and the attention of other people. Infant practice with joint attention is both a consequence and an organizer of the development of a distributed and integrated brain network involving frontal and parietal cortical systems. This executive distributed network first serves to regulate the capacity of infants to respond to and direct the overt behavior of other people in order to share experience with others through the social coordination of visual attention. In this paper we describe this parallel and distributed neural network model of joint attention development and discuss two hypotheses that stem from this model. One is that activation of this distributed network during coordinated attention enhances the depth of information processing and encoding beginning in the first year of life. We also propose that with development, joint attention becomes internalized as the capacity to socially coordinate mental attention to internal representations. As this occurs the executive joint attention network makes vital contributions to the development of human symbolic thinking and social cognition. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Parenting paradox: parenting after infant loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warland, Jane; O'Leary, Joann; McCutcheon, Helen; Williamson, Victoria

    2011-10-01

    to gain an in-depth understanding of the parenting experiences of bereaved parents in the years following an infant death. an exploratory qualitative study. semi-structured interview in the participants' homes. Data were collected over a five-month period in 2008 and analysed using thematic analysis. a purposive sample of 13 bereaved parents (10 mothers and three fathers) was used. Parents who had accessed the support services offered by two bereavement support agencies were recruited. Participants were asked to describe their experiences of raising their subsequent child. Interviews were conducted when the next born child was at least three years of age. the parents described a 'paradoxical' parenting style where they were trying to parent using two diametrically opposed unsustainable options. For example, they described trying to hold their subsequent child emotionally close but aloof at the same time. the results from this study indicate that the impact of a loss of an infant has far-reaching consequences on subsequent parenting. Support and early intervention at the time of the stillbirth and subsequent pregnancy are likely to be useful. However, further research is required to determine the extent to which early intervention can alter the tendency towards bereaved parents adopting a paradoxical parenting style. The impact of this style on mental health and the emotional health and well-being of the next born child/ren after perinatal loss should also be further examined. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. The missing link: mothers' neural response to infant cry related to infant attachment behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurent, Heidemarie K; Ablow, Jennifer C

    2012-12-01

    This study addresses a gap in the attachment literature by investigating maternal neural response to cry related to infant attachment classifications and behaviors. Twenty-two primiparous mothers and their 18-month old infants completed the Strange Situation (SS) procedure to elicit attachment behaviors. During a separate functional MRI session, mothers were exposed to their own infant's cry sound, as well as an unfamiliar infant's cry and control sound. Maternal neural response to own infant cry related to both overall attachment security and specific infant behaviors. Mothers of less secure infants maintained greater activation to their cry in left parahippocampal and amygdala regions and the right posterior insula consistent with a negative schematic response bias. Mothers of infants exhibiting more avoidant or contact maintaining behaviors during the SS showed diminished response across left prefrontal, parietal, and cerebellar areas involved in attentional processing and cognitive control. Mothers of infants exhibiting more disorganized behavior showed reduced response in bilateral temporal and subcallosal areas relevant to social cognition and emotion regulation. No differences by attachment classification were found. Implications for attachment transmission models are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Infant pain-related negative affect at 12 months of age: early infant and caregiver predictors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Din Osmun, Laila; Pillai Riddell, Rebecca; Flora, David B

    2014-01-01

    To examine the predictive relationships of early infant and caregiver variables on expressed pain-related negative affect duration at the 12-month immunization. Infants and their caregivers (N = 255) were followed during immunization appointments over the first year of life. Latent growth curve modeling in a structural equation modeling context was used. Higher levels of initial infant pain reactivity at 2 months and caregiver emotional availability averaged across 2, 4, and 6 months of age were related to larger decreases in the duration of infant negative affect over the first 6 months of life. Longer duration of infant negative affect at 2 months and poorer regulation of infant negative affect over the first 6 months of life predicted longer durations of infant negative affect by 12 months. Infant negative affect at 12 months was a function of both infant factors and the quality of caregiver interactive behaviors (emotional availability) in early infancy.

  11. Sensorimotor influences on speech perception in infancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruderer, Alison G; Danielson, D Kyle; Kandhadai, Padmapriya; Werker, Janet F

    2015-11-03

    The influence of speech production on speech perception is well established in adults. However, because adults have a long history of both perceiving and producing speech, the extent to which the perception-production linkage is due to experience is unknown. We addressed this issue by asking whether articulatory configurations can influence infants' speech perception performance. To eliminate influences from specific linguistic experience, we studied preverbal, 6-mo-old infants and tested the discrimination of a nonnative, and hence never-before-experienced, speech sound distinction. In three experimental studies, we used teething toys to control the position and movement of the tongue tip while the infants listened to the speech sounds. Using ultrasound imaging technology, we verified that the teething toys consistently and effectively constrained the movement and positioning of infants' tongues. With a looking-time procedure, we found that temporarily restraining infants' articulators impeded their discrimination of a nonnative consonant contrast but only when the relevant articulator was selectively restrained to prevent the movements associated with producing those sounds. Our results provide striking evidence that even before infants speak their first words and without specific listening experience, sensorimotor information from the articulators influences speech perception. These results transform theories of speech perception by suggesting that even at the initial stages of development, oral-motor movements influence speech sound discrimination. Moreover, an experimentally induced "impairment" in articulator movement can compromise speech perception performance, raising the question of whether long-term oral-motor impairments may impact perceptual development.

  12. Visual performance in preterm infants with brain injuries compared with low-risk preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonhardt, Merçè; Forns, Maria; Calderón, Caterina; Reinoso, Marta; Gargallo, Estrella

    2012-08-01

    Neonatal brain injuries are the main cause of visual deficit produced by damage to posterior visual pathways. While there are several studies of visual function in low-risk preterm infants or older children with brain injuries, research in children of early age is lacking. To assess several aspects of visual function in preterm infants with brain injuries and to compare them with another group of low-risk preterm infants of the same age. Forty-eight preterm infants with brain injuries and 56 low-risk preterm infants. The ML Leonhardt Battery of Optotypes was used to assess visual functions. This test was previously validated at a post-menstrual age of 40 weeks in newborns and at 30-plus weeks in preterm infants. The group of preterm infants with brain lesions showed a delayed pattern of visual functions in alertness, fixation, visual attention and tracking behavior compared to infants in the healthy preterm group. The differences between both groups, in the visual behaviors analyzed were around 30%. These visual functions could be identified from the first weeks of life. Our results confirm the importance of using a straightforward screening test with preterm infants in order to assess altered visual function, especially in infants with brain injuries. The findings also highlight the need to provide visual stimulation very early on in life. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Maternal affect and quality of parenting experiences are related to amygdala response to infant faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Jennifer; Wonch, Kathleen E; Gonzalez, Andrea; Ali, Nida; Steiner, Meir; Hall, Geoffrey B; Fleming, Alison S

    2012-01-01

    We examined how individual differences in mood and anxiety in the early postpartum period are related to brain response to infant stimuli during fMRI, with particular focus on regions implicated in both maternal behavior and mood/anxiety, that is, the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) and the amygdala. At approximately 3 months postpartum, 22 mothers completed an affect-rating task (ART) during fMRI, where their affective response to infant stimuli was explicitly probed. Mothers viewed/rated four infant face conditions: own positive (OP), own negative (ON), unfamiliar positive (UP), and unfamiliar negative (UN). Mood and anxiety were measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Version (STAI-T); maternal factors related to parental stress and attachment were also assessed. Brain-imaging data underwent a random-effects analysis, and cluster-based statistical thresholding was applied to the following contrasts: OP-UP, ON-UN, OP-ON, and UP-UN. Our main finding was that poorer quality of maternal experience was significantly related to reduced amygdala response to OP compared to UP infant faces. Our results suggest that, in human mothers, infant-related amygdala function may be an important factor in maternal anxiety/mood, in quality of mothering, and in individual differences in the motivation to mother. We are very grateful to the staff at the Imaging Research Center of the Brain-Body Institute for their contributions to this project. This work was supported by an Ontario Mental Health Foundation operating grant awarded to Alison Fleming and a postdoctoral fellowship awarded to Jennifer Barrett.

  14. PREDICTORS OF INFANT AND TODDLER BLACK BOYS' EARLY LEARNING: SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES AND MINIMIZING RISKS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iruka, Iheoma U

    2017-01-01

    Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) data set (U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001), this study examined child, family, and community factors in the early years (infant and toddler years) to predict the cognitive and language outcomes for preschool-age Black boys in relation to Black girls and White boys. Findings indicate that Black children face many challenges, with Black boys experiencing less sensitive parenting as compared to their peers. We live in a highly complex, racialized environment. While there are universal indicators that predict children's preschool outcomes such as strong social positioning and positive parenting, there are, in addition, some indicators that are more beneficial for Black boys' early development, including a stable, less urban home environment with parents engaging in "tough love." © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  15. Reflux and GERD in Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Gastroenterology and Nutrition Nurses Print Share Reflux and GERD : Reflux and GERD in Infants Reflux and GERD in Infants It’s not uncommon for a baby ... happy, healthy childhood. Quick Facts about Reflux and GERD in Infants The majority of infants do not ...

  16. Reducing infant mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, T R

    1994-01-01

    Public health and social policies at the population level (e.g., oral rehydration therapy and immunization) are responsible for the major reduction in infant mortality worldwide. The gap in infant mortality rates between developing and developed regions is much less than that in maternal mortality rates. This indicates that maternal and child health (MCH) programs and women's health care should be combined. Since 1950, 66% of infant deaths occur in the 1st 28 days, indicating adverse prenatal and intrapartum events (e.g., congenital malformation and birth injuries). Infection, especially pneumonia and diarrhea, and low birth weight are the major causes of infant mortality worldwide. An estimated US$25 billion are needed to secure the resources to control major childhood diseases, reduce malnutrition 50%, reduce child deaths by 4 million/year, provide potable water and sanitation to all communities, provide basic education, and make family planning available to all. This cost for saving children's lives is lower than current expenditures for cigarettes (US$50 billion in Europe/year). Vitamin A supplementation, breast feeding, and prenatal diagnosis of congenital malformations are low-cost strategies that can significantly affect infant well-being and reduce child mortality in many developing countries. The US has a higher infant mortality rate than have other developed countries. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the US National Institutes of Health are focusing on prematurity, low birth weight, multiple pregnancy, violence, alcohol abuse, and poverty to reduce infant mortality. Obstetricians should be important members of MCH teams, which also include traditional birth attendants, community health workers, nurses, midwives, and medical officers. We have the financial resources to allocate resources to improve MCH care and to reduce infant mortality.

  17. Concurrent validity and reliability of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale in premature infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Kênnea Martins; Dutra, Maria Virginia Peixoto; Mello, Rosane Reis de; Reis, Ana Beatriz Rodrigues; Martins, Priscila Silveira

    2008-01-01

    To verify the concurrent validity and interobserver reliability of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) in premature infants followed-up at the outpatient clinic of Instituto Fernandes Figueira, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (IFF/Fiocruz), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A total of 88 premature infants were enrolled at the follow-up clinic at IFF/Fiocruz, between February and December of 2006. For the concurrent validity study, 46 infants were assessed at either 6 (n = 26) or 12 (n = 20) months' corrected age using the AIMS and the second edition of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, by two different observers, and applying Pearson's correlation coefficient to analyze the results. For the reliability study, 42 infants between 0 and 18 months were assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale, by two different observers and the results analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient. The concurrent validity study found a high level of correlation between the two scales (r = 0.95) and one that was statistically significant (p system.

  18. Caudal ropivacaine in infants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Tom Giedsing; Ilett, K F; Reid, C

    2001-01-01

    Ropivacaine is a new long-acting amino-amide local anesthetic. However, there are no data on its use in infants. In the current study, the authors investigated the pharmacokinetics of caudal ropivacaine in 30 infants younger than 12 months.......Ropivacaine is a new long-acting amino-amide local anesthetic. However, there are no data on its use in infants. In the current study, the authors investigated the pharmacokinetics of caudal ropivacaine in 30 infants younger than 12 months....

  19. Feeding infants and toddlers study: Improvements needed in meeting infant feeding recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briefel, Ronette R; Reidy, Kathleen; Karwe, Vatsala; Devaney, Barbara

    2004-01-01

    To assess adherence to infant feeding recommendations among a sample of infants and toddlers four to 24 months of age in the United States. Descriptive analysis of data collected in the 2002 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) based on telephone interviews and 24-hour dietary recalls collected with the Nutrition Data System for Research of the University of Minnesota. A national random sample of 3,022 infants and toddlers age four to 24 months, including 2,024 infants age four to 11 months. Breastfeeding, timing of introduction of complementary foods, and adherence to infant feeding recommendations. Means and standard errors, percentile distributions, and percentages by age group (four to six months, seven to eight months, and nine to 11 months). About 76% of infants and toddlers were fully or partly breastfed at birth. This percentage declined to 30% at six months and 16% at 12 months-short of Healthy People 2010 goals of 50% and 25%, respectively. The average duration of breastfeeding was 5.5 months for all who initiated breastfeeding. About two-thirds of infants had been introduced to complementary foods between four and six months-the period recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); 17% consumed juice before the AAP recommended age of six months or later. Twenty-two percent of infants nine to 11 months consumed cow's milk on a daily basis before the recommended age of 12 months or later, and one in 10 consumed french fries and/or sweetened beverages on any given day. More parents and caregivers can benefit from guidance about the introduction of developmentally appropriate, micronutrient-rich first solid foods such as iron-rich infant cereals, iron-fortified grain products, meats, soft fruits, and cooked vegetables and the importance of breastfeeding through the first year of life. A smaller proportion of parents and caregivers require guidance on delaying the introduction of juices until six months of age and cow's milk other than formula

  20. Infant sleep and paternal involvement in infant caregiving during the first 6 months of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tikotzky, Liat; Sadeh, Avi; Glickman-Gavrieli, Tamar

    2011-01-01

    The goals of this study were to assess: (a) the involvement of fathers and mothers in overall and nighttime infant caregiving; (b) the links between paternal involvement in infant care and infant sleep patterns during the first 6 months. Fifty-six couples recruited during their first pregnancy, participated in the study. After delivery (1 and 6 months), both parents completed a questionnaire assessing the involvement of fathers relative to mothers in infant caregiving. Infant sleep was assessed using actigraphy and sleep diaries. Mothers were significantly more involved than fathers in daytime and nighttime caregiving. A higher involvement of fathers in overall infant care predicted and was associated with fewer infant night-wakings and with shorter total sleep time after controlling for breastfeeding. The findings highlight the importance of including fathers in developmental sleep research. Future studies should explore mechanisms underlying the relations between paternal involvement and infant sleep.

  1. Observed and Reported Supportive Coparenting as Predictors of Infant-Mother and Infant-Father Attachment Security

    OpenAIRE

    Brown, Geoffrey L.; Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.; Mangelsdorf, Sarah C.; Neff, Cynthia

    2010-01-01

    This study examined associations between supportive coparenting and infant-mother and infant-father attachment security. Observed and parent-reported coparenting, and observed maternal and paternal sensitivity were assessed in a sample of 68 families with 3.5-month-old infants. Infant-mother and infant-father attachment security were assessed in the Strange Situation Procedure (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) at 12 and 13 months of age, respectively. Observed and reported supportive ...

  2. Diffuse excessive high signal intensity in low-risk preterm infants at term-equivalent age does not predict outcome at 1 year: a prospective study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leitner, Yael [Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Child Development Centre, Dana-Dwek Children' s Hospital, Tel Aviv (Israel); Tel Aviv University, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv (Israel); Weinstein, Maya [Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Functional Brain Centre, The Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv (Israel); Bar Ilan University, Department of Psychology, Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Centre, Ramat-Gan (Israel); Myers, Vicki [Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Functional Brain Centre, The Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv (Israel); Uliel, Shimrit; Geva, Karen [Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Child Development Centre, Dana-Dwek Children' s Hospital, Tel Aviv (Israel); Berger, Irit; Marom, Ronella [Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Department of Neonatology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv (Israel); Tel Aviv University, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv (Israel); Bashat, Dafna Ben [Tel Aviv University, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv (Israel); Tel Aviv University, Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv (Israel); Ben-Sira, Liat [Tel Aviv University, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv (Israel); Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Department of Radiology, Tel Aviv (Israel); Geva, Ronny [Bar Ilan University, Department of Psychology, Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Centre, Ramat-Gan (Israel); Gross-Tsur, Varda [Shaare-Zedek Medical Centre, Neuropediatric Unit, Jerusalem (Israel)

    2014-08-15

    The outcome of premature infants with only diffuse excessive high signal intensity (DEHSI) is not clear. We explored the relationship between DEHSI, white matter (WM) diffusion characteristics, perinatal characteristics, and neurobehavioral outcome at 1 year in a homogenous group of preterm infants without major brain abnormalities. Fifty-eight preterm infants, gestational age 29 ± 2.6 weeks, underwent an MRI at term-equivalent age (TEA). Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales, neurological assessment, and Parental Stress Index (PSI) were performed at 1 year corrected age. These measures were compared between preterm infants according to DEHSI classification (none, mild, moderate). Diffusion tensor imaging was used in major WM volumes of interest to objectively measure the degree of WM maturation. No significant differences were detected in the perinatal risk characteristics, neurobehavioral outcome, and PSI at 1 year between infants with different DEHSI classifications. In infants with DEHSI, increased axial and radial diffusivities were detected in the optic radiations, centrum semiovale, and posterior limb of the internal capsule, indicating less advanced maturation of the WM. Significant correlations were detected between the time interval from birth to MRI and the WM microstructure in infants without DEHSI. DEHSI in premature infants is neither a predictive measure for short-term adverse neurobehavioral outcome nor related to perinatal risk characteristics. Extrauterine exposure time had a differential effect on WM maturational trajectories in infants with DEHSI compared to those without. We suggest DEHSI may represent an alteration in WM maturational characteristics. Further follow-up studies may verify later consequences of DEHSI in premature infants. (orig.)

  3. Diffuse excessive high signal intensity in low-risk preterm infants at term-equivalent age does not predict outcome at 1 year: a prospective study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leitner, Yael; Weinstein, Maya; Myers, Vicki; Uliel, Shimrit; Geva, Karen; Berger, Irit; Marom, Ronella; Bashat, Dafna Ben; Ben-Sira, Liat; Geva, Ronny; Gross-Tsur, Varda

    2014-01-01

    The outcome of premature infants with only diffuse excessive high signal intensity (DEHSI) is not clear. We explored the relationship between DEHSI, white matter (WM) diffusion characteristics, perinatal characteristics, and neurobehavioral outcome at 1 year in a homogenous group of preterm infants without major brain abnormalities. Fifty-eight preterm infants, gestational age 29 ± 2.6 weeks, underwent an MRI at term-equivalent age (TEA). Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales, neurological assessment, and Parental Stress Index (PSI) were performed at 1 year corrected age. These measures were compared between preterm infants according to DEHSI classification (none, mild, moderate). Diffusion tensor imaging was used in major WM volumes of interest to objectively measure the degree of WM maturation. No significant differences were detected in the perinatal risk characteristics, neurobehavioral outcome, and PSI at 1 year between infants with different DEHSI classifications. In infants with DEHSI, increased axial and radial diffusivities were detected in the optic radiations, centrum semiovale, and posterior limb of the internal capsule, indicating less advanced maturation of the WM. Significant correlations were detected between the time interval from birth to MRI and the WM microstructure in infants without DEHSI. DEHSI in premature infants is neither a predictive measure for short-term adverse neurobehavioral outcome nor related to perinatal risk characteristics. Extrauterine exposure time had a differential effect on WM maturational trajectories in infants with DEHSI compared to those without. We suggest DEHSI may represent an alteration in WM maturational characteristics. Further follow-up studies may verify later consequences of DEHSI in premature infants. (orig.)

  4. Lutein-fortified infant formula fed to healthy term infants: evaluation of growth effects and safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capeding, Rosario; Gepanayao, Connie P; Calimon, Nerrisa; Lebumfacil, Jowena; Davis, Anne M; Stouffer, Nicole; Harris, Bruce J

    2010-05-21

    Breast milk contains lutein derived from the mother's diet. This carotenoid is currently not added to infant formula, which has a small and variable lutein content from innate ingredients. This study was conducted to compare the growth of infants fed lutein-fortified infant formula with that of infants fed infant formula without lutein fortification. This 16-week study was prospective, randomized, controlled, and double-blind with parallel groups of healthy term infants fed either control formula (Wyeth S-26 Gold, designated as Gold) or experimental formula (Wyeth S-26 Gold fortified with lutein at 200 mcg/l, designated as Gold+Lutein). Two hundred thirty-two (232) infantslutein-fortified S-26 Gold demonstrated growth equivalent to that of infants fed unfortified lutein formula.

  5. DOES TRAINING IN THE CIRCLE OF SECURITY FRAMEWORK INCREASE RELATIONAL UNDERSTANDING IN INFANT/CHILD AND FAMILY WORKERS?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, Catherine; Huber, Anna; Kohlhoff, Jane; Camberis, Anna-Lisa

    2017-09-01

    This article evaluated whether attendance at Circle of Security training workshops resulted in attendees showing greater empathy and attachment-related knowledge and understanding, and fewer judgmental responses to viewing a stressful parent-child interaction. Participants were 202 practitioners who attended and completed a 2-day (n = 70), 4-day (n = 105), or 10-day (n = 27) COS training workshop in Australia or New Zealand in 2015. In a pre/post design, participant reactions to a video clip of a challenging parent-child interaction were coded for empathic, judgmental, or attachment-focused language. Attachment understanding was coded in response to questions about the greatest challenge that the dyad faced. In all training conditions, participants provided significantly more attachment-focused descriptors and showed significantly greater attachment understanding after training, but significantly fewer empathic descriptors. While participants at the longer workshops provided significantly fewer judgmental/critical descriptors, there was no change for those attending the 2-day workshop. Irrespective of workshop duration or professional background, participants took a more relational perspective on the vignette after the training workshops. More detailed research is required to establish the extent to which this increased knowledge and understanding is retained and integrated into infant mental health practice with parents and young children. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  6. Infants' Temperament and Mothers', and Fathers' Depression Predict Infants' Attention to Objects Paired with Emotional Faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktar, Evin; Mandell, Dorothy J; de Vente, Wieke; Majdandžić, Mirjana; Raijmakers, Maartje E J; Bögels, Susan M

    2016-07-01

    Between 10 and 14 months, infants gain the ability to learn about unfamiliar stimuli by observing others' emotional reactions to those stimuli, so called social referencing (SR). Joint processing of emotion and head/gaze direction is essential for SR. This study tested emotion and head/gaze direction effects on infants' attention via pupillometry in the period following the emergence of SR. Pupil responses of 14-to-17-month-old infants (N = 57) were measured during computerized presentations of unfamiliar objects alone, before-and-after being paired with emotional (happy, sad, fearful vs. neutral) faces gazing towards (vs. away) from objects. Additionally, the associations of infants' temperament, and parents' negative affect/depression/anxiety with infants' pupil responses were explored. Both mothers and fathers of participating infants completed questionnaires about their negative affect, depression and anxiety symptoms and their infants' negative temperament. Infants allocated more attention (larger pupils) to negative vs. neutral faces when the faces were presented alone, while they allocated less attention to objects paired with emotional vs. neutral faces independent of head/gaze direction. Sad (but not fearful) temperament predicted more attention to emotional faces. Infants' sad temperament moderated the associations of mothers' depression (but not anxiety) with infants' attention to objects. Maternal depression predicted more attention to objects paired with emotional expressions in infants low in sad temperament, while it predicted less attention in infants high in sad temperament. Fathers' depression (but not anxiety) predicted more attention to objects paired with emotional expressions independent of infants' temperament. We conclude that infants' own temperamental dispositions for sadness, and their exposure to mothers' and fathers' depressed moods may influence infants' attention to emotion-object associations in social learning contexts.

  7. Trends in infant bedding use: National Infant Sleep Position study, 1993-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro-Mendoza, Carrie K; Colson, Eve R; Willinger, Marian; Rybin, Denis V; Camperlengo, Lena; Corwin, Michael J

    2015-01-01

    Use of potentially hazardous bedding, as defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (eg, pillows, quilts, comforters, loose bedding), is a modifiable risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome and unintentional sleep-related suffocation. The proportion of US infants sleeping with these types of bedding is unknown. To investigate the US prevalence of and trends in bedding use, we analyzed 1993-2010 data from the National Infant Sleep Position study. Infants reported as being usually placed to sleep with blankets, quilts, pillows, and other similar materials under or covering them in the last 2 weeks were classified as bedding users. Logistic regression was used to describe characteristics associated with bedding use. From 1993 to 2010, bedding use declined but remained a widespread practice (moving average of 85.9% in 1993-1995 to 54.7% in 2008-2010). Prevalence was highest for infants of teen-aged mothers (83.5%) and lowest for infants born at term (55.6%). Bedding use was also frequently reported among infants sleeping in adult beds, on their sides, and on a shared surface. The rate of decline in bedding use was markedly less from 2001-2010 compared with 1993-2000. For 2007 to 2010, the strongest predictors (adjusted odds ratio: ≥1.5) of bedding use were young maternal age, non-white race and ethnicity, and not being college educated. Bedding use for infant sleep remains common despite recommendations against this practice. Understanding trends in bedding use is important for tailoring safe sleep interventions. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  8. Urinary catheter - infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bladder catheter - infants; Foley catheter - infants; Urinary catheter - neonatal ... A urinary catheter is a small, soft tube placed in the bladder. This article addresses urinary catheters in babies. WHY IS ...

  9. The music of containment: Addressing the participants in mother-infant psychoanalytic treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salomonsson, Björn

    2011-11-01

    The author discusses the psychoanalyst's approach in mother-infant treatments. Emphasis is given to the infant as an important, though often neglected, addressee. A clinical example is used in which a telephone call during a prior session triggered fretting in a 3-month-old girl and distress in her mother. It is suggested that in the session, nonverbal levels of the interventions reached the girl and contained her, and that this containment worked along similar lines as the communicative musicality between mother and baby. In the discussion, the psychoanalytic concept of containment (Bion, 1962) is linked with the concept of communicative musicality (Trevarthen & Aitken, 2001). The mother's need for containment also is emphasized, and the therapist must be on alert when it is essential to focus on either participant in the therapy room. This choice is guided both by explicit deliberations and by the unconscious countertransference. However, the therapist's wish to grasp the countertransference is countered by his or her unwillingness of being reminded of feelings of infantile helplessness. Similarly, when the mother's conscious and unconscious messages diverge, the baby's ability to receive her caretaking is compromised. In the article's clinical case, this happened when the mother tried to soothe her daughter while being preoccupied with anger at the therapist to an extent to which she was not fully aware. Copyright © 2011 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  10. Implicit mentalizing persists beyond early childhood and is profoundly impaired in children with autism spectrum conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias Schuwerk

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Implicit mentalizing, a fast, unconscious and rigid way of processing other's mental states has recently received much interest in typical social cognitive development in early childhood and in adults with autism spectrum conditions (ASC. This research suggests that already infants implicitly mentalize, and that adults with ASC have a sustained implicit mentalizing deficit. Yet, we have only sparse empirical evidence on implicit mentalizing beyond early childhood, and deviations thereof in children with ASC. Here, we administered an implicit mentalizing eye tracking task to assess the sensitivity to false beliefs to a group of 8-year-old children with and without ASC, matched for chronological age, verbal and nonverbal IQ. As previous research suggested that presenting outcomes of belief-based actions leads to fast learning from experience and false belief-congruent looking behavior in adults with ASC, we were also interested in whether already children with ASC learn from such information. Our results provide support for a persistent implicit mentalizing ability in neurotypical development beyond early childhood. Further, they confirmed an implicit mentalizing deficit in children with ASC, even when they are closely matched to controls for explicit mentalizing skills. In contrast to previous findings with adults, no experience-based modulation of anticipatory looking was observed. It seems that children with ASC have not yet developed compensatory general purpose learning mechanisms. The observed intact explicit, but impaired implicit mentalizing in ASC, and correlation patterns between mentalizing tasks and executive function tasks, are in line with theories on two dissociable mentalizing systems.

  11. Children\\\\\\'s Mental Health from the Perspective of Traditions and Religious Texts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Rasti Broojeni

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Today, discussions on health have considered the spiritual – mental health on a par with physical health. A close relationship can be seen between two points, mental health and ethical, training issues, so that individuals who do not have spiritual virtues and religious training are not healthy individuals. Due to the considerable importance of moral and mental health about children, this study was aimed to investigate training issues and moral and mental health about children. The main source used in this research was Comprehensive Al-ahadith software Version 3.5 provided in Islamic research computer center, which included more than 180 books of hadith in Arabic and Persian language. At the first, keywords about mental, health, child, and training were searched and all related data were collected. Then, data were categorized based on specific subjects and described. In a total classification, the training, moral and mental health education of children can be divided into two categories from the perspective of narratives, before and after the birth. A prenatal period includes before marriage, before the formation of the embryo, during the formation of embryo, during pregnancy and after birth period includes searching a fair name, promoting learning capacity, interplaying infant, and the main role of mothers in childhood and lactation period. Childhood constitutes the substructure of individual’s growth and the provision of mental health for each person depends on the way of child training. Islam has been based on the growth and completeness and has presented useful educations about child training and to carry out these instructions necessitates taking- effective steps for promoting mental health.

  12. Association between Infant Feeding and Early Postpartum Infant Body Composition: A Pilot Prospective Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Kojo Anderson

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Research studies have produced conflicting results of the impact of breastfeeding on overweight/obesity. This study evaluated the impact of infant feeding on infant body composition. There were two groups of mother-infant pairs (exclusive breastfeeding [EBF; n=27] and mixed feeding [MF; n=13] in this study. At baseline, participants were similar in their demographic characteristics except prepregnancy weight, where MF mothers tended to be heavier than their EBF counterparts (67.3 kg versus 59.9 kg; P=.034. Infant birth weight was slightly higher among the MF group than their EBF counterparts (3.5 kg versus 3.4 kg, although the differences were not statistically significant. At 3 months postpartum, mean infant FMI (4.1 kg/m2 versus 3.8 kg/m2 and percent body fat (24.4% versus 23.1% were slightly higher among EBF infants than MF infants. In terms of growth velocity, EBF infants gained weight faster than their MF counterparts, although the differences were not statistically significant. The findings from this study suggest that EBF may promote faster weight gain and increase in both fat mass index (FMI and percent body fat in the early postpartum period in addition to the numerous health benefits enjoyed by the infant and the mother who exclusively breastfeeds her newborn.

  13. Postpartum depression, delayed maternal adaptation, and mechanical infant caring: a phenomenological hermeneutic study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Jennieffer Anne

    2008-03-01

    With 10-15 percent of mothers experiencing postpartum depression this mental health problem is a significant public health issue. One concern is that normal infant development is at risk. Understanding how Postpartum depression impacts on mothering is important knowledge in managing this health problem. To: Explore what is it like to become a mother, and examine how postpartum depression impacts on maternal adaptation. A hermeneutic approach was used guided by the philosophical works of Heidegger and Gadamer A relatively affluent metropolitan area, including surrounding rural areas within Australia. Via purposeful, maximum variation sampling, eleven women who had been medically diagnosed with postpartum depression following childbirth but who were not experiencing psychosis participated in the study. In-depth interviews and reflective journaling. Mothers with postpartum depression become "stuck" in a liminal state, an incomplete process of the rite of passage. Therefore, adaptation to the social role of a mother was found to be delayed. Additionally, a delay in becoming competent in parenting skills was evident. A lack of maternal-infant attachment was noted, however, mothers continued to care for their infants but in an unthinking manner that was labelled "mechanical infant caring". The distress caused by the delay in adapting to being a mother could be addressed by providing a mentor to at-risk women. The mentor should be a mother who has previously recovered from postpartum depression and would act as a symbol of hope. Additionally, on-going education and the insight that occurs during the liminal phase can facilitate mothers with postpartum depression to adapt appropriately.

  14. Growth and Morbidity of Gambian Infants are Influenced by Maternal Milk Oligosaccharides and Infant Gut Microbiota

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Jasmine C. C.; Lewis, Zachery T.; Krishnan, Sridevi; Bernstein, Robin M.; Moore, Sophie E.; Prentice, Andrew M.; Mills, David A.; Lebrilla, Carlito B.; Zivkovic, Angela M.

    2017-01-01

    Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) play an important role in the health of an infant as substrate for beneficial gut bacteria. Little is known about the effects of HMO composition and its changes on the morbidity and growth outcomes of infants living in areas with high infection rates. Mother’s HMO composition and infant gut microbiota from 33 Gambian mother/infant pairs at 4, 16, and 20 weeks postpartum were analyzed for relationships between HMOs, microbiota, and infant morbidity and growth. The data indicate that lacto-N-fucopentaose I was associated with decreased infant morbidity, and 3‧-sialyllactose was found to be a good indicator of infant weight-for-age. Because HMOs, gut microbiota, and infant health are interrelated, the relationship between infant health and their microbiome were analyzed. While bifidobacteria were the dominant genus in the infant gut overall, Dialister and Prevotella were negatively correlated with morbidity, and Bacteroides was increased in infants with abnormal calprotectin. Mothers nursing in the wet season (July to October) produced significantly less oligosaccharides compared to those nursing in the dry season (November to June). These results suggest that specific types and structures of HMOs are sensitive to environmental conditions, protective of morbidity, predictive of growth, and correlated with specific microbiota.

  15. Prem Baby Triple P: a randomised controlled trial of enhanced parenting capacity to improve developmental outcomes in preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colditz, Paul; Sanders, Matthew R; Boyd, Roslyn; Pritchard, Margo; Gray, Peter; O'Callaghan, Michael J; Slaughter, Virginia; Whittingham, Koa; O'Rourke, Peter; Winter, Leanne; Evans, Tracey; Herd, Michael; Ahern, Jessica; Jardine, Luke

    2015-03-04

    Very preterm birth (parenting have the greatest potential to create sustained effects on child development and parental psychopathology. Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) has shown positive effects on child behaviour and adjustment, parenting practices and family functioning. Baby Triple P for Preterm infants, has been developed to target parents of very preterm infants. This study tests the effectiveness of Baby Triple P for Preterm infants in improving child and parent/couple outcomes at 24 months corrected age (CA). Families will be randomised to receive either Baby Triple P for Preterm infants or Care as Usual (CAU). Baby Triple P for Preterm infants involves 4 × 2 hr group sessions at the hospital plus 4 × 30 min telephone consultations soon after transfer (42 weeks C.A.). After discharge participants will be linked to community based Triple P and intervention maintenance up to 24 months C.A. Assessments will be: baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks C.A.), at 12 and 24 months C.A. The primary outcome measure is the Infant Toddler Social & Emotional Assessment (ITSEA) at 24 months C.A. Child behavioural and emotional problems will be coded using the mother-toddler version of the Family Observation Schedule at 24 months C.A. Secondary outcome will be the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID III) cognitive development, language and motor abilities. Proximal targets of parenting style, parental self-efficacy, parental mental health, parental adjustment, parent-infant attachment, couple relationship satisfaction and couple communication will also be assessed. Our sample size based on the ITSEA, has 80% power, predicted effect size of 0.33 and an 85% retention rate, requires 165 families are required in each group (total sample of 330 families). This protocol presents the study design, methods and intervention to be analysed in a randomised trial of Baby Triple P for Preterm infants compared to Care as Usual (CAU) for families of very preterm

  16. Prenatal meditation influences infant behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Ka Po

    2014-11-01

    Meditation is important in facilitating health. Pregnancy health has been shown to have significant consequences for infant behaviors. In view of limited studies on meditation and infant temperament, this study aims to explore the effects of prenatal meditation on these aspects. The conceptual framework was based on the postulation of positive relationships between prenatal meditation and infant health. A randomized control quantitative study was carried out at Obstetric Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong. 64 pregnant Chinese women were recruited for intervention and 59 were for control. Outcome measures were cord blood cortisol, infant salivary cortisol, and Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Cord blood cortisol level of babies was higher in the intervention group (pmeditation can influence fetal health. Carey Infant Temperament Questionnaire showed that the infants of intervention group have better temperament (pmeditation in relation to child health. Present study concludes the positive effects of prenatal meditation on infant behaviors and recommends that pregnancy care providers should provide prenatal meditation to pregnant women. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Infants' social withdrawal symptoms assessed with a direct infant observation method in primary health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puura, Kaija; Mäntymaa, Mirjami; Luoma, Ilona; Kaukonen, Pälvi; Guedeney, Antoine; Salmelin, Raili; Tamminen, Tuula

    2010-12-01

    Distressed infants may withdraw from social interaction, but recognising infants' social withdrawal is difficult. The aims of the study were to see whether an infant observation method can be reliably used by front line workers, and to examine the prevalence of infants' social withdrawal symptoms. A random sample of 363 families with four, eight or 18-month-old infants participated in the study. The infants were examined by general practitioners (GPs) in well-baby clinics with the Alarm Distress BaBy Scale (ADBB), an observation method developed for clinical settings. A score of five or more on the ADBB Scale in two subsequent assessments at a two-week interval was regarded as a sign of clinically significant infant social withdrawal. Kappas were calculated for the GPs' correct rating of withdrawn/not withdrawn against a set of videotapes rated by developer of the method, Professor Guedeney and his research group. The kappas for their ratings ranged from 0.5 to 1. The frequency of infants scoring above the cut off in two subsequent assessments was 3%. The ADBB Scale is a promising method for detecting infant social withdrawal in front line services. Three percents of infants were showing sustained social withdrawal as a sign of distress in this normal population sample. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. The effects of preterm birth on mother-infant interaction and attachment during the infant's first two years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korja, Riikka; Latva, Reija; Lehtonen, Liisa

    2012-02-01

    Early mother-infant relationships in preterm populations were evaluated in the context of a systematic review of the literature. A systematic search of three electronic databases (PsychINFO, PubMed and Cochrane Library) was undertaken. Three studies of maternal attachment, 18 studies of mother-preterm infant interaction and eight studies of infant attachment were included. Studies of preterm infant attachment were also evaluated using a meta-analysis. Studies of mother-preterm infant interactions showed that the differences in maternal interaction behavior between mothers of preterm infants and mothers of full-term infants seem to be most evident during the first six months of life. Differences in the preterm infant's interaction behavior seem also to continue for six months after birth. However, five of 18 studies showed an equal or even higher quality of mother-infant interaction in groups of preterm compared to groups of full-term infants. Studies of maternal and infant attachment indicated that preterm infants and their mothers are not at higher risk of insecure attachment than full-term infants and their mothers. The mother-preterm infant relationship is complex, and some relational patterns forecast greater psychological risk than others. It is important to decrease maternal stress and early separation in every possible way during hospitalization as well as after discharge. © 2012 The Authors Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica© 2012 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  19. Mother, Infant, and Household Factors Associated with the Type of Food Infants Receive in Developing Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin eYarnoff

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: We explore the complex factors associated with infant feeding by analyzing what mother, infant, and household factors are associated with the types of food given to infants. We seek to quantify associations in order to inform public health policy about the importance of target populations for infant feeding programs. Methods: We used data from the Demographic Health Survey in 20 developing countries for multiple years to examine mother, infant, and household factors associated with six types of food given to infants (exclusive breastfeeding, non-exclusive breastfeeding, infant formula, milk liquids, non-milk liquids, and solid foods. We performed a seemingly unrelated regressions analysis with community-year fixed effects to account for correlation between food types and control for confounding factors associated with community resources, culture, time period, and geography in the pooled analysis.Results: We found that several mother, infant, and household characteristics were associated with each of the feeding types. Most notably, mother’s education, working status, and weight are significantly associated with the type of food given to infants. We provide quantified estimates of the association of each of these variables with six types of food given to infants. Conclusions: By identifying maternal characteristics associated with infant feeding and quantifying those associations, we help public health policymakers generate priorities for targeting infant feeding programs to specific populations that are at greatest risk. Higher educated, working mothers are best to target with exclusive breastfeeding programs for young infants. Mothers with lower education are best to target with complementary feeding programs in infants older than 1 year. Finally, while maternal weight is associated with higher levels of exclusive breastfeeding the association is too weak to merit targeting of breastfeeding programs to low-weight mothers.

  20. Hearing loss - infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... can allow many infants to develop normal language skills without delay. In infants born with hearing loss, ... therapy allow many children to develop normal language skills at the same age as their peers with ...

  1. Cognitive impairment at age 5 years in very preterm infants born following premature rupture of membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mura, Thibault; Picaud, Jean-Charles; Larroque, Béatrice; Galtier, Florence; Marret, Stephane; Roze, Jean-Christophe; Truffert, Patrick; Kuhn, Pierre; Fresson, Jeanne; Thiriez, Gérard; Arnaud, Catherine; Mercier, Gregoire; Picot, Marie-Christine; Ancel, Pierre-Yves; Ledesert, Bernard

    2013-08-01

    To evaluate the relationship between preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and cognitive impairment in 5-year-old children born very preterm. The Etude Epidémiologique sur les Petits Ages Gestationnels Study is a population-based cohort of children followed up from birth to age 5 years recruited in 9 French regions in 1997. We analyzed data from singletons born between 24 and 32 weeks gestation categorized into 4 groups according to etiology of prematurity: infants born after PPROM, after idiopathic preterm labor, in a vascular context (Vasc), and to women with other complications (Other). Cognitive development at age 5 years was assessed using the Mental Processing Composite score of the Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children. Among the 1051 children followed up to age 5 years, the mean Mental Processing Composite score was 93.6 ± 19.7, and 13.3% of the children (140 of 1051) had cognitive impairment. After adjustment for potential confounders, the risk of cognitive impairment among infants in the PPROM group was not significantly different than that in the idiopathic preterm labor group (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.62-1.92) and the Other group (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 0.75-2.47), but was lower than that in the Vasc group (OR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.16-2.97). In the PPROM group, the risk of cognitive impairment was greater when the latency period (ie, time from rupture to delivery) was <3 days (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.07-5.02). Preterm infants born after PPROM are not at increased risk for cognitive impairment in childhood, but the time between PPROM and birth may influence that risk. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Iron intakes of Australian infants and toddlers: findings from the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial (InFANT) Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkins, Linda A; McNaughton, Sarah A; Campbell, Karen J; Szymlek-Gay, Ewa A

    2016-01-28

    Fe deficiency remains the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide and young children are at particular risk. Preventative food-based strategies require knowledge of current intakes, sources of Fe, and factors associated with low Fe intakes; yet few data are available for Australian children under 2 years. This study's objectives were to determine intakes and food sources of Fe for Australian infants and toddlers and identify non-dietary factors associated with Fe intake. Dietary, anthropometric and socio-demographic data from the Melbourne Infant Feeding, Activity and Nutrition Trial Program were analysed for 485 infants (mean age: 9·1 (sd 1·2) months) and 423 toddlers (mean age: 19·6 (sd 2·6) months) and their mothers. Dietary intakes were assessed via 24-h recalls over 3 non-consecutive days. Prevalence of inadequate Fe intake was estimated using the full probability approach. Associations between potential non-dietary predictors (sex, breast-feeding status, age when introduced to solid foods, maternal age, maternal education, maternal employment status and mother's country of birth) and Fe intakes were assessed using linear regression. Mean Fe intakes were 9·1 (sd 4·3) mg/d for infants and 6·6 (sd 2·4) mg/d for toddlers. Our results showed that 32·6 % of infants and 18·6 % of toddlers had inadequate Fe intake. Main food sources of Fe were Fe-fortified infant formula and cereals for infants and toddlers, respectively. Female sex and current breast-feeding were negatively associated with infant Fe intakes. Introduction to solid foods at or later than 6 months was negatively associated with Fe intake in toddlers. These data may facilitate food-based interventions to improve Australian children's Fe intake levels.

  3. Umbilical cord Separation time among infantS Seen at the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2011-01-01

    Jan 1, 2011 ... infants were documented for age, parity, place of delivery of infant, mode of delivery, ... attachment ranged from two to 28 days with a mean of 6.34 ± 3.67 days. there was a ..... co-operation. the doctors and medical students in.

  4. Early social communication in infants with fragile X syndrome and infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, Laura J; Brady, Nancy C; McCary, Lindsay; Rague, Lisa; Roberts, Jane E

    2017-12-01

    Little research in fragile X syndrome (FXS) has prospectively examined early social communication. To compare early social communication in infants with FXS, infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASIBs), and typically developing (TD) infants. Participants were 18 infants with FXS, 21 ASIBs, and 22 TD infants between 7.5-14.5 months. Social communication was coded using the Communication Complexity Scale during the administration of Autism Observation Scale for Infants. Descriptively different patterns were seen across the three groups. Overall infants with FXS had lower social communication than ASIBs or TD infants when controlling for nonverbal cognitive abilities. However, infants with FXS had similar levels of social communication as ASIBs or TD infants during peek-a-boo. No differences were observed between ASIBs and TD infants. For all infants, higher social communication was related to lower ASD risk. Findings provide insight into the developmental course of social communication in FXS. The dynamic nature of social games may help to stimulate communication in infants with FXS. Language interventions with a strong social component may be particularly effective for promoting language development in FXS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The Power of an Infant's Smile: Maternal Physiological Responses to Infant Emotional Expressions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanae Mizugaki

    Full Text Available Infant emotional expressions, such as distress cries, evoke maternal physiological reactions. Most of which involve accelerated sympathetic nervous activity. Comparatively little is known about effects of positive infant expressions, such as happy smiles, on maternal physiological responses. This study investigated how physiological and psychological maternal states change in response to infants' emotional expressions. Thirty first-time mothers viewed films of their own 6- to 7-month-old infants' affective behavior. Each observed a video of a distress cry followed by a video showing one of two expressions (randomly assigned: a happy smiling face (smile condition or a calm neutral face (neutral condition. Both before and after the session, participants completed a self-report inventory assessing their emotional states. The results of the self-report inventory revealed no effects of exposure to the infant videos. However, the mothers in the smile condition, but not in the neutral condition, showed deceleration of skin conductance. These findings demonstrate that the mothers who observed their infants smiling showed decreased sympathetic activity. We propose that an infant's positive emotional expression may affect the branch of the maternal stress-response system that modulates the homeostatic balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

  6. Mental Workload and Its Determinants among Nurses in One Hospital in Kermanshah City, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ehsan Bakhshi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aims: Mental workload is one of the factors influencing the behavior, performance and efficiency of nurses in the workplace. There are diverse factors that can affect mental workload level. present study performed with the aim of Surveying Mental Workload and its Determinants among Nursing in one of hospital in Kermanshah City Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 203 nurses from 5 wards of infants, emergency, surgery, internal and ICU were selected randomly and surveyed. Data collection tools were demographics and NASA-TLX questionnaires. The statistical data analysis conducted using Independent sample  t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient using software SPSS 19. Results: The mean and standard deviation of overall  mental workload estimated as 69.73±15.26. Among  aspects of mental workload,  the aspect of  effort with an average score of 70.96 was the highest and the aspect of frustration and disappointment with average of 44.93 was the lowest one. There were significant relationship between physical aspect of workload with age, type of shift working, number of shifts, type of employment, between temporal aspect of workload with BMI, type of employment and work experience, and between effort aspect with BMI (p-value≤0/05. Conclusion: Due to the different amount of mental workload in studied hospital wards, relocation of nurses between wards can improve situation and increase the number of nurses can lead to decrease mental workload.

  7. Antenatal mother–infant bonding scores are related to maternal reports of infant crying behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kommers, D.R.; Truijens, S.E.M.; Oei, S.G.; Bambang Oetomo, S.; Pop, V.J.M.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: To assess the relation between antenatal mother–infant bonding scores and maternal reports of infant crying behaviour. Background: Crying is normal behaviour and it is important for parent–infant bonding. Even though bonding starts antenatally, the relation between antenatal bonding

  8. Lutein-fortified infant formula fed to healthy term infants: evaluation of growth effects and safety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davis Anne M

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background/Objectives Breast milk contains lutein derived from the mother's diet. This carotenoid is currently not added to infant formula, which has a small and variable lutein content from innate ingredients. This study was conducted to compare the growth of infants fed lutein-fortified infant formula with that of infants fed infant formula without lutein fortification. Subjects/Methods This 16-week study was prospective, randomized, controlled, and double-blind with parallel groups of healthy term infants fed either control formula (Wyeth S-26 Gold, designated as Gold or experimental formula (Wyeth S-26 Gold fortified with lutein at 200 mcg/l, designated as Gold + Lutein. Two hundred thirty-two (232 infants ≤ 14 days postnatal age were randomized and 220 (94.8% completed the study. Weight (g, head circumference (cm, and length (cm were measured at Weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16. The primary endpoint was weight gain (g/day from baseline to Week 16. Safety was assessed through monitoring of study events (SEs throughout the study and evaluation of selected blood chemistry tests performed at Week 16. Results Infants in both treatment groups demonstrated appropriate growth. No differences between treatment groups were found in any of the measures of growth at any of the measurement time points. Both study formulas were well tolerated. The mean values of all measured blood chemistry parameters fell within the modified normal ranges for infants, and the values for both groups for any measured parameter were similar. Conclusions Infants fed lutein-fortified S-26 Gold demonstrated growth equivalent to that of infants fed unfortified lutein formula.

  9. Maternal postpartum depression and infant social withdrawal among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive mother-infant dyads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartley, C; Pretorius, K; Mohamed, A; Laughton, B; Madhi, S; Cotton, M F; Steyn, B; Seedat, S

    2010-05-01

    Maternal postpartum depression poses significant risks for mother-child interaction and long-term infant outcomes. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status has also been implicated in the development of postpartum depression, but the association between maternal depression and infant social behavior in the context of HIV infection has not been fully investigated. First, we examined the relationship between maternal postpartum depression and infant social withdrawal at 10-12 months of age in HIV-infected mothers and infants. Second, we ascertained whether infant social withdrawal could be significantly predicted by maternal postpartum depression. The sample consisted of 83 HIV-infected mother-infant dyads. Mothers were assessed for postpartum depression with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and infant social withdrawal behavior was rated using the Modified Alarm Distress Baby Scale (m-ADBB). 42.2% of the mothers scored above the cut-off point for depression on the EPDS, and a third of infants (31%) were socially withdrawn. Notably, maternal depression did not predict infant social withdrawal as measured by the m-ADBB. Infant social withdrawal was also not significantly associated with failure to thrive or gender. These preliminary findings need further investigation with respect to the impact on long-term neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes.

  10. A Study of Auditory Preferences in Nonhandicapped Infants and Infants with Down's Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenn, Sheila M.; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Eleven infants with Down's syndrome and 10 of 11 nonhandicapped infants operated an automatic device which enabled them to choose to listen to nursery rhymes sung or played on musical instruments. Both groups preferred the singing, and the Down's Syndrome infants had much longer response durations for the more complex auditory stimuli. (Author/DB)

  11. Pareidolia in infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Masaharu; Mugitani, Ryoko

    2015-01-01

    Faces convey primal information for our social life. This information is so primal that we sometimes find faces in non-face objects. Such illusory perception is called pareidolia. In this study, using infants' orientation behavior toward a sound source, we demonstrated that infants also perceive pareidolic faces. An image formed by four blobs and an outline was shown to infants with or without pure tones, and the time they spent looking at each blob was compared. Since the mouth is the unique sound source in a face and the literature has shown that infants older than 6 months already have sound-mouth association, increased looking time towards the bottom blob (pareidolic mouth area) during sound presentation indicated that they illusorily perceive a face in the image. Infants aged 10 and 12 months looked longer at the bottom blob under the upright-image condition, whereas no differences in looking time were observed for any blob under the inverted-image condition. However, 8-month-olds did not show any difference in looking time under both the upright and inverted conditions, suggesting that the perception of pareidolic faces, through sound association, comes to develop at around 8 to 10 months after birth.

  12. Trends in Infant Bedding Use: National Infant Sleep Position Study, 1993–2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colson, Eve R.; Willinger, Marian; Rybin, Denis V.; Camperlengo, Lena; Corwin, Michael J.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Use of potentially hazardous bedding, as defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (eg, pillows, quilts, comforters, loose bedding), is a modifiable risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome and unintentional sleep-related suffocation. The proportion of US infants sleeping with these types of bedding is unknown. METHODS: To investigate the US prevalence of and trends in bedding use, we analyzed 1993–2010 data from the National Infant Sleep Position study. Infants reported as being usually placed to sleep with blankets, quilts, pillows, and other similar materials under or covering them in the last 2 weeks were classified as bedding users. Logistic regression was used to describe characteristics associated with bedding use. RESULTS: From 1993 to 2010, bedding use declined but remained a widespread practice (moving average of 85.9% in 1993–1995 to 54.7% in 2008–2010). Prevalence was highest for infants of teen-aged mothers (83.5%) and lowest for infants born at term (55.6%). Bedding use was also frequently reported among infants sleeping in adult beds, on their sides, and on a shared surface. The rate of decline in bedding use was markedly less from 2001–2010 compared with 1993–2000. For 2007 to 2010, the strongest predictors (adjusted odds ratio: ≥1.5) of bedding use were young maternal age, non-white race and ethnicity, and not being college educated. CONCLUSIONS: Bedding use for infant sleep remains common despite recommendations against this practice. Understanding trends in bedding use is important for tailoring safe sleep interventions. PMID:25452654

  13. Self-reported maternal parenting style and confidence and infant temperament in a multi-ethnic community: results from the Born in Bradford cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prady, Stephanie L; Kiernan, Kathleen; Fairley, Lesley; Wilson, Sarah; Wright, John

    2014-03-01

    Ethnic minority children in the United Kingdom often experience health disadvantage. Parenting influences children's current and future health, but little is known about whether parenting behaviours and mother's perception of her infant vary by ethnicity. Using the Born in Bradford (BiB) birth cohort, which is located in an ethnically diverse and economically deprived UK city, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of mother's self-reported parenting confidence, self-efficacy, hostility and warmth, and infant temperament at six months of age. We examined responses from women of Pakistani (N = 554) and White British (N = 439) origin. Pakistani mothers reported feeling more confident about their abilities as a parent. Significantly fewer Pakistani women adopted a hostile approach to parenting, an effect that was attenuated after adjustment for socioeconomic status and mental health. Overall, women with more self-efficacious, warm and less hostile parenting styles reported significantly fewer problems with their infant's temperaments. Of women with higher self-efficacy parenting styles, Pakistani mothers were significantly more likely than White British mothers to report more problematic infant temperaments, although absolute differences were small. It is unlikely that the ethnic variation seen in children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes in childhood is attributable to differences in parenting or infant characteristics reported at six months.

  14. The missing link: Mothers’ neural response to infant cry related to infant attachment behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurent, Heidemarie K.; Ablow, Jennifer C.

    2012-01-01

    This study addresses a gap in the attachment literature by investigating maternal neural response to cry related to infant attachment classifications and behaviors. Twenty-two primiparous mothers and their 18-month old infants completed the Strange Situation Procedure (SS) to elicit attachment behaviors. During a separate functional MRI session, mothers were exposed to their own infant’s cry sound, as well as an unfamiliar infant’s cry and control sound. Maternal neural response to own infant cry related to both overall attachment security and specific infant behaviors. Mothers of less secure infants maintained greater activation to their cry in left parahippocampal and amygdala regions and the right posterior insula. consistent with a negative schematic response bias. Mothers of infants exhibiting more avoidant or contact maintaining behaviors during the SS showed diminished response across left prefrontal, parietal, and cerebellar areas involved in attentional processing and cognitive control. Mothers of infants exhibiting more disorganized behavior showed reduced response in bilateral temporal and subcallosal areas relevant to social cognition and emotion regulation. No differences by attachment classification were found. Implications for attachment transmission models are discussed. PMID:22982277

  15. Embodied intersubjective engagement in mother-infant tactile communication: a cross-cultural study of Japanese and Scottish mother-infant behaviors during infant pick-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negayama, Koichi; Delafield-Butt, Jonathan T; Momose, Keiko; Ishijima, Konomi; Kawahara, Noriko; Lux, Erin J; Murphy, Andrew; Kaliarntas, Konstantinos

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the early development of cultural differences in a simple, embodied, and intersubjective engagement between mothers putting down, picking up, and carrying their infants between Japan and Scotland. Eleven Japanese and ten Scottish mothers with their 6- and then 9-month-old infants participated. Video and motion analyses were employed to measure motor patterns of the mothers' approach to their infants, as well as their infants' collaborative responses during put-down, pick-up, and carry phases. Japanese and Scottish mothers approached their infants with different styles and their infants responded differently to the short duration of separation during the trial. A greeting-like behavior of the arms and hands was prevalent in the Scottish mothers' approach, but not in the Japanese mothers' approach. Japanese mothers typically kneeled before making the final reach to pick-up their children, giving a closer, apparently gentler final approach of the torso than Scottish mothers, who bent at the waist with larger movements of the torso. Measures of the gap closure between the mothers' hands to their infants' heads revealed variably longer duration and distance gap closures with greater velocity by the Scottish mothers than by the Japanese mothers. Further, the sequence of Japanese mothers' body actions on approach, contact, pick-up, and hold was more coordinated at 6 months than at 9 months. Scottish mothers were generally more variable on approach. Measures of infant participation and expressivity indicate more active participation in the negotiation during the separation and pick-up phases by Scottish infants. Thus, this paper demonstrates a culturally different onset of development of joint attention in pick-up. These differences reflect cultures of everyday interaction.

  16. Relations between maternal attachment representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction in preterm and full-term infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korja, Riikka; Ahlqvist-Björkroth, Sari; Savonlahti, Elina; Stolt, Suvi; Haataja, Leena; Lapinleimu, Helena; Piha, Jorma; Lehtonen, Liisa

    2010-06-01

    The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between maternal representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction in a group of preterm and full-term infants. The study groups consisted of 38 mothers and their preterm infants (quality of mother-infant interaction was studied using the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) method at 6 and 12 months of the infant's corrected age. The results showed that maternal representations are related to the quality of mother-infant interaction in a parallel manner in preterm and full-term infants and their mothers. Furthermore, distorted representations were more strongly related to a higher number of areas of concern in mother-infant interaction than other representation classifications. Our results underline the importance of combined assessment of the subjective experiences of the mother and the quality of mother-infant interaction in clinical follow-up. This is the first study to describe the relation between maternal attachment representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction involving preterm infants. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. White matter tract integrity and developmental outcome in newborn infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy treated with hypothermia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Massaro, An N; Evangelou, Iordanis; Fatemi, Ali; Vezina, Gilbert; Mccarter, Robert; Glass, Penny; Limperopoulos, Catherine

    2015-05-01

    To determine whether corpus callosum (CC) and corticospinal tract (CST) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures relate to developmental outcome in encephalopathic newborn infants after therapeutic hypothermia. Encephalopathic newborn infants enrolled in a longitudinal study underwent DTI after hypothermia. Parametric maps were generated for fractional anisotropy, mean, radial, and axial diffusivity. CC and CST were segmented by DTI-based tractography. Multiple regression models were used to examine the association of DTI measures with Bayley-II Mental (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) at 15 months and 21 months of age. Fifty-two infants (males n=32, females n=20) underwent DTI at median age of 8 days. Two were excluded because of poor magnetic resonance imaging quality. Outcomes were assessed in 42/50 (84%) children at 15 months and 35/50 (70%) at 21 months. Lower CC and CST fractional anisotropy were associated with lower MDI and PDI respectively, even after controlling for gestational age, birth weight, sex, and socio-economic status. There was also a direct relationship between CC axial diffusivity and MDI, while CST radial diffusivity was inversely related to PDI. In encephalopathic newborn infants, impaired microstructural organization of the CC and CST predicts poorer cognitive and motor performance respectively. Tractography provides a reliable method for early assessment of perinatal brain injury. © 2014 Mac Keith Press.

  18. Functioning within a relationship : Mother-infant synchrony and infant sleep

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Graag, Jolien A.; Cox, Ralf F. A.; Hasselman, Fred; Jansen, Jarno; de Weerth, Carolina

    The aim of this study was to investigate the coupling of the biological system of infant sleep and the social system of mother-infant synchrony. Before birth and shortly after birth the systems appear to be connected, but it is unclear whether this remains the case over time. This study therefore

  19. The infant disorganised attachment classification: "Patterning within the disturbance of coherence".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reijman, Sophie; Foster, Sarah; Duschinsky, Robbie

    2018-03-01

    Since its introduction by Main and Solomon in 1990, the infant disorganised attachment classification has functioned as a predictor of mental health in developmental psychology research. It has also been used by practitioners as an indicator of inadequate parenting and developmental risk, at times with greater confidence than research would support. Although attachment disorganisation takes many forms, it is generally understood to reflect a child's experience of being repeatedly alarmed by their parent's behaviour. In this paper we analyse how the infant disorganised attachment classification has been stabilised and interpreted, reporting results from archival study, ethnographic observations at four training institutes for coding disorganised attachment, interviews with researchers, certified coders and clinicians, and focus groups with child welfare practitioners. Our analysis points to the role of power/knowledge disjunctures in hindering communication between key groups: Main and Solomon and their readers; the oral culture of coders and the written culture of published papers; the research community and practitioners. We highlight how understandings of disorganised attachment have been magnetised by a simplified image of a child fearful of his or her own parent. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  20. Placental FKBP5 genetic and epigenetic variation is associated with infant neurobehavioral outcomes in the RICHS cohort.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alison G Paquette

    Full Text Available Adverse maternal environments can lead to increased fetal exposure to maternal cortisol, which can cause infant neurobehavioral deficits. The placenta regulates fetal cortisol exposure and response, and placental DNA methylation can influence this function. FK506 binding protein (FKBP5 is a negative regulator of cortisol response, FKBP5 methylation has been linked to brain morphology and mental disorder risk, and genetic variation of FKBP5 was associated with post-traumatic stress disorder in adults. We hypothesized that placental FKBP5 methylation and genetic variation contribute to gene expression control, and are associated with infant neurodevelopmental outcomes assessed using the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scales (NNNS. In 509 infants enrolled in the Rhode Island Child Health Study, placental FKBP5 methylation was measured at intron 7 using quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing. Placental FKBP5 mRNA was measured in a subset of 61 infants by quantitative PCR, and the SNP rs1360780 was genotyped using a quantitative allelic discrimination assay. Relationships between methylation, expression and NNNS scores were examined using linear models adjusted for confounding variables, then logistic models were created to determine the influence of methylation on membership in high risk groups of infants. FKBP5 methylation was negatively associated with expression (P = 0.08, r = -0.22; infants with the TT genotype had higher expression than individuals with CC and CT genotypes (P = 0.06, and those with CC genotype displayed a negative relationship between methylation and expression (P = 0.06, r = -0.43. Infants in the highest quartile of FKBP5 methylation had increased risk of NNNS high arousal compared to infants in the lowest quartile (OR 2.22, CI 1.07-4.61. TT genotype infants had increased odds of high NNNS stress abstinence (OR 1.98, CI 0.92-4.26. Placental FKBP5 methylation reduces expression in

  1. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) Overview Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby ... year old. SIDS is sometimes known as crib death because the infants often die in their cribs. ...

  2. Hepatitis B maternal screening, infant vaccination, and infant prophylaxis practices in North Carolina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierce, R L; Smith, S; Rowe-West, B; Sterritt, B

    1999-06-01

    To determine if the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices hepatitis B screening, vaccination, and prophylaxis recommendations were being followed in North Carolina, and to establish a baseline hepatitis B seroprevalence rate. A survey of mother and infant birthing facility medical records. Four birthing facilities selected from each of the 7 districts in North Carolina (a total of 28 facilities). A probability proportional to size survey design was used to select 4763 mother-infant record pairs. All records came from the 1996 birth cohort. Maternal hepatitis B screening status, infant vaccination status, infants prophylaxis status, hepatitis B seroprevalence rate, demographic and clinical predictors for maternal infection, failure to receive prenatal care or for whom status was unknown, failure to screen, and failure to vaccinate. Ninety-two percent of pregnant women were screened for hepatitis B surface antigen. Eighty-six percent of infants received dose 1 of the hepatitis B vaccine. Four of the 9 infants with mothers who were hepatitis B surface antigen-positive did not receive both vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin. The hepatitis B seroprevalence rate was 0.2%. Mothers who were not screened for infection were 3.4 times more likely to have infants who were not vaccinated. White mothers were twice as likely not to have their child vaccinated as mothers of other races. Not all infants with hepatitis B-infected mothers were receiving vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin as recommended. Seroprevalence of hepatitis B infection may be lower in North Carolina than in other states. Hepatitis B laboratory test results should be included in every mother's medical record.

  3. How does microanalysis of mother-infant communication inform maternal sensitivity and infant attachment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beebe, Beatrice; Steele, Miriam

    2013-01-01

    Microanalysis research on 4-month infant-mother face-to-face communication operates like a "social microscope" and identifies aspects of maternal sensitivity and the origins of attachment with a more detailed lens. We hope to enhance a dialogue between these two paradigms, microanalysis of mother-infant communication and maternal sensitivity and emerging working models of attachment. The prediction of infant attachment from microanalytic approaches and their contribution to concepts of maternal sensitivity are described. We summarize aspects of one microanalytic study by Beebe and colleagues published in 2010 that documents new communication patterns between mothers and infants at 4 months that predict future disorganized (vs. secure) attachment. The microanalysis approach opens up a new window on the details of the micro-processes of face-to-face communication. It provides a new, rich set of behaviors with which to extend our understanding of the origins of infant attachment and of maternal sensitivity.

  4. Pareidolia in infants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masaharu Kato

    Full Text Available Faces convey primal information for our social life. This information is so primal that we sometimes find faces in non-face objects. Such illusory perception is called pareidolia. In this study, using infants' orientation behavior toward a sound source, we demonstrated that infants also perceive pareidolic faces. An image formed by four blobs and an outline was shown to infants with or without pure tones, and the time they spent looking at each blob was compared. Since the mouth is the unique sound source in a face and the literature has shown that infants older than 6 months already have sound-mouth association, increased looking time towards the bottom blob (pareidolic mouth area during sound presentation indicated that they illusorily perceive a face in the image. Infants aged 10 and 12 months looked longer at the bottom blob under the upright-image condition, whereas no differences in looking time were observed for any blob under the inverted-image condition. However, 8-month-olds did not show any difference in looking time under both the upright and inverted conditions, suggesting that the perception of pareidolic faces, through sound association, comes to develop at around 8 to 10 months after birth.

  5. Infant temperament and parental stress in 3-month-old infants after surgery for complex congenital heart disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torowicz, Deborah; Irving, Sharon Y; Hanlon, Alexandra L; Sumpter, Danica F; Medoff-Cooper, Barbara

    2010-04-01

    This study aimed to identify and compare differences in temperament and maternal stress between infants with complex congenital heart disease and healthy controls at 3 months of age. Study sample was drawn from an existing longitudinal study examining growth in infants with congenital heart disease when compared with healthy controls. Infant temperament and parental stress were measured in 129 mother-infant dyads. Inclusion criteria for infants with congenital heart disease were > or = 36-week postmenstrual age, > or = 2500 g at birth, surgery in first 6 weeks of life, and no major congenital anomalies or genetic syndromes. The Early Infancy Temperament Questionnaire and Parent Stress Index were the assessment tools used. Infants with single ventricular (SV) physiology were more negative in mood (F = 7.14, p parenting an irritable infant with SV physiology put these mothers at risk for high levels of stress. Results suggest the need for predischarge anticipatory guidance for parents to better understand and respond to the behavioral style of their infants, in particular, infants with SV physiology.

  6. Correlation between breakfast tryptophan content and morning-evening in Japanese infants and students aged 0-15 yrs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harada, Tetsuo; Hirotani, Masaaki; Maeda, Mari; Nomura, Hiromi; Takeuchi, Hitomi

    2007-03-01

    Tryptophan can be metabolized via 5-hydroxytryptamine=serotonin to melatonin by a series of 4 enzymes in pineal body. Lack of serotonin in body fluid in the brain during daytime can lead to several psychiatric disorders, while shortage of plasma-melatonin at night can be related to sleep disorders. The Morning-Evening (M-E) questionnaire and the original questionnaire including questions on sleep habits, mental symptoms, and contents of meals were administered to 1055 infants aged 0-6 yrs, 751 students attending an elementary school, and 473 students attending junior high school in Kochi City (33 degrees N). The index of tryptophan taken at breakfast (Trp-Index) was calculated as tryptophan amount per one meal based on the tryptophan included in each 100 g of the foods and a standard amount of food per one meal. A significant positive-correlation between M-E scores and Trp-Index was not shown by relatively older students, aged 9-15 yrs (Pearson's test, r=0.044-0.123, p=0.071-0.505), whereas a significant positive correlation was shown by infants and young elementary school students aged 0-8 yrs (r=0.180, 0.258, phigh quality of sleep, and indirectly good mental health, presumably, through the metabolism of tryptophan to serotonin in daytime and further to melatonin at night.

  7. On the Nature of Cross-Linguistic Transfer: A Case Study of Andean Spanish

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muntendam, Antje G.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a study on cross-linguistic transfer in Andean Spanish word order. In Andean Spanish the object appears in preverbal position more frequently than in non-Andean Spanish, which has been attributed to an influence from Quechua (a Subject-Object-Verb language). The high frequency of preverbal objects could be…

  8. Synbiotics, probiotics or prebiotics in infant formula for full term infants: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mugambi, Mary N; Musekiwa, Alfred; Lombard, Martani; Young, Taryn; Blaauw, Reneé

    2012-10-04

    Synbiotics, probiotics or prebiotics are being added to infant formula to promote growth and development in infants. Previous reviews (2007 to 2011) on term infants given probiotics or prebiotics focused on prevention of allergic disease and food hypersensitivity. This review focused on growth and clinical outcomes in term infants fed only infant formula containing synbiotics, probiotics or prebiotics. Cochrane methodology was followed using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which compared term infant formula containing probiotics, prebiotics or synbiotics to conventional infant formula with / without placebo among healthy full term infants. The mean difference (MD) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported for continuous outcomes, risk ratio (RR) and corresponding 95% CI for dichotomous outcomes. Where appropriate, meta-analysis was performed; heterogeneity was explored using subgroup and sensitivity analyses. If studies were too diverse a narrative synthesis was provided. Three synbiotic studies (N = 475), 10 probiotics studies (N = 933) and 12 prebiotics studies (N = 1563) were included. Synbiotics failed to significantly increase growth in boys and girls. Use of synbiotics increased stool frequency, had no impact on stool consistency, colic, spitting up / regurgitation, crying, restlessness or vomiting. Probiotics in formula also failed to have any significant effect on growth, stool frequency or consistency. Probiotics did not lower the incidence of diarrhoea, colic, spitting up / regurgitation, crying, restlessness or vomiting. Prebiotics in formula did increase weight gain but had no impact on length or head circumference gain. Prebiotics increased stool frequency but had no impact on stool consistency, the incidence of colic, spitting up / regurgitation, crying, restlessness or vomiting. There was no impact of prebiotics on the volume of formula tolerated, infections and gastrointestinal microflora. The quality of evidence was

  9. Plasma carotenoid concentrations of infants are increased by feeding a milk-based infant formula supplemented with carotenoids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackey, Amy D; Albrecht, Daniel; Oliver, Jeffery; Williams, Timberly; Long, Amy C; Price, Pamela T

    2013-06-01

    Human milk is the gold standard of infant nutrition and is a source of important substances, including carotenoids. Infant formulas are designed to mimic the composition and/or performance of human milk, although currently carotenoids are not routinely added to US infant formulas. The aim of this study was to assess plasma concentrations of β-carotene, lutein and lycopene 56 days after feeding infants milk-based infant formula without (CTRL) or with different concentrations of added carotenoids (L1 and L2). Plasma carotenoid concentrations increased in infants fed carotenoid-supplemented formulas as compared with the control formula with no added carotenoids. At study day 56, infants fed the supplemented formulas (L1 and L2) had mean plasma lutein, β-carotene and lycopene concentrations that were within the range of a concurrent group of human milk-fed infants (HM). Anthropometric measurements were comparable among all study groups. Plasma carotenoid concentrations of infants fed the supplemented formulas were within the range of the HM group and are consistent with reported plasma carotenoid ranges in human milk-fed infants. The experimental formulas were well tolerated and anthropometric measurements were comparable among all study groups. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

  10. Influence of behavioral concerns and early childhood expulsions on the development of early childhood mental health consultation in Colorado.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoover, Sarah D; Kubicek, Lorraine F; Rosenberg, Cordelia Robinson; Zundel, Claudia; Rosenberg, Steven A

    2012-05-01

    This article examines how the Colorado study Children With Social, Emotional and Behavioral Concerns and the Providers Who Support Them (S.D. Hoover, 2006) was used to advance a statewide agenda for early childhood mental health consultation in Colorado. The study involved a survey of licensed childcare providers throughout the state asking about the behavior of children in their care and their responses to that behavior. Exclusion of children from early care and education settings due to challenging behavior was found to be a significant problem taking a toll on families, children, and early care and education providers. Importantly, results from the survey indicated that the rate of exclusion of children from care due to challenging behavior was lower for family childcare providers who had access to mental health consultation. Recommendations are offered regarding the infrastructure needed to sustain mental health consultation capacity in early care and education settings, and related policies and practices. Copyright © 2012 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  11. The Study of Maternal Perception of Preterm Infants and Some Related Factors in Selected Hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ghafoorie

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Appropriate maternal care is necessary to provide Physical growth and mental development of neonate which is related to establishing a good relationship between mother and infant. Positive perception of mothers to their neonates, creates a better relationship between them. Maternal perception of neonates is based on her understanding of biological behavior of the infant. Special features of prematurity, maternal stress and anxiety due to premature delivery are effective on maternal perceptions. The purpose of this study was to determine the maternal perception of premature infants as determining it’s related factors. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 150 mothers of preterm infants who were been admitted to Neonatal intensive care units of 2 selected hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences, entered the study. Broussard questionnaire were used to measure the maternal perception. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistical analysis and Kay square and Fisher's exact tests were used for analyzing the data. Results: Most of mother’s had a negative perception of their preterm infant. Based on the results, Mather’s job, fathers’ job, mothers’ age, husband’s support, desire about the pregnancy, history of miscarriage and still birth were related with perception of mothers of preterm infants. Discussion: Negative perceptions in mothers of preterm infants are prevalent and in some groups are in higher risk. As negative perception can have a role in developmental processes and cause problems in future, preparing circumstances to decrease mothers’ stress and providing facilities and interventions to increase mother-infant communications are essential. These are treatment team’s duties. The health care team can screen susceptible cases and by supportive interventions, it is possible to create better mother-baby relationship and prepare better care to prevent future developmental problems.

  12. Comparison of Congenital Abnormalities of Infants Conceived by Assisted Reproductive Techniques versus Infants with Natural Conception in Tehran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farhangniya, Mansoureh; Dortaj Rabori, Eshagh; Mozafari Kermani, Ramin; Haghdoost, Ali Akbar; Bahrampour, Abbas; Bagheri, Pezhman; A L Lancaster, Paul; Ashrafi, Mahnaz; Vosough Taqi Dizaj, Ahmad; Gourabi, Hamid; Shahzadeh Fazeli, Abolhassan

    2013-10-01

    In many countries, 1 to 3% of newborn infants are conceived by assisted reproductive techniques (ART). Despite the success of ART, there is concern about the risk of congenital malformations among these infants. We report our experience to determine whether use of ART is associated with an increase in major congenital malformations or adverse pregnancy outcomes. Historical cohort study of major congenital malformations (MCM) was performed in 978 births from January 2008 to December 2010. The data for this analysis were derived from a Tehran's ART linked data file by simple sampling method. In our study, the risk of congenital malformations was compared in 326 ART infants and 652 naturally conceived (NC) infants. We also performed multiple logistic regression analyses to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the independent association of ART on each outcome. We found 56 infants with major congenital malformations, these included 29 NC infants (4.4%) and 27 ART infants (8.3%). In comparison with NC infants, ART infants had a significant 1.94-fold increased risk of MCM.After adjustment for maternal age, infant's sex stillbirth, abortion and type of delivery, we found a relatively small difference in risk (OR=2.04). In this study the majority (94.3%) of all infants were normal but 5.7% of infants had at least one MCM. The prevalence rate for the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was 6.5% for the In vitro fertilisation (IVF) group was 15.9% or 2.73-fold higher than ICSI group (P=0.018). Also we ignore the possible role of genotype and other unknown factors in causing more malformations in ART infants. Other studies have shown a slightly increased risk of major congenital malformations in pregnancies resulting from ART. Likewise, this study reports a greater risk of MCMs in ART infants than in naturally conceived infants. We also found evidence of a difference in risk of MCMs between IVF and ICSI. Musculoskeletal and urogenital

  13. Serum lutein concentrations in healthy term infants fed human milk or infant formula with lutein

    OpenAIRE

    Bettler, Jodi; Zimmer, J. Paul; Neuringer, Martha; DeRusso, Patricia A.

    2009-01-01

    Background Lutein is a carotenoid that may play a role in eye health. Human milk typically contains higher concentrations of lutein than infant formula. Preliminary data suggest there are differences in serum lutein concentrations between breastfed and formula-fed infants. Aim of the study To measure the serum lutein concentrations among infants fed human milk or formulas with and without added lutein. Methods A prospective, double-masked trial was conducted in healthy term formula-fed infant...

  14. How Does Microanalysis of Mother-Infant Communication Inform Maternal Sensitivity and Infant Attachment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beebe, Beatrice; Steele, Miriam

    2013-01-01

    Microanalysis research on 4-month mother-infant face-to-face communication operates like a “social microscope” and identifies aspects of maternal sensitivity and the origins of attachment with a more detailed lens. We hope to enhance a dialogue between these two paradigms, microanalysis of mother-infant communication and maternal sensitivity and emerging working models of attachment. The prediction of infant attachment from microanalytic approaches and their contribution to concepts of maternal sensitivity are described. We summarize aspects of one microanalytic study by Beebe and colleagues (2010) that documents new communication patterns between mothers and infants at 4 months that predict future disorganized (vs. secure) attachment. The microanalysis approach opens up a new window on the details of the micro-processes of face-to-face communication. It provides a new, rich set of behaviors with which to extend our understanding of the origins of infant attachment and of maternal sensitivity. PMID:24299136

  15. HIV, malaria, and infant anemia as risk factors for postneonatal infant mortality among HIV-seropositive women in Kisumu, Kenya

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Eijk, Anna M.; Ayisi, John G.; ter Kuile, Feiko O.; Slutsker, Laurence; Shi, Ya Ping; Udhayakumar, Venkatachalam; Otieno, Juliana A.; Kager, Piet A.; Lal, Renu B.; Steketee, Richard W.; Nahlen, Bernard L.

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND: HIV and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa are associated with poor pregnancy outcome and infant survival. We studied the association of placental malaria, infant malaria and anemia, and infant HIV status with postneonatal infant mortality (PNIM) among infants of HIV-seropositive women.

  16. Brain lesions in preterm infants: initial diagnosis and follow-up

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Argyropoulou, Maria I. [University of Ioannina, Department of Radiology, Medical School, Ioannina (Greece)

    2010-06-15

    Children surviving premature birth present with a wide spectrum of motor, sensory and cognitive disabilities, ranging from slight motor deficits, school difficulties and behavioural problems to cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The anatomic and functional substrate of these problems can be investigated using a variety of imaging techniques. Cranial US coupled with colour Doppler is a well-established method for the initial diagnosis of intraventricular haemorrhage, parenchymal haemorrhagic infarct and periventricular leukomalacia. MRI is useful for the follow-up study of brain maturation. Conventional T1- and T2-weighted sequences, magnetization transfer and diffusion tensor imaging coupled with sophisticated tools of tissue segmentation and analysis at a voxel level offer substantial anatomic and functional information on pathological conditions that define the prognosis of preterm infants. (orig.)

  17. The Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables, Social Support and Child Sex on Mother-Infant and Father-Infant Interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cesar Augusto Piccinini

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study we examine the impact of family socioeconomic status (SES, of social support as perceived by mothers, and of their three-month-olds child's sex, on mother-infant and father-infant interaction. A total of 58 mothers and 52 fathers were observed interacting with their infants. Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA revealed several significant differences, particularly regarding maternal behaviors. Mothers from the highest SES level both talked to and interpreted their infants' behavior more than did lowest SES mothers. Social support perceived as unsatisfactory was associated with a greater amount of touch and stimulation during mother-infant interaction and also more infant vocalization. Mothers and fathers tended to talk more to their same-sex infants, and fathers tended to kiss and caress their sons more than they did their daughters. These results suggest particularities in the mother-infant and fatherinfant interaction when the infant was three months old.

  18. Serum lutein concentrations in healthy term infants fed human milk or infant formula with lutein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bettler, Jodi; Zimmer, J Paul; Neuringer, Martha; DeRusso, Patricia A

    2010-02-01

    Lutein is a carotenoid that may play a role in eye health. Human milk typically contains higher concentrations of lutein than infant formula. Preliminary data suggest there are differences in serum lutein concentrations between breastfed and formula-fed infants. To measure the serum lutein concentrations among infants fed human milk or formulas with and without added lutein. A prospective, double-masked trial was conducted in healthy term formula-fed infants (n = 26) randomized between 9 and 16 days of age to study formulas containing 20 (unfortified), 45, 120, and 225 mcg/l of lutein. A breastfed reference group was studied (n = 14) and milk samples were collected from their mothers. Primary outcome was serum lutein concentration at week 12. Geometric mean lutein concentration of human milk was 21.1 mcg/l (95% CI 14.9-30.0). At week 12, the human milk group had a sixfold higher geometric mean serum lutein (69.3 mcg/l; 95% CI 40.3-119) than the unfortified formula group (11.3 mcg/l; 95% CI 8.1-15.8). Mean serum lutein increased from baseline in each formula group except the unfortified group. Linear regression equation indicated breastfed infants had a greater increase in serum lutein (slope 3.7; P milk lutein than formula-fed infants (slope 0.9; P lutein concentrations than infants who consume formula unfortified with lutein. These data suggest approximately 4 times more lutein is needed in infant formula than in human milk to achieve similar serum lutein concentrations among breastfed and formula fed infants.

  19. National survey of Australian paediatricians' approach to infant crying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rimer, Romi; Hiscock, Harriet

    2014-03-01

    Persistent crying in infancy (i.e. crying that lasts for more than 3 h a day for more than 3 days per week for at least 3 weeks) is widespread. Although there is no gold standard approach to its management, guidelines exist with common management principles. This study aims to document how Australian general paediatricians (i) assess and manage persistent crying compared with published guidelines; (ii) screen for and manage associated post-natal depression; and (iii) rate their training in this area. Online survey were administered to all 394 members of the Australian Paediatric Research Network in November 2011 to February 2012. Members are predominantly general paediatricians. A total of 168 paediatricians (45%) responded. The majority (n = 96 (69%)) take one session to assess infant crying and at least two sessions to manage it (n = 106 (79%)). Specific approaches are not always evidence based (e.g. use of antacids/simethicone by 8%) and do not follow available guidelines. Most paediatricians routinely asked about maternal (n = 120 (88%)) but not paternal (n = 51 (33%)) mental health. Paediatricians typically received training around this issue before rather than after gaining formal paediatric qualifications (61% vs. 37%, respectively) and rate their training as satisfactory (67%). Despite this, only 39% feel very confident in managing infant crying. The lack of a gold standard approach to managing persistent infant crying has likely contributed to a lack of uniform care among Australian general paediatricians. Given that most paediatricians do not feel very confident in dealing with this problem, there is a scope for further training supported by evidence-based guidelines. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2013 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

  20. Influence of father-infant relationship on infant development: A father-involvement intervention in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rempel, Lynn A; Rempel, John K; Khuc, Toan Nang; Vui, Le Thi

    2017-10-01

    We examined the extent to which fathers can be taught and encouraged to develop positive relationships with their children, especially in infancy, and the effects of this fathering intervention on infant development. A multifaceted relationally focused intervention was used to assist fathers in Vietnam to engage in responsive direct and indirect involvement with their infants and work together with the mother as part of a parenting team. Fathers and mothers from 13 communes in a rural and semiurban district were recruited to the intervention group. Intervention fathers received group and individual counseling before and after birth, an interactive print resource, community messages about fathering, and the opportunity to participate in a Fathers Club. Couples from 12 comparable communes in a noncontiguous district were recruited to the control group. Fathers and mothers completed questionnaires at the prebirth recruitment and at 1-, 4-, and 9-months postbirth. Intervention fathers demonstrated greater increase in knowledge and attitudes regarding father-infant relationships. Both fathers and mothers reported that fathers engaged in more affection, care-taking, and play in the early months of their infants' lives and fathers felt more attached to their infants right from birth. A developmental assessment at 9 months showed that intervention infants demonstrated higher levels of motor, language, and personal/social development. This study demonstrated that fathers can be taught to interact more sensitively, responsively, and effectively with their newborn infants. Their increased interaction and emotional attachment appears to lay the foundation for enhanced infant development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Female parity, maternal kinship, infant age and sex influence natal attraction and infant handling in a wild colobine (Colobus vellerosus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bădescu, Iulia; Sicotte, Pascale; Ting, Nelson; Wikberg, Eva C

    2015-04-01

    Primate females often inspect, touch and groom others' infants (natal attraction) and they may hold and carry these infants in a manner resembling maternal care (infant handling). While natal attraction and infant handling occur in most wild colobines, little is known about the factors influencing the expression of these behaviors. We examined the effects of female parity, kinship, and dominance rank, as well as infant age and sex in wild Colobus vellerosus at Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana. We collected data via focal sampling of females in 2008 and 2009 (N = 61) and of infants in 2010 (N = 12). Accounting for the individuals who interacted with our focal subjects, this study includes 74 females and 66 infants in 8 groups. We recorded female agonistic interactions ad libitum to determine dominance ranks. We used partial pedigree information and genotypes at 17 short tandem repeat loci to determine kinship. We knew female parity, infant age and sex from demographic records. Nulliparous females showed more natal attraction and infant handling than parous females, which may suggest that interactions with infants are more adaptive for nulliparous females because they learn mothering skills through these behaviors. Compared to non-kin, maternal kin were more likely to handle infants. Maternal kin may be permitted greater access to infants because mothers are most familiar with them. Handlers may incur inclusive fitness benefits from infant handling. Dominance rank did not affect female interactions with infants. The youngest infants received the most natal attraction and infant handling, and male infants were handled more than female infants. The potential benefits of learning to mother and inclusive fitness, in combination with the relatively low costs of natal attraction and infant handling, may explain the high rates of these behaviors in many colobines. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Neurodevelopment of preterm infants born at 28 to 36 weeks of gestational age: the role of hypothyroxinemia and long-term outcome at 4 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ares, Susana; Quero, José; Diez, Jesus; Morreale de Escobar, Gabriella

    2011-01-01

    Hypothyroxinemia in premature neonates may affect long-term neurodevelopment. This study aimed to examine the effects of hypothyroxinemia of the newborn preterm infants born at 28-36 weeks of gestational age (GA) on the neurodevelopment at 4 years of age. Prospective observational cohort study conducted in Madrid, Spain. Forty-six preterm infants were included in the study. The effects of the exposure to neonatal hypothyroxinemia on mental development were examined. Using regression analyses we found that neonatal T4 had a positive association with general cognitive index and Verbal index, and neonatal FT4 with general cognitive and Memory indexes at 4 years of age. The exposure to hypothyroxinemia during the neonatal period of late preterm infants may play role in neurodevelopmental delays. Higher T4 level means a trend to higher indexes and low T4 level means a lower neurodevelopmental indexes at 4 years of age.

  3. Infant Mortality and Hispanic Americans

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2013 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports . Table 5. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_09.pdf [PDF | 994KB] Infant deaths and mortality rates for the top 4 leading cause of death ...

  4. Innovations: Infant and Toddler Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albrecht, Kay; Miller, Linda G.

    This book provides teachers of infants and toddlers with an in-depth guide to infant and toddler development, theories of growth and development, and best practices in early childhood education. The chapters are: (1) "Innovations: Infant and Toddler Development," looking at the underlying principles of developmental and interactional…

  5. Infant Coping with Everyday Stressful Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karraker, Katherine Hildebrandt; And Others

    1994-01-01

    Mothers of 6 cohorts of infants at ages 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months were interviewed to determine their children's responses to potentially stressful daily events. Found older infants and temperamentally more difficult infants experienced more events and reacted with distress to a greater proportion of the events than did younger infants and…

  6. Measuring Infant Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogartz, Richard S.

    1996-01-01

    Reviews three response rate measures (in a baseline measurement, immediately after acquisition, and at a long-term retention test) of infant memory that are used in experiments involving infants' conditioned kicking. Compares these measures to a new measure, the fraction of kicking rate remaining after the retention interval. Explains the…

  7. The effects of parental sensitivity and involvement in caregiving on mother-infant and father-infant attachment in a Portuguese sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuertes, Marina; Faria, Anabela; Beeghly, Marjorie; Lopes-dos-Santos, Pedro

    2016-02-01

    In the present longitudinal study, we investigated attachment quality in Portuguese mother-infant and in father-infant dyads, and evaluated whether attachment quality was related to parental sensitivity during parent-infant social interaction or to the amount of time each parent spent with the infant during play and in routine caregiving activities (e.g., feeding, bathing, play). The sample consisted of 82 healthy full-term infants (30 girls, 53 boys, 48 first born), and their mothers and fathers from mostly middle-class households. To assess parental sensitivity, mothers and fathers were independently observed during free play interactions with their infants when infants were 9 and 15 months old. The videotaped interactions were scored by masked coders using the Crittenden's CARE-Index. When infants were 12 and 18 months old, mother-infant and father-infant dyads were videotaped during an adaptation of Ainsworth's Strange Situation. Parents also described their level of involvement in infant caregiving activities using a Portuguese version of the McBride and Mills Parent Responsibility Scale. Mothers were rated as being more sensitive than fathers during parent-infant free play at both 9 and 15 months. There also was a higher prevalence of secure attachment in mother-infant versus father-infant dyads at both 12 and 18 months. Attachment security was predicted by the amount of time mothers and fathers were involved in caregiving and play with the infant, and with parents' behavior during parent-infant free play. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. DIAGNOSTIC CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DC:0-5: SELECTIVE REVIEWS FROM A NEW NOSOLOGY FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeanah, Charles H; Carter, Alice S; Cohen, Julie; Egger, Helen; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Keren, Miri; Lieberman, Alicia; Mulrooney, Kathleen; Oser, Cindy

    2016-09-01

    The Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood: Revised Edition (DC:0-5; ZERO TO THREE) is scheduled to be published in 2016. The articles in this section are selective reviews that have been undertaken as part of the process of refining and updating the nosology. They provide the rationales for new disorders, for disorders that had not been included previously in the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood: Revised Edition (DC:0-3R; ZERO TO THREE, 2005), and for changes in how certain types of disorders are conceptualized. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  9. Congenital Malformations in Singleton Infants Conceived by Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Singleton Infants by Natural Conception in Tehran, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramin Mozafari Kermani

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Multiple pregnancies occur more frequently in assisted reproductive technology (ART compared to normal conception (NC. It is known that the risk of congenital malformations in a multiple pregnancy are higher than single pregnancy. The aim of this study is to compare congenital malformations in singleton infants conceived by ART to singleton infants conceived naturally. Materials and Methods: In this historical cohort study, we performed a historical cohort study of major congenital malformations (MCM in 820 singleton births from January 2012 to December 2014. The data for this analysis were derived from Tehran’s ART linked data file. The risk of congenital malformations was compared in 164 ART infants and 656 NC infants. We performed multiple logistic regression analyses for the independent association of ART on each outcome. Results: We found 40 infants with MCM 29 (4.4% NC infants and 14 (8.3% ART infants. In comparison with NC infants, ART infants had a significant 2-fold increased risk of MCM (P=0.046. After adjusting individually for maternal age, infant gender, prior stillbirth, mother’s history of spontaneous abortion, and type of delivery, we did not find any difference in risk. In this study the majority (95.1% of all infants were normal but 4.9% of infants had at least one MCM. We found a difference in risk of MCMs between in vitro fertilization (IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI. We excluded the possible role of genotype and other unknown factors in causing more malformations in ART infants. Conclusion: This study reported a higher risk of MCMs in ART singleton infants than in NC singleton infants. Congenital heart disease, developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH, and urogenital malformations were the most reported major malformations in singleton ART infants according to organ and system classification.

  10. How do parents' depression and anxiety, and infants' negative temperament relate to parent-infant face-to-face interactions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktar, Evin; Colonnesi, Cristina; de Vente, Wieke; Majdandžić, Mirjana; Bögels, Susan M

    2017-08-01

    The present study investigated the associations of mothers' and fathers' lifetime depression and anxiety symptoms, and of infants' negative temperament with parents' and infants' gaze, facial expressions of emotion, and synchrony. We observed infants' (age between 3.5 and 5.5 months, N = 101) and parents' gaze and facial expressions during 4-min naturalistic face-to-face interactions. Parents' lifetime symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed with clinical interviews, and infants' negative temperament was measured with standardized observations. Parents with more depressive symptoms and their infants expressed less positive and more neutral affect. Parents' lifetime anxiety symptoms were not significantly related to parents' expressions of affect, while they were linked to longer durations of gaze to parent, and to more positive and negative affect in infants. Parents' lifetime depression or anxiety was not related to synchrony. Infants' temperament did not predict infants' or parents' interactive behavior. The study reveals that more depression symptoms in parents are linked to more neutral affect from parents and from infants during face-to-face interactions, while parents' anxiety symptoms are related to more attention to parent and less neutral affect from infants (but not from parents).

  11. Autism and mental retardation among offspring born after in vitro fertilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandin, Sven; Nygren, Karl-Gösta; Iliadou, Anastasia; Hultman, Christina M; Reichenberg, Abraham

    2013-07-03

    Between 1978 and 2010, approximately 5 million infants were born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. Yet limited information on neurodevelopment after IVF exists, especially after the first year of life. To examine the association between use of any IVF and different IVF procedures and the risk of autistic disorder and mental retardation in the offspring. A population-based, prospective cohort study using Swedish national health registers. Offspring born between 1982 and 2007 were followed up for a clinical diagnosis of autistic disorder or mental retardation until December 31, 2009. The exposure of interest was IVF, categorized according to whether intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for male infertility was used and whether embryos were fresh or frozen. For ICSI, whether sperm were ejaculated or surgically extracted was also considered. Relative risks (RRs) for autistic disorder and mental retardation and rates per 100,000 person-years, comparing spontaneously conceived offspring with those born after an IVF procedure and comparing 5 IVF procedures used in Sweden vs IVF without ICSI with fresh embryo transfer, the most common treatment. We also analyzed the subgroup restricted to singletons. Of the more than 2.5 million infants born, 30,959 (1.2%) were conceived by IVF and were followed up for a mean 10 (SD, 6) years. Overall, 103 of 6959 children (1.5%) with autistic disorder and 180 of 15,830 (1.1%) with mental retardation were conceived by IVF. The RR for autistic disorder after any procedure compared with spontaneous conception was 1.14 (95% CI, 0.94-1.39; 19.0 vs 15.6 per 100,000 person-years). The RR for mental retardation was 1.18 (95% CI, 1.01-1.36; 46.3 vs 39.8 per 100,000 person-years). For both outcomes, there was no statistically significant association when restricting analysis to singletons. Compared with IVF without ICSI with fresh embryo transfer, there were statistically significantly increased risks of autistic disorder following

  12. DEFINING RELATIONAL PATHOLOGY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD: THE DIAGNOSTIC CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DC:0-5 APPROACH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeanah, Charles H; Lieberman, Alicia

    2016-09-01

    Infant mental health is explicitly relational in its focus, and therefore a diagnostic classification system for early childhood disorders should include attention not only to within-the-child psychopathology but also between child and caregiver psychopathology. In this article, we begin by providing a review of previous efforts to introduce this approach that date back more than 30 years. Next, we introduce changes proposed in the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood DC:0-5 (ZERO TO THREE, in press). In a major change from previous attempts, the DC:0-5 includes an Axis I "Relationship Specific Disorder of Early Childhood." This disorder intends to capture disordered behavior that is limited to one caregiver relationship rather than cross contextually. An axial characterization is continued from the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood DC:0-3R (ZERO TO THREE, 2005), but two major changes are introduced. First, the DC:0-5 proposes to simplify ratings of relationship adaptation/maladaptation, and to expand what is rated so that in addition to characterizing the child's relationship with his or her primary caregiver, there also is a characterization of the network of family relationships in which the child develops. This includes coparenting relationships and the entire network of close relationships that impinge on the young child's development and adaptation. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  13. Feeding infants and toddlers study: What foods are infants and toddlers eating?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Mary Kay; Pac, Susan; Devaney, Barbara; Jankowski, Linda

    2004-01-01

    To describe the food consumption patterns of US infants and toddlers, 4 to 24 months of age. Descriptive analysis of data collected in the 2002 Feeding Infants and Toddlers study based on telephone interviews and 24-hour dietary recalls. A national random sample of 3,022 infants and toddlers age 4 to 24 months. The percentage of infants and toddlers consuming foods from specific food groups was estimated for six age groups, using a single 24-hour recall. Infants as young as 7 months of age showed food patterns that have been observed in older children and adults. From 18% to 33% of infants and toddlers between ages 7 and 24 months consumed no discrete servings of vegetables, and 23% to 33% consumed no fruits. French fries were one of the three most common vegetables consumed by infants 9 to 11 months of age. By 15 to 18 months, french fries were the most common vegetable. Almost half (46%) of 7- to 8-month-olds consumed some type of dessert, sweet, or sweetened beverage, and this percentage increased as age increased. By 19 to 24 months, 62% of toddlers consumed a baked dessert, 20% consumed candy, and 44% consumed a sweetened beverage. Parents and caregivers should be encouraged to offer a wide variety of vegetables and fruits daily, with emphasis on dark green, leafy, and deep yellow vegetables and colorful fruits. They should offer desserts, sweets, sweetened beverages, and salty snacks only occasionally, offering nutrient-dense, age-appropriate foods as alternatives (eg, fruit, cheese, yogurt, and cereals). Water, milk, and 100% fruit juices should be offered as alternative beverages. Because family food choices influence what foods are offered to children, family-based approaches to developing healthy eating habits may be helpful.

  14. FOOD ALLERGY IN INFANTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I.I. Balabolkin

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the etiology, growth mechanisms, clinical implications, diagnostics and treatment of the infant food allergy. The author highlights the status of the allergy to the proteins of cow milk within this age group of children. Alongside the article describes the modern approaches to the diet therapy of the infants with the allergy to the proteins of cow milk.Key words: infant, food allergy, allergy to the proteins of cow milk, diet therapy.

  15. The Development of Peripheral Vision in Infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guez, Jean R.

    This study investigated the extent of infant peripheral vision, specifically the extent of infants' constricted field, or tunnel vision. Thirteen infants, 2 to 5 months old, were tested using a psychophysical procedure to obtain contrast sensitivity thresholds at four retinal loci (-40, -15, +15, +40 deg.). Infants were placed in an infant bed in…

  16. Infant Cries Rattle Adult Cognition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna Dudek

    Full Text Available The attention-grabbing quality of the infant cry is well recognized, but how the emotional valence of infant vocal signals affects adult cognition and cortical activity has heretofore been unknown. We examined the effects of two contrasting infant vocalizations (cries vs. laughs on adult performance on a Stroop task using a cross-modal distraction paradigm in which infant distractors were vocal and targets were visual. Infant vocalizations were presented before (Experiment 1 or during each Stroop trial (Experiment 2. To evaluate the influence of infant vocalizations on cognitive control, neural responses to the Stroop task were obtained by measuring electroencephalography (EEG and event-related potentials (ERPs in Experiment 1. Based on the previously demonstrated existence of negative arousal bias, we hypothesized that cry vocalizations would be more distracting and invoke greater conflict processing than laugh vocalizations. Similarly, we expected participants to have greater difficulty shifting attention from the vocal distractors to the target task after hearing cries vs. after hearing laughs. Behavioral results from both experiments showed a cry interference effect, in which task performance was slower with cry than with laugh distractors. Electrophysiology data further revealed that cries more than laughs reduced attention to the task (smaller P200 and increased conflict processing (larger N450, albeit differently for incongruent and congruent trials. Results from a correlation analysis showed that the amplitudes of P200 and N450 were inversely related, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between attention and conflict processing. The findings suggest that cognitive control processes contribute to an attention bias to infant signals, which is modulated in part by the valence of the infant vocalization and the demands of the cognitive task. The findings thus support the notion that infant cries elicit a negative arousal bias that is

  17. Synbiotics, probiotics or prebiotics in infant formula for full term infants: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mugambi Mary N

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Synbiotics, probiotics or prebiotics are being added to infant formula to promote growth and development in infants. Previous reviews (2007 to 2011 on term infants given probiotics or prebiotics focused on prevention of allergic disease and food hypersensitivity. This review focused on growth and clinical outcomes in term infants fed only infant formula containing synbiotics, probiotics or prebiotics. Methods Cochrane methodology was followed using randomized controlled trials (RCTs which compared term infant formula containing probiotics, prebiotics or synbiotics to conventional infant formula with / without placebo among healthy full term infants. The mean difference (MD and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI were reported for continuous outcomes, risk ratio (RR and corresponding 95% CI for dichotomous outcomes. Where appropriate, meta-analysis was performed; heterogeneity was explored using subgroup and sensitivity analyses. If studies were too diverse a narrative synthesis was provided. Results Three synbiotic studies (N = 475, 10 probiotics studies (N = 933 and 12 prebiotics studies (N = 1563 were included. Synbiotics failed to significantly increase growth in boys and girls. Use of synbiotics increased stool frequency, had no impact on stool consistency, colic, spitting up / regurgitation, crying, restlessness or vomiting. Probiotics in formula also failed to have any significant effect on growth, stool frequency or consistency. Probiotics did not lower the incidence of diarrhoea, colic, spitting up / regurgitation, crying, restlessness or vomiting. Prebiotics in formula did increase weight gain but had no impact on length or head circumference gain. Prebiotics increased stool frequency but had no impact on stool consistency, the incidence of colic, spitting up / regurgitation, crying, restlessness or vomiting. There was no impact of prebiotics on the volume of formula tolerated, infections and gastrointestinal

  18. Parental and Infant Gender Factors in Parent-Infant Interaction: State-Space Dynamic Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerezo, M Angeles; Sierra-García, Purificación; Pons-Salvador, Gemma; Trenado, Rosa M

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the influence of parental gender on their interaction with their infants, considering, as well, the role of the infant's gender. The State Space Grid (SSG) method, a graphical tool based on the non-linear dynamic system (NDS) approach was used to analyze the interaction, in Free-Play setting, of 52 infants, aged 6 to 10 months, divided into two groups: half of the infants interacted with their fathers and half with their mothers. There were 50% boys in each group. MANOVA results showed no differential parenting of boys and girls. Additionally, mothers and fathers showed no differences in the Diversity of behavioral dyadic states nor in Predictability. However, differences associated with parent's gender were found in that the paternal dyads were more "active" than the maternal dyads: they were faster in the rates per second of behavioral events and transitions or change of state. In contrast, maternal dyads were more repetitive because, once they visited a certain dyadic state, they tend to be involved in more events. Results showed a significant discriminant function on the parental groups, fathers and mothers. Specifically, the content analyses carried out for the three NDS variables, that previously showed differences between groups, showed particular dyadic behavioral states associated with the rate of Transitions and the Events per Visit ratio. Thus, the transitions involving 'in-out' of 'Child Social Approach neutral - Sensitive Approach neutral' state and the repetitions of events in the dyadic state 'Child Play-Sensitive Approach neutral' distinguished fathers from mothers. The classification of dyads (with fathers and mothers) based on this discriminant function identified 73.10% (19/26) of the father-infant dyads and 88.5% (23/26) of the mother-infant dyads. The study of father-infant interaction using the SSG approach offers interesting possibilities because it characterizes and quantifies the actual moment-to-moment flow

  19. The relationship between planned and reported home infant sleep locations among mothers of late preterm and term infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tully, Kristin P; Holditch-Davis, Diane; Brandon, Debra

    2015-07-01

    To compare maternal report of planned and practiced home sleep locations of infants born late preterm (34 0/7 to 36 6/7 gestational weeks) with those infants born term (≥37 0/7 gestational weeks) over the first postpartum month. Open-ended semi-structured maternal interviews were conducted in a US hospital following birth and by phone at 1 month postpartum during 2010-2012. Participants were 56 mother-infant dyads: 26 late preterm and 30 term. Most women planned to room share at home with their infants and reported doing so for some or all of the first postpartum month. More women reported bed sharing during the first postpartum month than had planned to do so in both the late preterm and term groups. The primary reason for unplanned bed sharing was to soothe nighttime infant fussiness. Those participants who avoided bed sharing at home commonly discussed their fear for infant safety. A few parents reported their infants were sleeping propped on pillows and co-sleeping on a recliner. Some women in both the late preterm and term groups reported lack of opportunity to obtain a bassinet prior to childbirth. The discrepancy between plans for infant sleep location at home and maternally reported practices were similar in late preterm and term groups. Close maternal proximity to their infants at night was derived from the need to assess infant well-being, caring for infants, and women's preferences. Bed sharing concerns related to infant safety and the establishment of an undesirable habit, and alternative arrangements included shared recliner sleep.

  20. Infant Mortality and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander > Infant Health & Mortality Infant Mortality and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders While the overall ... data for this ethnic group is limited. Infant Mortality Rate Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live ...

  1. Infant Mortality and American Indians/Alaska Natives

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... American Indian/Alaska Native > Infant Health & Mortality Infant Mortality and American Indians/Alaska Natives American Indian/Alaska ... as compared to non-Hispanic white mothers. Infant Mortality Rate: Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live ...

  2. Comparison of Growth of Healthy Term Infants Fed Extensively Hydrolyzed Protein- and Amino Acid-Based Infant Formulas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlene W. Borschel

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this narrative review was to assess published growth data for healthy, term, infants consuming extensively hydrolyzed protein-based (EHF, or amino acid-based formulas (AAF. These data may be of use to clinicians managing infants with medical conditions consuming these products. A search was conducted using key terms: amino acid-based, hydrolysate, hydrolyzed, hydrolysed, infant formula, infant formulae or formulas, baby formula, or formulae or formulas, infant, infants, infantile, and growth. Seven controlled, randomized, prospective growth trials of healthy term infants fed EHFs or AAFs at similar time points during the first four months of age met these and other criteria, including that the trial was published in a peer-reviewed journal, subjects were enrolled by ≤14 days of age and were exclusively formula-fed at entry and throughout the duration of the trial, and infants were assessed at regular intervals with weight measures available ideally at 14 days, one, two, three, and four months of age. Results suggested that healthy infants receiving commonly available EHFs and AAFs do not appear to experience accelerated growth as reported for infants fed many standard formulas. Differences in growth patterns were observed with some formulas supporting normative growth patterns during the first four months but others appearing to support markedly lower growth patterns. These observations should be confirmed in well-designed prospective randomized trials. Until that time, it is recommended that EHFs and AAFs be chosen carefully with individual patient needs considered.

  3. The sound symbolism bootstrapping hypothesis for language acquisition and language evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imai, Mutsumi; Kita, Sotaro

    2014-09-19

    Sound symbolism is a non-arbitrary relationship between speech sounds and meaning. We review evidence that, contrary to the traditional view in linguistics, sound symbolism is an important design feature of language, which affects online processing of language, and most importantly, language acquisition. We propose the sound symbolism bootstrapping hypothesis, claiming that (i) pre-verbal infants are sensitive to sound symbolism, due to a biologically endowed ability to map and integrate multi-modal input, (ii) sound symbolism helps infants gain referential insight for speech sounds, (iii) sound symbolism helps infants and toddlers associate speech sounds with their referents to establish a lexical representation and (iv) sound symbolism helps toddlers learn words by allowing them to focus on referents embedded in a complex scene, alleviating Quine's problem. We further explore the possibility that sound symbolism is deeply related to language evolution, drawing the parallel between historical development of language across generations and ontogenetic development within individuals. Finally, we suggest that sound symbolism bootstrapping is a part of a more general phenomenon of bootstrapping by means of iconic representations, drawing on similarities and close behavioural links between sound symbolism and speech-accompanying iconic gesture. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  4. Dysphagia in infants after open heart procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Sook-Hee; Kim, Sang-Jun; Huh, June; Jun, Tae-Gook; Cheon, Hee Jung; Kwon, Jeong-Yi

    2013-06-01

    The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence and the clinical predictors of dysphagia and to determine the characteristics of videofluoroscopic swallowing study findings in infants after open heart procedures. This study is a retrospective review of 146 infants who underwent open heart surgery. The infants with dysphagia were compared with those without dysphagia. The videofluoroscopic swallowing study findings of the infants with dysphagia were also evaluated. Of the 146 infants who underwent open heart surgery, 35 (24.0%) had dysphagia symptoms. The infants with dysphagia had lower body weight at operation, more malformation syndromes, longer operation times, and more complex operations than did the infants without dysphagia. In addition, the infants with dysphagia required more time to achieve full oral feeding and had longer hospital stays. Thirty-three infants underwent videofluoroscopic swallowing study: 32 (97.0%) exhibited at least one abnormal finding among the videofluoroscopic swallowing study parameters and 21 (63.6%) exhibited tracheal aspiration. Given the high rate of aspiration in the infants who underwent open heart procedures, monitoring and prompt recognition of the signs and the risk factors of dysphagia may substantially improve infant care with oral feeding and reduce the duration of hospital stays.

  5. Secondhand smoke risk in infants discharged from an NICU: potential for significant health disparities?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stotts, Angela L; Evans, Patricia W; Green, Charles E; Northrup, Thomas F; Dodrill, Carrie L; Fox, Jeffery M; Tyson, Jon E; Hovell, Melbourne F

    2011-11-01

    Secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) threatens fragile infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Smoking practices were examined in families with a high respiratory risk infant (born at very low birth weight; ventilated > 12 hr) in a Houston, Texas, NICU. Socioeconomic status, race, and mental health status were hypothesized to be related to SHSe and household smoking bans. Data were collected as part of The Baby's Breath Project, a hospital-based SHSe intervention trial targeting parents with a high-risk infant in the NICU who reported a smoker in the household (N = 99). Measures of sociodemographics, smoking, home and car smoking bans, and depression were collected. Overall, 26% of all families with a high-risk infant in the NICU reported a household smoker. Almost half of the families with a smoker reported an annual income of less than $25,000. 46.2% of families reported having a total smoking ban in place in both their homes and cars. Only 27.8% families earning less than $25,000 reported having a total smoking ban in place relative to almost 60% of families earning more (p < .01). African American and Caucasian families were less likely to have a smoking ban compared with Hispanics (p < .05). Mothers who reported no smoking ban were more depressed than those who had a household smoking ban (p < .02). The most disadvantaged families were least likely to have protective health behaviors in place to reduce SHSe and, consequently, are most at-risk for tobacco exposure and subsequent tobacco-related health disparities. Innovative SHSe interventions for this vulnerable population are sorely needed.

  6. NTP-CERHR monograph on Soy Infant Formula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-01

    Soy infant formula contains soy protein isolates and is fed to infants as a supplement to or replacement for human milk or cow milk. Soy protein isolates contains estrogenic isoflavones ("phytoestrogens") that occur naturally in some legumes, especially soybeans. Phytoestrogens are non-steroidal, estrogenic compounds. In plants, nearly all phytoestrogens are bound to sugar molecules and these phytoestrogen-sugar complexes are not generally considered hormonally active. Phytoestrogens are found in many food products in addition to soy infant formula, especially soy-based foods such as tofu, soy milk, and in some over-the-counter dietary supplements. Soy infant formula was selected for evaluation by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) because of the: (1)availability of large number of developmental toxicity studies in laboratory animals exposed to the isoflavones found in soy infant formula (namely, genistein) or other soy products, as well as a number of studies on human infants fed soy infant formula, (2)the availability of information on exposures in infants fed soy infant formula, and (3)public concern for effects on infant or child development. The NTP evaluation was conducted through its Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) and completed in September 2010. The results of this soy infant formula evaluation are published in an NTP Monograph. This document contains the NTP Brief on Soy Infant Formula, which presents NTP's opinion on the potential for exposure to soy infant formula to cause adverse developmental effects in humans. The NTP Monograph also contains an expert panel report prepared to assist the NTP in reaching conclusions on soy infant formula. The NTP concluded there is minimal concern for adverse effects on development in infants who consume soy infant formula. This level of concern represents a "2" on the five-level scale of concern used by the NTP that ranges from negligible concern ("1") to serious concern ("5"). This

  7. Immune Vulnerability of Infants to Tuberculosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koen Vanden Driessche

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the challenges faced by the infant immune system is learning to distinguish the myriad of foreign but nonthreatening antigens encountered from those expressed by true pathogens. This balance is reflected in the diminished production of proinflammatory cytokines by both innate and adaptive immune cells in the infant. A downside of this bias is that several factors critical for controlling Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are significantly restricted in infants, including TNF, IL-1, and IL-12. Furthermore, infant T cells are inherently less capable of differentiating into IFN-γ-producing T cells. As a result, infected infants are 5–10 times more likely than adults to develop active tuberculosis (TB and have higher rates of severe disseminated disease, including miliary TB and meningitis. Infant TB is a fundamentally different disease than TB in immune competent adults. Immunotherapeutics, therefore, should be specifically evaluated in infants before they are routinely employed to treat TB in this age group. Modalities aimed at reducing inflammation, which may be beneficial for adjunctive therapy of some forms of TB in older children and adults, may be of no benefit or even harmful in infants who manifest much less inflammatory disease.

  8. Mother-Infant Face-to-Face Interaction: The Communicative Value of Infant-Directed Talking and Singing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arias, Diana; Peña, Marcela

    Across culture, healthy infants show a high interest in infant-directed (ID) talking and singing. Despite ID talking and ID singing being very similar in physical properties, infants differentially respond to each of them. The mechanisms underpinning these different responses are still under discussion. This study explored the behavioral (n = 26) and brain (n = 14) responses from 6- to 8-month-old infants to ID talking and ID singing during a face-to-face mother-infant interaction with their own mother. Behavioral response was analyzed from offline video coding, and brain response was estimated from the analysis of electrophysiological recordings. We found that during ID talking, infants displayed a significantly higher number of visual contacts, vocalizations, and body movements than during ID singing. Moreover, only during ID talking were the number of visual contacts and vocalizations positively correlated with the number of questions and pauses in the mother's speech. Our results suggest that ID talking provides infants with specific cues that allow them not only to react to mother stimulation, but also to act toward them, displaying a rudimentary version of turn-taking behavior. Brain activity partially supported that interpretation. The relevance of our results for bonding is discussed. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  9. Ethical Challenges in Infant Feeding Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colin Binns

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Infants have a complex set of nutrient requirements to meet the demands of their high metabolic rate, growth, and immunological and cognitive development. Infant nutrition lays the foundation for health throughout life. While infant feeding research is essential, it must be conducted to the highest ethical standards. The objective of this paper is to discuss the implications of developments in infant nutrition for the ethics of infant feeding research and the implications for obtaining informed consent. A search was undertaken of the papers in the medical literature using the PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Proquest, and CINAHL databases. From a total of 9303 papers identified, the full text of 87 articles that contained discussion of issues in consent in infant feeding trials were obtained and read and after further screening 42 papers were included in the results and discussion. Recent developments in infant nutrition of significance to ethics assessment include the improved survival of low birth weight infants, increasing evidence of the value of breastfeeding and evidence of the lifelong importance of infant feeding and development in the first 1000 days of life in chronic disease epidemiology. Informed consent is a difficult issue, but should always include information on the value of preserving breastfeeding options. Project monitoring should be cognisant of the long term implications of growth rates and early life nutrition.

  10. Surfactant therapy in late preterm infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Yurdakök

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Late preterm (LPT neonates are at a high risk for respiratory distress soon after birth due to respiratory distress syndrome (RDS, transient tachypnea of the newborn, persistent pulmonary hypertension, and pneumonia along with an increased need for surfactant replacement therapy, continuous positive airway pressure, and ventilator support when compared with the term neonates. In the past, studies on outcomes of infants with respiratory distress have primarily focused on extremely premature infants, leading to a gap in knowledge and understanding of the developmental biology and mechanism of pulmonary diseases in LPT neonates. Surfactant deficiency is the most frequent etiology of RDS in very preterm and moderately preterm infants, while cesarean section and lung infection play major roles in RDS development in LPT infants. The clinical presentation and the response to surfactant therapy in LPT infants may be different than that seen in very preterm infants. Incidence of pneumonia and occurrence of pneumothorax are significantly higher in LPT and term infants. High rates of pneumonia in these infants may result in direct injury to the type II alveolar cells of the lung with decreasing synthesis, release, and processing of surfactant. Increased permeability of the alveolar capillary membrane to both fluid and solutes is known to result in entry of plasma proteins into the alveolar hypophase, further inhibiting the surface properties of surfactant. However, the oxygenation index value do not change dramatically after ventilation or surfactant administration in LPT infants with RDS compared to very preterm infants. These finding may indicate a different pathogenesis of RDS in late preterm and term infants. In conclusion, surfactant therapy may be of significant benefit in LPT infants with serious respiratory failure secondary to a number of insults. However, optimal timing and dose of administration are not so clear in this group. Additional

  11. Nap-dependent learning in infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hupbach, Almut; Gomez, Rebecca L; Bootzin, Richard R; Nadel, Lynn

    2009-11-01

    Sleep has been shown to aid a variety of learning and memory processes in adults (Stickgold, 2005). Recently, we showed that infants' learning also benefits from subsequent sleep such that infants who nap are able to abstract the general grammatical pattern of a briefly presented artificial language (Gomez, Bootzin & Nadel, 2006). In the present study, we demonstrate, for the first time, long-term effects of sleep on memory for an artificial language. Fifteen-month-old infants who had napped within 4 hours of language exposure remembered the general grammatical pattern of the language 24 hours later. In contrast, infants who had not napped shortly after being familiarized with the language showed no evidence of remembering anything about the language. Our findings support the view that infants' frequent napping plays an essential role in establishing long-term memory.

  12. Maternal prenatal cortisol and infant cognitive development: moderation by infant-mother attachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergman, Kristin; Sarkar, Pampa; Glover, Vivette; O'Connor, Thomas G

    2010-06-01

    Experimental animal studies suggest that early glucocorticoid exposure may have lasting effects on the neurodevelopment of the offspring; animal studies also suggest that this effect may be eliminated by positive postnatal rearing. The relevance of these findings to humans is not known. We prospectively followed 125 mothers and their normally developing children from pregnancy through 17 months postnatal. Amniotic fluid was obtained at, on average, 17.2 weeks gestation; infants were assessed at an average age of 17 months with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and ratings of infant-mother attachment classification were made from the standard Ainsworth Strange Situation assessment. Prenatal cortisol exposure, indexed by amniotic fluid levels, negatively predicted cognitive ability in the infant, independent of prenatal, obstetric, and socioeconomic factors. This association was moderated by child-mother attachment: in children with an insecure attachment, the correlation was [r(54) = -.47, p < .001]; in contrast, the association was nonexistent in children who had a secure attachment [r(70) = -.05, ns]. These findings mimic experimental animal findings and provide the first direct human evidence that increased cortisol in utero is associated with impaired cognitive development, and that its impact is dependent on the quality of the mother-infant relationship. Copyright 2010 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Parental professional help-seeking for infant sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Pei-Wen; Wu, Wei-Wen; Tung, Yi-Ching; Thomas, Karen A; Tsai, Shao-Yu

    2017-12-01

    To explore the perceptions and experiences of parental professional help-seeking for infant sleep and sleep-related concerns. Infant sleep is a frequent concern for parents. However, very little is known about the reasons parents seek, do not seek or delay seeking professional attention about their concerns related to infant sleep. A qualitative study design was used. Twenty audio-taped interviews with parents of healthy 12-month-old infants were conducted at a university-affiliated hospital or parents' homes depending on where parents felt more comfortable discussing their personal views and medical help-seeking experiences. Thematic content analysis was performed to determine specific patterns and similarities within and between interview data. Three main themes developed from the interviews were as follows: (i) uncertainty about infant sleep; (ii) I can handle infant sleep; and (iii) I am not satisfied with the professional services provided for infant sleep. Overall, parents knew little about or misunderstood infant sleep behaviours. Lack of proper information and knowledge about infant sleep influenced parents' motivation for professional help-seeking and help-receiving. Parents who have consulted a healthcare professional but received unsatisfactory responses, such as an ambivalent attitude or insufficient assessment, reported being less motivated or unwilling to seek medical help again. Our study demonstrates the complexity of parental professional help-seeking and receiving for infant sleep. Findings suggest that parents perceive a wide range of barriers that influence the likelihood that they will seek professional advice for infant sleep. Reducing knowledge barriers and providing adequate attention at all well-infant visits would facilitate parental use of healthcare services to manage problematic infant sleep behaviours. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in hospitalized infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hornik, Christoph P; Graham, Eric M; Hill, Kevin; Li, Jennifer S; Ofori-Amanfo, George; Clark, Reese H; Smith, P Brian

    2016-10-01

    Hospitalized infants requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) represent a high-risk group. Recent data on risk factors for mortality following CPR in this population are lacking. We hypothesized that infant demographic characteristics, diagnoses, and levels of cardiopulmonary support at the time of CPR requirement would be associated with survival to hospital discharge following CPR. Retrospective cohort study. All infants receiving CPR on day of life 2 to 120 admitted to 348 Pediatrix Medical Group neonatal intensive care units from 1997 to 2012. We collected data on demographics, interventions, center volume, and death prior to NICU discharge. We evaluated predictors of death after CPR using multivariable logistic regression with generalized estimating equations to account for clustering of the data by center. Our cohort consisted of 2231 infants receiving CPR. Of these, 1127 (51%) survived to hospital discharge. Lower gestational age, postnatal age, 5-min APGAR, congenital anomaly, and markers of severity of illness were associated with higher mortality. Mortality after CPR did not change significantly over time (Cochran-Armitage test for trend p=0.35). Mortality following CPR in infants is high, particularly for less mature, younger infants with congenital anomalies and those requiring cardiopulmonary support prior to CPR. Continued focus on at risk infants may identify targets for CPR prevention and improve outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Infant mortality and causes of infant deaths in rural Ethiopia: a population-based cohort of 3684 births.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weldearegawi, Berhe; Melaku, Yohannes Adama; Abera, Semaw Ferede; Ashebir, Yemane; Haile, Fisaha; Mulugeta, Afework; Eshetu, Frehiwot; Spigt, Mark

    2015-08-11

    Ethiopia has made large-scale healthcare investments to improve child health and survival. However, there is insufficient population level data on the current estimates of infant mortality rate (IMR) in the country. The aim of this study was to measure infant mortality rate, investigate risk factors for infant deaths and identify causes of death in a rural population of northern Ethiopia. Live births to a cohort of mothers under the Kilite Awlaelo Health and Demographic Surveillance System were followed up to their first birthday or death, between September 11, 2009 and September 10, 2013. Maternal and infant characteristics were collected at baseline and during the regular follow-up visit. Multiple-Cox regression was used to investigate risk factors for infant death. Causes of infant death were identified using physician review verbal autopsy method. Of the total 3684 infants followed, 174 of them died before their first birthday, yielding an IMR of 47 per 1000 live births (95 % CI: 41, 54) over the four years of follow-up. About 96 % of infants survived up to their first birthday, and 56 % of infant deaths occurred during the neonatal period. Infants born to mothers aged 15-19 years old had higher risk of death (HR = 2.68, 95 % CI: 1. 74, 4.87) than those born to 25-29 years old. Infants of mothers who attained a secondary school and above had 56 % lower risk of death (HR = 0.44, 95 % CI: 0.24, 0.81) compared to those whose mothers did not attend formal education. Sepsis, prematurity and asphyxia and acute lower respiratory tract infections were the commonest causes of death. The IMR for the four-year period was lower than the national and regional estimates. Our findings suggest the need to improve the newborn care, and empower teenagers to delay teenage pregnancy and attain higher levels of education.

  16. Diaper Dermatitis in Infants Admitted to Social Pediatrics Health Center: Role of Socio-demographic Factors and Infant Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayaoglu, Semra; Kivanc-Altunay, Ilknur; Sarikaya, Sezgi

    2015-10-01

    To determine infant diaper dermatitis (DD) at pediatrics health center; its relation to socio-demographic factors and infant care. The study included 113 infants aged 0-24 mo. Data on infants' age, sex, weight, mothers' education, nutrition, diaper change frequency, cleaning methods and prophylactic cream use were recorded. Infants with minimum one time rash, were accepted to have DD. Seventy six (67.3 %) infants had DD [32 girls (42.1 %), 44 boys (57 %), mean age: 6.5 mo]. Infants with DD had significantly higher age than those without (p 0.001). DD frequency in infants ≥4.5 mo-old was 5.8(2.4-13.7) times more than in infants ≤4.5 mo. Cleaning material types did not affect DD frequency. No significant difference was observed in DD with diaper change of ≤3 times and ≥4 times. Significant difference in DD increase was observed with supplementary food intake vs. without it (p 0.000). DD frequency in infants with supplementary food intake was 6.4 times (2.4-17.1) more than in those without it. Human milk intake was statistically significant in causing less occurrence of DD as shown in univariate model (p milk intake lessened the occurrence of DD. Mothers should be informed on dermatitis care and encouraged for breastfeeding.

  17. Infant foods: Debatable questions and real answers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. V. Belmer

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In Ms/her practice, a pediatrician frequently faces ambiguous questions about foods for infants during the first year of life in particular. Not only parents ask pediatricians these questions - the latter naturally arise during work and attempts to pinpoint the problem of adequate nutrition during infancy. These questions are whether complementary foods containing starch cause allergy in an infant; gluten is a detrimental ingredient of infant foods; hydrolysis of cereal polysaccharides is essential; palm oil is dangerous to an infant's health; butter fat as an ingredient infant foods may be harmful to a child. Among other things, butter fat in globules is shown to contain phospholipids, gangliosides, cholesterol, which are essential for a child's development and absent in infant formulas. In this connection, addition of fat globule membranes to foods is promising in terms of the provision of an infant with lipids of full value. There is a need for further in-depth investigations of infant feeding practices, by keeping in mind numerous features of an infant's organism.

  18. Parental and Infant Gender Factors in Parent–Infant Interaction: State-Space Dynamic Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    M. Angeles Cerezo; Purificación Sierra-García; Gemma Pons-Salvador; Rosa M. Trenado

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the influence of parental gender on their interaction with their infants, considering, as well, the role of the infant’s gender. The State Space Grid (SSG) method, a graphical tool based on the non-linear dynamic system (NDS) approach was used to analyze the interaction, in Free-Play setting, of 52 infants, aged 6 to 10 months, divided into two groups: half of the infants interacted with their fathers and half with their mothers. There were 50% boys in each gro...

  19. Breastfeeding progression in preterm infants is influenced by factors in infants, mothers and clinical practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maastrup, Ragnhild; Hansen, Bo Moelholm; Kronborg, Hanne

    2014-01-01

    . Infants that were small for gestational age were associated with 5.6 days (95% CI 4.1-7.0) later establishment of exclusive breastfeeding. CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding competence is not developed at a fixed PMA, but is influenced by multiple factors in infants, mothers and clinical practice. Admitting......BACKGROUND AND AIM: Many preterm infants are not capable of exclusive breastfeeding from birth. To guide mothers in breastfeeding, it is important to know when preterm infants can initiate breastfeeding and progress. The aim was to analyse postmenstrual age (PMA) at breastfeeding milestones...... in different preterm gestational age (GA) groups, to describe rates of breastfeeding duration at pre-defined times, as well as analyse factors associated with PMA at the establishment of exclusive breastfeeding. METHODS: The study was part of a prospective survey of a national Danish cohort of preterm infants...

  20. Both Mother and Infant Require a Vitamin D Supplement to Ensure That Infants' Vitamin D Status Meets Current Guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghajafari, Fariba; Field, Catherine J; Weinberg, Amy R; Letourneau, Nicole

    2018-03-29

    We examined the association between maternal vitamin D intake during breastfeeding with their infants' vitamin D status in infants who did or did not receive vitamin D supplements to determine whether infant supplementation was sufficient. Using plasma from a subset of breastfed infants in the APrON (Alberta Pregnant Outcomes and Nutrition) cohort, vitamin D status was measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Maternal and infants' dietary data were obtained from APrON's dietary questionnaires. The median maternal vitamin D intake was 665 International Units (IU)/day, while 25% reported intakes below the recommended 400 IU/day. Of the 224 infants in the cohort, 72% were exclusively breastfed, and 90% were receiving vitamin D supplements. Infants' median 25(OH)D was 96.0 nmol/L (interquartile ranges (IQR) 77.6-116.2), and 25% had 25(OH)D < 75 nmol/L. An adjusted linear regression model showed that, with a 100 IU increase in maternal vitamin D intake, infants' 25(OH)D increased by 0.9 nmol/L controlling for race, season, mid-pregnancy maternal 25(OH)D, birthweight, and whether the infant received daily vitamin D supplement (β = 0.008, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.002, 0.13). These results suggest that, to ensure infant optimal vitamin D status, not only do infants require a supplement, but women also need to meet current recommended vitamin D intake during breastfeeding.

  1. Quality-Improvement Effort to Reduce Hypothermia Among High-Risk Infants on a Mother-Infant Unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Christine; Whatley, Colleen; Smith, Meaghan; Brayton, Emily Caron; Simone, Suzanne; Holmes, Alison Volpe

    2018-02-14

    Neonatal hypothermia is common in low birth weight (LBW) (preventive measures for LPIs and/or LBW infants in a mother-infant unit. We conducted plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles aimed at decreasing environmental hypothermia for LPIs and/or LBW infants in a mother-infant unit with no other indications for NICU-level care. Interventions included using warm towels after delivery, a risk identification card, an occlusive hat, delayed timing of first bath, submersion instead of sponge-bathing, and conducting all assessments under a radiant warmer during the initial hours of life. We implemented these interventions in 3 PDSA cycles and followed hypothermia rates by using statistical process control methods. The baseline mean monthly hypothermia rate among mother-infant unit LPIs and/or LBW infants was 29.8%. Postintervention, the rate fell to 13.3% (-16.5%; P = .002). This decrease occurred in a stepwise fashion in conjunction with the PDSA cycles. In the final, full-intervention period, the rate was 10.0% (-19.8%; P = .0003). A special-cause signal shift was observed in this final period. Targeted interventions can significantly reduce hypothermia in otherwise healthy LPIs and/or LBW newborns and allow them to safely remain in a mother-infant unit. If applied broadly, such preventive practices could decrease preventable hypothermia in high-risk populations. Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  2. INFANT MORTALITY MAR URAL POPULATION OF MEERUT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C Prakash

    1994-06-01

    Full Text Available A cross sectional study was conducted in eight selected villages of Meerut District [UJP.} to find out infant mortality rate alongwith other various health care delivery practices associated with this. An infant mortality rate of 106.7/1000 LB was found in the study population. Infant mortality was higher in female infants, infants of mothers not availed antenatal care, not received tetanus toxoid, delivered by untrained personnel and where cow-dung was applied to cord stump. Among the causes of infant deaths prematurity or low birth weight was the commonest cause followed by respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases and tetanus neonatorum

  3. Association between Infant Feeding and Early Postpartum Infant Body Composition: A Pilot Prospective Study

    OpenAIRE

    Anderson, Alex Kojo

    2009-01-01

    Research studies have produced conflicting results of the impact of breastfeeding on overweight/obesity. This study evaluated the impact of infant feeding on infant body composition. There were two groups of mother-infant pairs (exclusive breastfeeding [EBF; n = 27] and mixed feeding [MF; n = 13]) in this study. At baseline, participants were similar in their demographic characteristics except prepregnancy weight, where MF mothers tended to be heavier than their EBF counterparts (67.3?kg vers...

  4. Associations of Maternal and Infant Testosterone and Cortisol Levels With Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Infant Socioemotional Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, June; Su, Xiaogang; Phillips, Vivien; Holditch-Davis, Diane

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the associations of testosterone and cortisol levels with maternal depressive symptoms and infant socioemotional (SE) problems that are influenced by infant gender. A total of 62 mothers and their very-low-birth weight (VLBW) infants were recruited from a neonatal intensive care unit at a tertiary medical center in the southeast United States. Data were collected at three time points (before 40 weeks’ postmenstrual age [PMA] and at 3 months and 6 months of age corrected for prematurity). Measures included infant medical record review, maternal interview, biochemical assays of salivary hormone levels in mother-VLBWinfant pairs, and standard questionnaires. Generalized estimating equations with separate analyses for boys and girls showed that maternal testosterone level was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in mothers of boys, whereas infant testosterone level was negatively associated with maternal report of infant SE problems in girls after controlling for characteristics of mothers and infants and number of days post birth of saliva collection. Not surprisingly, the SE problems were positively associated with a number of medical complications. Mothers with more depressive symptoms reported that their infants had more SE problems. Mothers with higher testosterone levels reported that girls, but not boys, had fewer SE problems. In summary, high levels of testosterone could have a protective role for maternal depressive symptoms and infant SE problems. Future research need to be directed toward clinical application of these preliminary results. PMID:25954021

  5. Maternal DRD2, SLC6A3, and OXTR genotypes as potential moderators of the relation between maternal history of care and maternal cortisol secretion in the context of mother-infant separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludmer, Jaclyn A; Jamieson, Brittany; Gonzalez, Andrea; Levitan, Robert; Kennedy, James; Villani, Vanessa; Masellis, Mario; Basile, Vincenzo S; Atkinson, Leslie

    2017-10-01

    A mother's cortisol secretion is importantly associated with her own mental health and her infant's cortisol secretion. This study investigated the influences of maternal history of care and maternal DRD2, SLC6A3, and OXTR genotypes on maternal cortisol in the context of infant stress. A community sample of 296 mother-infant dyads completed a maternal separation at infant age 17 months. Maternal salivary cortisol, buccal cells, and self-reported history of care were collected. Multilevel models revealed that history of care had a greater influence on maternal baseline cortisol (but not cortisol trajectory) for mothers with more plasticity alleles of SLC6A3 (10R) and OXTR (G), relative to mothers with fewer or no plasticity alleles. Findings indicate that a mother's history of care is related to her cortisol secretion in anticipation of infant stress, but that this relation depends on her genetic characteristics. Findings are discussed in relation to the maternal protective system and anticipatory cortisol secretion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Exposure to tobacco smoke and infant crying

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijneveld, S.A.; Lanting, C.I.; Crone, M.R.; Wouwe, J.P. van

    2005-01-01

    Aim: To examine the association of excessive infant crying with maternal smoking during and after pregnancy, paternal smoking, and smoking by other people in the living environment of the infant. Methods: We collected data on infant crying and smoking in a Dutch national sample of 5845 infants aged

  7. Exposure to tobacco smoke and infant crying

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijneveld, SA; Lanting, Caren; Crone, MR; Van Wouwe, JP

    Aim: To examine the association of excessive infant crying with maternal smoking during and after pregnancy, paternal smoking, and smoking by other people in the living environment of the infant. Methods: We collected data on infant crying and smoking in a Dutch national sample of 5845 infants aged

  8. SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths: expansion of recommendations for a safe infant sleeping environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Rachel Y

    2011-11-01

    Despite a major decrease in the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its recommendation in 1992 that infants be placed for sleep in a nonprone position, this decline has plateaued in recent years. Concurrently, other causes of sudden unexpected infant death occurring during sleep (sleep-related deaths), including suffocation, asphyxia, and entrapment, and ill-defined or unspecified causes of death have increased in incidence, particularly since the AAP published its last statement on SIDS in 2005. It has become increasingly important to address these other causes of sleep-related infant death. Many of the modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors for SIDS and suffocation are strikingly similar. The AAP, therefore, is expanding its recommendations from being only SIDS-focused to focusing on a safe sleep environment that can reduce the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths including SIDS. The recommendations described in this report include supine positioning, use of a firm sleep surface, breastfeeding, room-sharing without bed-sharing, routine immunization, consideration of a pacifier, and avoidance of soft bedding, overheating, and exposure to tobacco smoke, alcohol, and illicit drugs. The rationale for these recommendations is discussed in detail in this technical report. The recommendations are published in the accompanying "Policy Statement--Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment," which is included in this issue (www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2011-2220).

  9. Stillbirth and Infant Mortality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nøhr, Ellen Aagaard

    2012-01-01

    mechanisms behind these associations remain largely unknown. Although maternal obesity is associated with a wide range of complications in the mother and neonate that may impair fetal and infant survival, the increased risk of stillbirth and infant mortality is virtually unchanged when accounting...

  10. Touch and Massage for Medically Fragile Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Livingston, Karen; Beider, Shay; Kant, Alexis J.; Gallardo, Constance C.; Joseph, Michael H.

    2009-01-01

    Research investigating the efficacy of infant massage has largely focused on premature and low birth weight infants. The majority of investigations have neglected highly acute patients in academic neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The current study was developed with two aims: (Phase 1) to develop, implement and demonstrate the feasibility and safety of a parent-trained compassionate touch/massage program for infants with complex medical conditions and (Phase 2) to conduct a longitudinal randomized control trial (RCT) of hand containment/massage versus standard of care in a level III academic Center for Newborn and Infant Critical Care (CNICC). Certified infant massage instructors (CIMIs) taught parents to massage their hospitalized infants. Massage therapy and instruction were performed for seven consecutive days and health outcomes were collected for up to 1 month following treatment. Caregivers, nurses and certified infant massage therapists indicated moderate to high levels of satisfaction and feasibility with the implementation of hand containment/massage in a level III academic center CNICC. In addition, infant behavioral and physiological measures were within safe limits during the massage sessions. All caregivers participating in the massage group reported high levels of satisfaction 7 days into the intervention and at the 1-month follow-up with regards to their relationship with their infant, the massage program's impact on that relationship and the massage program. Due to unequal and small sample sizes, between group analyses (control versus massage) were not conducted. Descriptive infant characteristics of health outcomes are described. Preliminary data from this study indicates feasibility and safety of infant massage and satisfaction among the caregivers, CIMIs and the nurses in the CNICC. An important contribution from this study was the demonstration of the infants’ safety based on physiological stability and no change in agitation/pain scores

  11. Embodied intersubjective engagement in mother–infant tactile communication: a cross-cultural study of Japanese and Scottish mother–infant behaviors during infant pick-up

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negayama, Koichi; Delafield-Butt, Jonathan T.; Momose, Keiko; Ishijima, Konomi; Kawahara, Noriko; Lux, Erin J.; Murphy, Andrew; Kaliarntas, Konstantinos

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the early development of cultural differences in a simple, embodied, and intersubjective engagement between mothers putting down, picking up, and carrying their infants between Japan and Scotland. Eleven Japanese and ten Scottish mothers with their 6- and then 9-month-old infants participated. Video and motion analyses were employed to measure motor patterns of the mothers’ approach to their infants, as well as their infants’ collaborative responses during put-down, pick-up, and carry phases. Japanese and Scottish mothers approached their infants with different styles and their infants responded differently to the short duration of separation during the trial. A greeting-like behavior of the arms and hands was prevalent in the Scottish mothers’ approach, but not in the Japanese mothers’ approach. Japanese mothers typically kneeled before making the final reach to pick-up their children, giving a closer, apparently gentler final approach of the torso than Scottish mothers, who bent at the waist with larger movements of the torso. Measures of the gap closure between the mothers’ hands to their infants’ heads revealed variably longer duration and distance gap closures with greater velocity by the Scottish mothers than by the Japanese mothers. Further, the sequence of Japanese mothers’ body actions on approach, contact, pick-up, and hold was more coordinated at 6 months than at 9 months. Scottish mothers were generally more variable on approach. Measures of infant participation and expressivity indicate more active participation in the negotiation during the separation and pick-up phases by Scottish infants. Thus, this paper demonstrates a culturally different onset of development of joint attention in pick-up. These differences reflect cultures of everyday interaction. PMID:25774139

  12. Protocol for the economic evaluation of a complex intervention to improve the mental health of maltreated infants and children in foster care in the UK (The BeST? services trial).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deidda, Manuela; Boyd, Kathleen Anne; Minnis, Helen; Donaldson, Julia; Brown, Kevin; Boyer, Nicole R S; McIntosh, Emma

    2018-03-14

    Children who have experienced abuse and neglect are at increased risk of mental and physical health problems throughout life. This places an enormous burden on individuals, families and society in terms of health services, education, social care and judiciary sectors. Evidence suggests that early intervention can mitigate the negative consequences of child maltreatment, exerting long-term positive effects on the health of maltreated children entering foster care. However, evidence on cost-effectiveness of such complex interventions is limited. This protocol describes the first economic evaluation of its kind in the UK. An economic evaluation alongside the Best Services Trial (BeST?) has been prospectively designed to identify, measure and value key resource and outcome impacts arising from the New Orleans intervention model (NIM) (an infant mental health service) compared with case management (CM) (enhanced social work services as usual). A within-trial economic evaluation and long-term model from a National Health Service/Personal Social Service and a broader societal perspective will be undertaken alongside the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-Public Health Research Unit (PHRU)-funded randomised multicentre BeST?. BeST? aims to evaluate NIM compared with CM for maltreated children entering foster care in a UK context. Collection of Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the recent mapping of PedsQL to EuroQol-5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) will facilitate the estimation of quality-adjusted life years specific to the infant population for a cost-utility analysis. Other effectiveness outcomes will be incorporated into a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-consequences analysis (CCA). A long-term economic model and multiple economic evaluation frameworks will provide decision-makers with a comprehensive, multiperspective guide regarding cost-effectiveness of NIM. The long-term population health economic model will be developed to synthesise

  13. Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Infant Cortisol Reactivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eiden, Rina D.; Veira, Yvette; Granger, Douglas A.

    2009-01-01

    This study examined the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and reactivity at 7 months of infant age. Participants were 168 caregiver-infant dyads (87 cocaine exposed, 81 not cocaine exposed; 47% boys). Maternal behavior, caregiving instability, and infant growth and behavior were assessed,…

  14. Mother-to-infant transmission of intestinal bifidobacterial strains has an impact on the early development of vaginally delivered infant's microbiota.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroshi Makino

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Bifidobacterium species are one of the major components of the infant's intestine microbiota. Colonization with bifidobacteria in early infancy is suggested to be important for health in later life. However, information remains limited regarding the source of these microbes. Here, we investigated whether specific strains of bifidobacteria in the maternal intestinal flora are transmitted to their infant's intestine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fecal samples were collected from healthy 17 mother and infant pairs (Vaginal delivery: 12; Cesarean section delivery: 5. Mother's feces were collected twice before delivery. Infant's feces were collected at 0 (meconium, 3, 7, 30, 90 days after birth. Bifidobacteria isolated from feces were genotyped by multilocus sequencing typing, and the transitions of bifidobacteria counts in infant's feces were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: Stains belonging to Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium catenulatum, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum, and Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, were identified to be monophyletic between mother's and infant's intestine. Eleven out of 12 vaginal delivered infants carried at least one monophyletic strain. The bifidobacterial counts of the species to which the monophyletic strains belong, increased predominantly in the infant's intestine within 3 days after birth. Among infants delivered by C-section, monophyletic strains were not observed. Moreover, the bifidobacterial counts were significantly lower than the vaginal delivered infants until 7 days of age. CONCLUSIONS: Among infants born vaginally, several Bifidobacterium strains transmit from the mother and colonize the infant's intestine shortly after birth. Our data suggest that the mother's intestine is an important source for the vaginal delivered infant's intestinal microbiota.

  15. Infant Communicative Behaviors and Maternal Responsiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiCarlo, Cynthia F.; Onwujuba, Chinwe; Baumgartner, Jennifer I.

    2014-01-01

    Background: This study applies attachment and transactional theories in evaluating the dyadic interactions observed between a mother and her infant. Infant communication and maternal responsivity are highlighted as the medium for positive interaction. Objective: The impact of individualized maternal training on mother infant communicative…

  16. Temperamental precursors of infant attachment with mothers and fathers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planalp, Elizabeth M; Braungart-Rieker, Julia M

    2013-12-01

    The degree to which parent sensitivity and infant temperament distinguish attachment classification was examined. Multilevel modeling was used to assess the effect of parent sensitivity and infant temperament on infant-mother and infant-father attachment. Data were collected from mothers, fathers, and their infants (N = 135) when the infant was 3-, 5-, 7-, 12-, and 14-months old. Temperament was measured using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003); parent sensitivity was coded during the Still Face Paradigm (Tronick, Als, Adamson, Wise, & Brazelton, 1978); attachment was coded using the Strange Situation (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Results indicate that mothers and fathers were less sensitive with insecure-avoidant infants. Whereas only one difference was found for infant-mother attachment groups and temperament, five significant differences emerged for infant-father attachment groups, with the majority involving insecure-ambivalent attachment. Infants classified as ambivalent with fathers were higher in perceptual sensitivity and cuddliness and these infants also showed a greater increase in low-intensity pleasure over time compared with other infants. Results indicate the importance of both parent sensitivity and infant temperament, though operating in somewhat different ways, in the development of the infant-mother and infant-father attachment relationship. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Subdural abscess in infant and child

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Honda, E; Shigemori, M; Hayashi, T; Kuratomi, A; Kuramoto, S [Kurume Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). School of Medicine

    1980-02-01

    Two cases of subdural abscess in infant and child treated with irrigation via burr holes were reported. The first case was a 1.4-year-old boy with right hemiparesis and mental retardation since severe head trauma at 9 months old. The patient with manifested with an acute onset of high fever followed by disturbance of consciousness and convulsive seizures 2.5 months prior to admission to our department. During admission in the other hospital, the diagnosis of septicemia caused by E. coli was made by blood cultures when CT scan demonstrated a huge lentiform low density area over the right hemisphere and contralateral crescent low density area. The low density area on the right side was well circumscribed by high density rim which was enhanced by contrast medium. Under the diagnosis of bilateral subdural abscess secondary to septicemia caused by E. coli, irrigation of the purulent cavity was carried out. The contralateral low density area was found to be chronic subdural effusion. The second case of 3-month-old infant who complained of high fever, neck stiffness, unconsciousness and right hemiconvulsions 8 days prior to admission. CT scan showed bilateral crescent low density areas indicating subdural effusion. Subdural punctures performed via the fontanelle revealed pus in the left subdural space and xanthocromic fluid in the right side. The low density area on CT scan was changed to the lentiform high density area circumscribed smooth high density rim during the course of the patient. The subdural abscess was treated with irrigation via burr holes. In this report, the etiology of the subdural abscess and route of infection in addition to follow up study of CT findings were presented with the literature.

  18. Parental and Infant Gender Factors in Parent–Infant Interaction: State-Space Dynamic Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Angeles Cerezo

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to investigate the influence of parental gender on their interaction with their infants, considering, as well, the role of the infant’s gender. The State Space Grid (SSG method, a graphical tool based on the non-linear dynamic system (NDS approach was used to analyze the interaction, in Free-Play setting, of 52 infants, aged 6 to 10 months, divided into two groups: half of the infants interacted with their fathers and half with their mothers. There were 50% boys in each group. MANOVA results showed no differential parenting of boys and girls. Additionally, mothers and fathers showed no differences in the Diversity of behavioral dyadic states nor in Predictability. However, differences associated with parent’s gender were found in that the paternal dyads were more “active” than the maternal dyads: they were faster in the rates per second of behavioral events and transitions or change of state. In contrast, maternal dyads were more repetitive because, once they visited a certain dyadic state, they tend to be involved in more events. Results showed a significant discriminant function on the parental groups, fathers and mothers. Specifically, the content analyses carried out for the three NDS variables, that previously showed differences between groups, showed particular dyadic behavioral states associated with the rate of Transitions and the Events per Visit ratio. Thus, the transitions involving ‘in–out’ of ‘Child Social Approach neutral – Sensitive Approach neutral’ state and the repetitions of events in the dyadic state ‘Child Play-Sensitive Approach neutral’ distinguished fathers from mothers. The classification of dyads (with fathers and mothers based on this discriminant function identified 73.10% (19/26 of the father–infant dyads and 88.5% (23/26 of the mother–infant dyads. The study of father-infant interaction using the SSG approach offers interesting possibilities because it characterizes and

  19. Neurodevelopmental outcome of HIV-exposed but uninfected infants in the Mother and Infants Health Study, Cape Town, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springer, Priscilla E; Slogrove, Amy L; Laughton, Barbara; Bettinger, Julie A; Saunders, Henriëtte H; Molteno, Christopher D; Kruger, Mariana

    2018-01-01

    To compare neurodevelopmental outcomes of HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) and HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU) infants in a peri-urban South African population. HEU infants living in Africa face unique biological and environmental risks, but uncertainty remains regarding their neurodevelopmental outcome. This is partly due to lack of well-matched HUU comparison groups needed to adjust for confounding factors. This was a prospective cohort study of infants enrolled at birth from a low-risk midwife obstetric facility. At 12 months of age, HEU and HUU infant growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes were compared. Growth was evaluated as WHO weight-for-age, length-for-age, weight-for-length and head-circumference-for-age Z-scores. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were evaluated using the Bayley scales of Infant Development III (BSID) and Alarm Distress Baby Scale (ADBB). Fifty-eight HEU and 38 HUU infants were evaluated at 11-14 months of age. Performance on the BSID did not differ in any of the domains between HEU and HUU infants. The cognitive, language and motor scores were within the average range (US standardised norms). Seven (12%) HEU and 1 (2.6%) HUU infant showed social withdrawal on the ADBB (P = 0.10), while 15 (26%) HEU and 4 (11%) HUU infants showed decreased vocalisation (P = 0.06). There were no growth differences. Three HEU and one HUU infant had minor neurological signs, while eight HEU and two HUU infants had macrocephaly. Although findings on the early neurodevelopmental outcome of HEU infants are reassuring, minor differences in vocalisation and on neurological examination indicate a need for reassessment at a later age. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Using grounded theory methodology to conceptualize the mother-infant communication dynamic: potential application to compliance with infant feeding recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waller, Jennifer; Bower, Katherine M; Spence, Marsha; Kavanagh, Katherine F

    2015-10-01

    Excessive, rapid weight gain in early infancy has been linked to risk of later overweight and obesity. Inappropriate infant feeding practices associated with this rapid weight gain are currently of great interest. Understanding the origin of these practices may increase the effectiveness of interventions. Low-income populations in the Southeastern United States are at increased risk for development of inappropriate infant feeding practices, secondary to the relatively low rates of breastfeeding reported from this region. The objective was to use grounded theory methodology (GTM) to explore interactions between mothers and infants that may influence development of feeding practices, and to do so among low-income, primiparous, Southeastern United States mothers. Analysis of 15 in-depth phone interviews resulted in development of a theoretical model in which Mother-Infant Communication Dynamic emerged as the central concept. The central concept suggests a communication pattern developed over the first year of life, based on a positive feedback loop, which is harmonious and results in the maternal perception of mother and infant now speaking the same language. Importantly, though harmonious, this dynamic may result from inaccurate maternal interpretation of infant cues and behaviours, subsequently leading to inappropriate infant feeding practices. Future research should test this theoretical model using direct observation of mother-infant communication, to increase the understanding of maternal interpretation of infant cues. Subsequently, interventions targeting accurate maternal interpretation of and response to infant cues, and impact on rate of infant weight gain could be tested. If effective, health care providers could potentially use these concepts to attenuate excess rapid infant weight gain. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Infant formula and early childhood caries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saudamini Girish More

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC is increasing worldwide. Impaired oral health could have a negative impact on the overall health of infants. ECC can continue to deteriorate the growth and development of the child in preschool stage. Feeding practices largely influence the occurrence of ECC. Infant formula is commonly used as supplements or substitutes for breast milk up to the first 2 years of age. The dietary sugars such as lactose and sucrose, present in the infant formula, could act as a favorable substrate and change the oral microflora. Infant formula constitutes of various minerals which are known to affect tooth mineralization including iron, fluoride, and calcium. A number of in vitro, animal, and human studies have been conducted to understand their effect on oral environment and microbiota. Exploring the scientific literature for different types of infant formula and their role in the etiopathogenesis of dental caries could give us an insight into the cariogenic potential of infant formula. Furthermore, this could be source of information for health practitioners as they are the ones who are first sought by parents for advice related to infant feeding.

  2. Innovative psycho-educational program to prevent common postpartum mental disorders in primiparous women: a before and after controlled study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rowe Heather J

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Universal interventions to prevent postnatal mental disorders in women have had limited success, perhaps because they were insufficiently theorised, not gender-informed and overlooked relevant risk factors. This study aimed to determine whether an innovative brief psycho-educational program for mothers, fathers and first newborns, which addressed salient learning needs about infant behaviour management and adjustment tasks in the intimate partner relationship, prevented postpartum mental health problems in primiparous women. Methods A before and after controlled study was conducted in primary care in seven local government areas in Victoria, Australia. English-speaking couples with one-week old infants were invited consecutively to participate by the maternal and child health nurse at the universal first home visit. Two groups were recruited and followed sequentially: both completed telephone interviews at four weeks and six months postpartum and received standard health care. Intervention group participants were also invited to attend a half-day program with up to five couples and one month old infants, facilitated by trained, supervised nurses. The main outcome was any Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI diagnosis of Depression or Anxiety or Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, Anxiety, or Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood in the first six months postpartum. Factors associated with the outcome were established by logistic regression controlling for potential confounders and analysis was by intention to treat. Results In total 399/646 (62% women were recruited; 210 received only standard care and 189 were also offered the intervention; 364 (91% were retained at follow up six months postpartum. In women without a psychiatric history (232/364; 64%, 36/125 (29% were diagnosed with Depression or Anxiety or Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood, Anxiety, or Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood in the control group

  3. Maternal executive function, infant feeding responsiveness and infant growth during the first 3 months.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuglestad, A J; Demerath, E W; Finsaas, M C; Moore, C J; Georgieff, M K; Carlson, S M

    2017-08-01

    There is limited research in young infants, particularly function (cognitive control over one's own behaviour), maternal feeding decisions and infant weight and adiposity gains. We used a checklist to assess cues mothers use to decide when to initiate and terminate infant feedings at 2 weeks and 3 months of age (N = 69). Maternal executive function was assessed using the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery subtests for executive function and infant body composition using air displacement plethysmography. Mothers with higher executive function reported relying on fewer non-satiety cues at 2 weeks of age (β = -0.29, p = 0.037) and on more infant hunger cues at 3 months of age (β = 0.31, p = 0.018) in their decisions on initiating and terminating feedings. Responsive feeding decisions, specifically the use of infant-based hunger cues at 3 months, in turn were associated with lower gains in weight-for-length (β = -0.30, p = 0.028) and percent body fat (β = -0.2, p = 0.091; non-covariate adjusted β = -0.27, p = 0.029). These findings show both an association between maternal executive function and responsive feeding decisions and an association between responsive feeding decisions and infant weight and adiposity gains. The causal nature and direction of these associations require further investigation. © 2017 World Obesity Federation.

  4. Seasonal Timing of Infant Bronchiolitis, Apnea and Sudden Unexplained Infant Death.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chantel D Sloan

    Full Text Available Rates of Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID, bronchiolitis, and central apnea increase in winter in temperate climates. Though associations between these three conditions are suggested, more work is required to establish if there is a causal pathway linking bronchiolitis to SUID through inducing central apnea. Utilizing a large population-based cohort of infants studied over a 20-year period (n = 834,595, from birth years 1989-2009, we analyzed ecological associations between timing of SUID cases, bronchiolitis, and apnea healthcare visits. Data were analyzed between 2013 and 2015. We used a Cox Proportional Hazards model to analyze possible interactions between maternal smoking and maternal asthma with infant bronchiolitis on time to SUID. SUID and bronchiolitis both occurred more frequently in winter. An increase in bronchiolitis clinical visits occurred within a few days prior to apnea visits. We found a temporal relationship between infant bronchiolitis and apnea. In contrast, no peak in SUID cases was seen during peaks of bronchiolitis. Among those without any bronchiolitis visits, maternal smoking was associated with an increased risk of SUID: Hazard Ratio (HR of 2.38 (95% CI: 2.11, 2.67, p-value <0.001. Maternal asthma was associated with an increased risk of SUID among infants with at least one bronchiolitis visit: HR of 2.40 (95% CI: 1.04, 5.54, p-value = 0.04. Consistent trends between bronchiolitis, apnea, and SUID were not established due to small numbers of SUID cases. However, interaction analysis revealed potential differential associations of bronchiolitis and SUID by maternal smoking, maternal asthma status.

  5. Linking infant-directed speech and face preferences to language outcomes in infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Droucker, Danielle; Curtin, Suzanne; Vouloumanos, Athena

    2013-04-01

    In this study, the authors aimed to examine whether biases for infant-directed (ID) speech and faces differ between infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (SIBS-A) and infant siblings of typically developing children (SIBS-TD), and whether speech and face biases predict language outcomes and risk group membership. Thirty-six infants were tested at ages 6, 8, 12, and 18 months. Infants heard 2 ID and 2 adult-directed (AD) speech passages paired with either a checkerboard or a face. The authors assessed expressive language at 12 and 18 months and general functioning at 12 months using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (Mullen, 1995). Both infant groups preferred ID to AD speech and preferred faces to checkerboards. SIBS-TD demonstrated higher expressive language at 18 months than did SIBS-A, a finding that correlated with preferences for ID speech at 12 months. Although both groups looked longer to face stimuli than to the checkerboard, the magnitude of the preference was smaller in SIBS-A and predicted expressive vocabulary at 18 months in this group. Infants' preference for faces contributed to risk-group membership in a logistic regression analysis. Infants at heightened risk of ASD differ from typically developing infants in their preferences for ID speech and faces, which may underlie deficits in later language development and social communication.

  6. Go Naked: Diapers Affect Infant Walking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Whitney G.; Lingeman, Jesse M.; Adolph, Karen E.

    2012-01-01

    In light of cross-cultural and experimental research highlighting effects of childrearing practices on infant motor skill, we asked whether wearing diapers, a seemingly innocuous childrearing practice, affects infant walking. Diapers introduce bulk between the legs, potentially exacerbating infants' poor balance and wide stance. We show that…

  7. Retardo mental Mental retardation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcio M. Vasconcelos

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Esta revisão aborda as recentes descobertas da neurobiologia do retardo mental, enfatizando os novos recursos da citogenética, das técnicas moleculares e da neurorradiologia para esclarecer o diagnóstico. FONTES DE DADOS: O autor pesquisou o banco de dados MEDLINE da National Library of Medicine utilizando as palavras-chave "mental retardation", "developmental disability", "child" e "adolescent" em diferentes combinações, abrangendo o período de janeiro de 2000 a outubro de 2003. Também foram utilizados os bancos de dados das revistas científicas Pediatrics e New England Journal of Medicine através da palavra-chave "mental retardation". No total, o autor consultou cerca de 1.500 títulos de artigos e 500 resumos, e teve acesso direto a 150 artigos completos pertinentes. Quando oportuno, algumas referências dos artigos consultados também foram consideradas. O site Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man foi utilizado como fonte de informações em genética clínica. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Em outubro de 2003, o total de síndromes genéticas associadas a retardo mental chegou a 1.149. Considerando-se o conjunto das causas genéticas ou ambientais e congênitas ou adquiridas de retardo mental, a avaliação diagnóstica atual é capaz de esclarecer a etiologia em 50 a 70% dos casos. CONCLUSÕES: O autor sugere uma avaliação diagnóstica do retardo mental em etapas lógicas, visando ao uso racional dos dispendiosos recursos da citogenética, biologia molecular e neuroimagem.OBJECTIVE: This paper describes recent advances in the neurobiology of mental retardation, emphasizing new diagnostic resources provided by cytogenetics, molecular testing, and neuroimaging. SOURCES OF DATA: MEDLINE (January 2000 through October 2003, using the following key words: mental retardation, developmental disability, child, and adolescent. Search of the Pediatrics and New England Journal of Medicine websites using the key word mental retardation. The

  8. Effects of Maternal Anxiety Disorders on Infant Self-Comforting Behaviors: The Role of Maternal Bonding, Infant Gender and Age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Mitho; Tronick, Ed; Zietlow, Anna-Lena; Nonnenmacher, Nora; Verschoor, Stephan; Träuble, Birgit

    We investigated the links between maternal bonding, maternal anxiety disorders, and infant self-comforting behaviors. Furthermore, we looked at the moderating roles of infant gender and age. Our sample (n = 69) comprised 28 mothers with an anxiety disorder (according to DSM-IV criteria) and 41 controls, each with their 2.5- to 8-month-old infant (41 females and 28 males). Infant behaviors were recorded during the Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm. Maternal bonding was assessed by the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire. Conditional process analyses revealed that lower maternal bonding partially mediated between maternal anxiety disorders and increased self-comforting behaviors but only in older female infants (over 5.5 months of age). However, considering maternal anxiety disorders without the influence of bonding, older female infants (over 5.5 months of age) showed decreased rates of self-comforting behaviors, while younger male infants (under 3 months of age) showed increased rates in the case of maternal anxiety disorder. The results suggest that older female infants (over 5.5 months of age) are more sensitive to lower maternal bonding in the context of maternal anxiety disorders. Furthermore, results suggest a different use of self-directed regulation strategies for male and female infants of mothers with anxiety disorders and low bonding, depending on infant age. The results are discussed in the light of gender-specific developmental trajectories. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  9. Human cytomegalovirus infant infection adversely affects growth and development in maternally HIV-exposed and unexposed infants in Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gompels, U A; Larke, N; Sanz-Ramos, M; Bates, M; Musonda, K; Manno, D; Siame, J; Monze, M; Filteau, S

    2012-02-01

    Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) coinfections have been shown to increase infant morbidity, mortality, and AIDS progression. In HIV-endemic regions, maternal HIV-exposed but HIV-uninfected infants, which is the majority of children affected by HIV, also show poor growth and increased morbidity. Although nutrition has been examined, the effects of HCMV infection have not been evaluated. We studied the effects of HCMV infection on the growth, development, and health of maternally HIV-exposed and unexposed infants in Zambia. Infants were examined in a cohort recruited to a trial of micronutrient-fortified complementary foods. HIV-infected mothers and infants had received perinatal antiretroviral therapy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. Growth, development, and morbidity were analyzed by linear regression analyses in relation to maternal HIV exposure and HCMV infection, as screened by sera DNA for viremia at 6 months of age and by antibody for infection at 18 months. All HCMV-seropositive infants had decreased length-for-age by 18 months compared with seronegative infants (standard deviation [z]-score difference: -0.44 [95% confidence interval {CI}, -.72 to -.17]; P = .002). In HIV-exposed infants, those who were HCMV positive compared with those who were negative, also had reduced head size (mean z-score difference: -0.72 [95% CI, -1.23 to -.22]; P = .01) and lower psychomotor development (Bayley test score difference: -4.1 [95% CI, -7.8 to -.5]; P = .03). HIV-exposed, HCMV-viremic infants were more commonly referred for hospital treatment than HCMV-negative infants. The effects of HCMV were unaffected by micronutrient fortification. HCMV affects child growth, development, and morbidity of African infants, particularly in those maternally exposed to HIV. HCMV is therefore a risk factor for child health in this region.

  10. Broadening the Study of Infant Security of Attachment: Maternal Autonomy-Support in the Context of Infant Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whipple, Natasha; Bernier, Annie; Mageau, Genevieve A.

    2011-01-01

    Although security of attachment is conceptualised as a balance between infants' attachment and exploratory behaviours, parental behaviours pertaining to infant exploration have received relatively little empirical attention. Drawing from self-determination theory, this study seeks to improve the prediction of infant attachment by assessing…

  11. Assessment of the Role of Maternal Characteristics, Mental Health and Maternal Marital Satisfaction in Prediction of Neonatal Birth Weight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamran Dehghan

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background Neonatal mortality comprises a large part of infant mortality, and it depends largely on neonatal birth weight. Besides maternal diseases, it seems that other important factors such as maternal demographic characteristics, mental health and marital satisfaction, affects their infants birth weight. This study conducted aiming to evaluate these affecting factors on neonatal birth weight. Materials and Methods  This study was descriptive – correlative, and conducted on all of the mothers and their neonates who were 200 mothers and neonates born during the summer 2015, in Urmia Kosar hospital that lasted 6 months. We used the GHQ (General Health Questionnaire, to evaluate the mental status of mothers and ENRICH for the evaluation of marital satisfaction. Demographic characteristics of mothers collected to special forms. Results In this study, 200 mothers, and 200 neonates born in Kosar Hospital were studied. The mean age of the mothers was 28.06 ± 6.34 years and the duration of pregnancy was 39.14 ± 1.21 months. The amount of obtained was significant for pregnancy duration in predicting neonatal birth weight. In marital status parameters, beta amounts for economic, family and communication was significant in predicting neonatal birth weight. Among parameters of maternal mental health, correlation of depression was significant in predicting neonatal birth weight. Conclusion According to results, in white race low maternal age was a risk factor for bearing low birth weight baby. Marital satisfaction and bearing no stress from husband lets the fetus grow well and reaches normal birth weight.

  12. Gastro-oesophageal reflux: a mixed methods study of infants admitted to hospital in the first 12 months following birth in NSW (2000-2011).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlen, Hannah Grace; Foster, Jann P; Psaila, Kim; Spence, Kaye; Badawi, Nadia; Fowler, Cathrine; Schmied, Virginia; Thornton, Charlene

    2018-02-12

    Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) is common in infants. When the condition causes pathological symptoms and/or complications it is considered gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). It appears to be increasingly diagnosed and causes great distress in the first year of infancy. In New South Wales (NSW), residential parenting services support families with early parenting difficulties. These services report a large number of babies admitted with a label of GOR/GORD. The aim of this study was to explore the maternal and infant characteristics, obstetric interventions, and reasons for clinical reporting of GOR/GORD in NSW in the first 12 months following birth (2000-2011). A three phase, mixed method sequential design was used. Phase 1 included a linked data population based study (n = 869,188 admitted babies). Phase 2 included a random audit of 326 medical records from admissions to residential parenting centres in NSW (2013). Phase 3 included eight focus groups undertaken with 45 nurses and doctors working in residential parenting centres in NSW. There were a total of 1,156,020 admissions recorded of babies in the first year following birth, with 11,513 containing a diagnostic code for GOR/GORD (1% of infants admitted to hospitals in the first 12 months following birth). Babies with GOR/GORD were also more likely to be admitted with other disorders such as feeding difficulties, sleep problems, and excessive crying. The mothers of babies admitted with a diagnostic code of GOR/GORD were more likely to be primiparous, Australian born, give birth in a private hospital and have: a psychiatric condition; a preterm or early term infant (37-or-38 weeks); a caesarean section; an admission of the baby to SCN/NICU; and a male infant. Thirty six percent of infants admitted to residential parenting centres in NSW had been given a diagnosis of GOR/GORD. Focus group data revealed two themes: "It is over diagnosed" and "A medical label is a quick fix, but what else could be

  13. Human milk composition and infant growth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, Kamilla Gehrt; Christensen, Sophie Hilario; Lind, Mads Vendelbo

    2018-01-01

    PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review highlights relevant studies published between 2015 and 2017 on human milk composition and the association with infant growth. RECENT FINDINGS: High-quality studies investigating how human milk composition is related to infant growth are sparse. Recent observational...... studies show that human milk concentrations of protein, fat, and carbohydrate likely have important influence on infant growth and body composition. Furthermore, some observational studies examining human milk oligosaccharides and hormone concentrations suggest functional relevance to infant growth....... For human milk micronutrient concentrations and microbiota content, and other bioactive components in human milk, the association with infant growth is still speculative and needs further investigation. The included studies in this review are all limited in their methodological design and methods but have...

  14. Roken in aanwezigheid van zuigelingen: een enquête onder consultatiebureau ouders [Smoking in presence of infants; an enquiry among parents of infants attending an infant welfare clinic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hirasing, R.A.; Gena, S.A.D.; Simon, J.G.; Kossen-Boot, H.; Meulmeester, J.F.; Oudenrijn, C. van den

    1994-01-01

    Objective. To determine the exposure to cigarette smoke of infants aged 0-14 months. Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. The area of Westfriesland, the Netherlands. Method. All parents of infants 8 days, 3, 5, 9, and 14 months old who visited the infant welfare centre in 1992 were asked to fill in a

  15. Associated malformations among infants with anophthalmia and microphthalmia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoll, Claude; Dott, Beatrice; Alembik, Yves; Roth, Marie-Paule

    2012-03-01

    Infants with anophthalmia and microphthalmia frequently have other associated congenital anomalies. The reported frequency and types of associated malformations vary among different studies. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the frequency and types of associated malformations among infants with anophthalmia and microphthalmia in a geographically well defined population from 1979 to 2004 of 346,831 consecutive births. Of the 87 infants with anophthalmia and microphthalmia born during this period (prevalence at birth, 2.5 per 10,000), 90% had associated malformations. Infants with associated malformation were divided into recognizable conditions (22 infants [25%] with chromosomal and 15 infants [17%] with nonchromosomal conditions), and nonrecognizable conditions (41 infants [47%] with multiple malformations). Trisomies 13 and 18 were the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities. Amniotic bands sequence, CHARGE syndrome, Meckel-Gruber syndrome, and VACTERL association were most often present in recognizable nonchromosomal conditions. Malformations in the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems were the most common other anomalies in infants with multiple malformations and nonrecognizable conditions. The frequency of associated malformations in infants with anophthalmia or microphthalmia emphasizes the need for a thorough investigation of these infants. Routine screening for other malformations-especially musculoskeletal, cardiac, and central nervous system anomalies-may need to be considered in infants with anophthalmia or microphthalmia, and referral of these infants for genetics evaluation and counseling seems warranted. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Can chimpanzee infants (Pan troglodytes) form categorical representations in the same manner as human infants (Homo sapiens)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murai, Chizuko; Kosugi, Daisuke; Tomonaga, Masaki; Tanaka, Masayuki; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro; Itakura, Shoji

    2005-05-01

    We directly compared chimpanzee infants and human infants for categorical representations of three global-like categories (mammals, furniture and vehicles), using the familiarization-novelty preference technique. Neither species received any training during the experiments. We used the time that participants spent looking at the stimulus object while touching it as a measure. During the familiarization phase, participants were presented with four familiarization objects from one of three categories (e.g. mammals). Then, they were tested with a pair of novel objects, one was a familiar-category object and another was a novel-category object (e.g. vehicle) in the test phase. The chimpanzee infants did not show significant habituation, whereas human infants did. However, most important, both species showed significant novelty-preference in the test phase. This indicates that not only human infants, but also chimpanzee infants formed categorical representations of a global-like level. Implications for the shared origins and species-specificity of categorization abilities, and the cognitive operations underlying categorization, are discussed.

  17. Infants' Developing Understanding of Social Gaze

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beier, Jonathan S.; Spelke, Elizabeth S.

    2012-01-01

    Young infants are sensitive to self-directed social actions, but do they appreciate the intentional, target-directed nature of such behaviors? The authors addressed this question by investigating infants' understanding of social gaze in third-party interactions (N = 104). Ten-month-old infants discriminated between 2 people in mutual versus…

  18. A Population-Based Study of Postpartum Mental Health Service Use by Immigrant Women in Ontario, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vigod, Simone; Sultana, Anjum; Fung, Kinwah; Hussain-Shamsy, Neesha; Dennis, Cindy-Lee

    2016-11-01

    Postpartum mental disorders are twice as common among immigrant women compared to nonimmigrant women in developed countries. Immigrant women may experience barriers to access and use of postpartum mental health services, but little is known about their service use on a population level. We described postpartum mental health service use of immigrant mothers living in Ontario, Canada, comparing to a referent group of mothers who were either born in Canada or had lived in Ontario or another Canadian province since 1985. Among all women in Ontario, Canada, delivering a live infant from 2008 to 2012 (n = 450,622), we described mental health service use within 1 year postpartum, including mental health physician visits, psychiatric emergency department visits, and psychiatric hospitalization. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing immigrant women to the referent group were adjusted for maternal age, parity, income, rurality, mental health services in prior 2 years, and maternal and newborn health. Immigrant women (n = 123,231; 27%) were less likely to use mental health services than women in the referent group (14.1% vs. 21.4%; aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.61), including for physician-based (13.9% vs. 21.1%; aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.61) and emergency department (0.6% vs. 1.3%; aOR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.57 to 0.68) services. Hospitalization risk was lower among immigrants (0.20% vs. 0.33%) but became similar after covariate adjustment (aOR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.06). Underuse of postpartum mental health services may be contributing to the high burden of postpartum mental disorders among immigrant women. © The Author(s) 2016.

  19. [What do we call health and mental disorders in pediatrics? A reflexive outlook on the psychiatry diagnosis and its relation with the new subjetive theories in children].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kremer, Irene

    2011-10-01

    Conceptual basis for Infant and Juvenile Psychiatry are discussed taking into account the clear differences in the definition of Health and Mental Illness. It is emphasized that the mind is not simply a biological phenomenon and, thus, there is a need for assessment parameters that include subjective states, as well as a shift from lineal thoughts to complex forms that include the value of experience, fate, and event, amongst other ideas. This allows a change of perspective: the acknowledgement of the Positive Indicators of Mental Health and not only the absence of symptoms or disorders.

  20. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants with very low birth weights are associated with the severity of their extra-uterine growth retardation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Han-Chun Chien

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: For infants with very low birth weights (VLBW, their neurodevelopmental outcomes are thought to be associated with extra-uterine growth retardation (EUGR. In this study, based on a single institute, we analyzed the association between different levels or severity of EUGR of VLBW infants and their neurodevelopmental outcomes later at a corrected age of 24 months. Methods: This is a hospital-based retrospective cohort study. The severity of EUGR was classified into three categories according to the z-score of discharge weight: z < −2.0, <−2.5, and <−3.0. The outcomes were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II (BSID-II at a corrected age of 24 months. We then estimated the association of EUGR with low mental developmental index (MDI or low psychomotor developmental index (PDI. Multiple logistic regression and stratified analyses were used to adjust for the possible confounding factors. Results: In total, 224 VLBW infants were enrolled in this study from 1997 to 2006. In the univariate analysis, EUGR for weight at discharge from hospital was associated with MDI <85 at the corrected age of 24 months, and this association was related to the severity of EUGR (z < −2.5, OR: 1.92 (1.04–3.53; z < −3.0, OR: 2.83 (1.26–6.36. In addition, the relationship was not confounded by gender nor small for gestational age. The stratified analysis against hemodynamic significant patent ductus arteriosus also revealed that EUGR was an independent predictor for neurodevelopmental outcomes. Conclusion: In VLBW preterm infants, EUGR was significantly associated with low MDI scores assessed at a corrected age of 24 months. Early evaluation and recognition of EUGR should be emphasized when caring for preterm infants. Key Words: EUGR, VLBW, neurodevelopment

  1. Family leave after childbirth and the mental health of new mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatterji, Pinka; Markowitz, Sara

    2012-06-01

    leave may improve the health of new mothers. Our findings suggest that longer leave after childbirth may benefit families. However, one potential drawback of using cross-sectional variation in state policies and community characteristics for identification is that these measures may be correlated with other unmeasured factors that directly influence family leave and maternal health. The mother's mental and physical health can be an important route through which infants are affected by parents' employment decisions. Our findings suggest that post-partum health services that target mothers' mental and physical health, and its effects on infants, may be useful. Our findings suggest that policies that support longer family leave may benefit maternal mental health. Future research should examine how workplace and public policies related to maternal employment can be used to improve families' health outcomes.

  2. Outcomes for Extremely Premature Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glass, Hannah C.; Costarino, Andrew T.; Stayer, Stephen A.; Brett, Claire; Cladis, Franklyn; Davis, Peter J.

    2015-01-01

    Premature birth is a significant cause of infant and child morbidity and mortality. In the United States, the premature birth rate, which had steadily increased during the 1990s and early 2000s, has decreased annually for four years and is now approximately 11.5%. Human viability, defined as gestational age at which the chance of survival is 50%, is currently approximately 23–24 weeks in developed countries. Infant girls, on average, have better outcomes than infant boys. A relatively uncomplicated course in the intensive care nursery for an extremely premature infant results in a discharge date close to the prenatal EDC. Despite technological advances and efforts of child health experts during the last generation, the extremely premature infant (less than 28 weeks gestation) and extremely low birth weight infant (ELBW) (CPAP, mechanical ventilation, and exogenous surfactant increased survival and spurred the development of neonatal intensive care in the 1970s through the early 1990s. Routine administration of antenatal steroids during premature labor improved neonatal mortality and morbidity in the late 1990s. The recognition that chronic postnatal administration of steroids to infants should be avoided may have improved outcomes in the early 2000s. Evidence from recent trials attempting to define the appropriate target for oxygen saturation in preterm infants suggests arterial oxygen saturation between 91–95% (compared to 85–89%) avoids excess mortality. However, final analyses of data from these trials have not been published, so definitive recommendations are still pending The development of neonatal neurocognitive care visits may improve neurocognitive outcomes in this high-risk group. Long-term follow up to detect and address developmental, learning, behavioral, and social problems is critical for children born at these early gestational ages. The striking similarities in response to extreme prematurity in the lung and brain imply that agents and

  3. Infants prefer female body phenotypes; infant girls prefer they have an hourglass shape.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerianne M Alexander

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Adolescents and adults show preferences for male and female body shapes consistent with evolutionary theories of reproductive fitness and mate selection. However, when these preferences for females with narrow waists (i.e., 0.7 waist-to-hip ratio and men with broad shoulders (i.e., mesomorphic body shape emerge during the lifespan is largely unknown. To address this knowledge gap, eye-movements were tracked in 144 infants (3 to 18 months of age during computer presentation of three-dimensional human figures varying in body features thought relevant for reproductive success (e.g., secondary sex characteristics, waist-to-hip ratio. When presented with pairs of figures differing in apparent sex, male and female infants looked significantly longer at the female figure compared to the male figure, a new finding that extends previous research showing preferences for female faces in infancy. When presented with same-sex figures differing in characteristics associated with mate value, male and female infants looked longer at a low mate value male (i.e., an endomorphic body type compared to a high mate value male (i.e., a mesomorphic body type, a finding that replicates the results of previous research. In addition, the novel use of high and low mate value female figures showed a sex difference in visual attention, such that female infants looked longer at the high mate value female figure compared to the low mate female figure whereas male infants showed the opposite pattern of results. In sum, these findings suggest that infants generally do not possess preferences for adult-defined attractive male body shapes. However, infant girls’ greater attention to a female figure with an adult-preferred waist-to-hip ratio raises the possibility that evolved preferences for 0.7 waist-to-hip ratio influence girls’ later preference for toys representing females with an hourglass shape, perhaps supporting elaboration of adult social behaviors that enhance

  4. Infants Prefer Female Body Phenotypes; Infant Girls Prefer They Have an Hourglass Shape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Gerianne M; Hawkins, Laura B; Wilcox, Teresa; Hirshkowitz, Amy

    2016-01-01

    Adolescents and adults show preferences for male and female body shapes consistent with evolutionary theories of reproductive fitness and mate selection. However, when these preferences for females with narrow waists (i.e., 0.7 waist-to-hip ratio) and men with broad shoulders (i.e., mesomorphic body shape) emerge during the lifespan is largely unknown. To address this knowledge gap, eye-movements were tracked in 146 infants (3-18 months of age) during computer presentation of three-dimensional human figures varying in body features thought relevant for reproductive success (e.g., secondary sex characteristics, waist-to-hip ratio). When presented with pairs of figures differing in apparent sex, male and female infants looked significantly longer at the female figure compared to the male figure, a new finding that extends previous research showing preferences for female faces in infancy. When presented with same-sex figures differing in characteristics associated with mate value, male and female infants looked longer at a low mate value male (i.e., an endomorphic body type) compared to a high mate value male (i.e., a mesomorphic body type), a finding that replicates the results of previous research. In addition, the novel use of high and low mate value female figures showed a sex difference in visual attention, such that female infants looked longer at the high mate value female figure compared to the low mate female figure whereas male infants showed the opposite pattern of results. In sum, these findings suggest that infants generally do not possess preferences for adult-defined attractive male body shapes. However, infant girls' greater attention to a female figure with an adult-preferred waist-to-hip ratio raises the possibility that evolved preferences for 0.7 waist-to-hip ratio influence girls' later preference for toys representing females with an hourglass shape, perhaps supporting elaboration of adult social behaviors that enhance reproductive success (e

  5. Analysis of sensory processing in preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabral, Thais Invenção; da Silva, Louise Gracelli Pereira; Martinez, Cláudia Maria Simões; Tudella, Eloisa

    2016-12-01

    Premature birth suggests condition of biological vulnerability, predisposing to neurological injuries, requiring hospitalization in Neonatal Intensive Care Units, which, while contributing to increase the survival rates, expose infants to sensory stimuli harmful to the immature organism. To evaluate the sensory processing at 4 and 6months' corrected age. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with a sample of 30 infants divided into an experimental group composed of preterm infants (n=15), and a control group composed of full-term infants (n=15). The infants were assessed using the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants. The preterm infants showed poor performance in the total score of the test in reactivity to tactile deep pressure and reactivity to vestibular stimulation. When groups were compared, significant differences in the total score (p=0.0113) and in the reactivity to tactile deep pressure (psensory processing. These changes were most evident in reactivity to tactile deep pressure and vestibular stimulation. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  6. Motor delays in MDMA (ecstasy) exposed infants persist to 2 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, Lynn T; Moore, Derek G; Min, Meeyoung O; Goodwin, Julia; Turner, John J D; Fulton, Sarah; Parrott, Andrew C

    2016-01-01

    Recreational use of 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy, MDMA) is increasing worldwide. Its use by pregnant women causes concern due to potentially harmful effects on the developing fetus. MDMA, an indirect monoaminergic agonist and reuptake inhibitor, affects the serotonin and dopamine systems. Preclinical studies of fetal exposure demonstrate effects on learning, motor behavior, and memory. In the first human studies, we found prenatal MDMA exposure related to poorer motor development in the first year of life. In the present study we assessed the effects of prenatal exposure to MDMA on the trajectory of child development through 2 years of age. We hypothesized that exposure would be associated with poorer mental and motor outcomes. The DAISY (Drugs and Infancy Study, 2003-2008) employed a prospective longitudinal cohort design to assess recreational drug use during pregnancy and child outcomes in the United Kingdom. Examiners masked to drug exposures followed infants from birth to 4, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. MDMA, cocaine, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other drugs were quantified through a standardized clinical interview. The Bayley Scales (III) of Mental (MDI) and Motor (PDI) Development and the Behavior Rating Scales (BRS) were primary outcome measures. Statistical analyses included a repeated measures mixed model approach controlling for multiple confounders. Participants were pregnant women volunteers, primarily white, of middle class socioeconomic status, average IQ, with some college education, in stable partner relationships. Of 96 women enrolled, children of 93 had at least one follow-up assessment and 81 (87%) had ≥ two assessments. Heavier MDMA exposure (M=1.3±1.4 tablets per week) predicted lower PDI (pMDMA use during pregnancy had motor delays from 4 months to two years of age that were not attributable to other drug or lifestyle factors. Women of child bearing age should be cautioned about the use of MDMA and MDMA-exposed infants

  7. The Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables, Social Support and Child Sex on Mother-Infant and Father-Infant Interaction

    OpenAIRE

    Cesar Augusto Piccinini; Jonathan Tudge; Angela Helena Marin; Giana Bitencourt Frizzo; Rita de Cássia Sobreira Lopes

    2010-01-01

    In this study we examine the impact of family socioeconomic status (SES), of social support as perceived by mothers, and of their three-month-olds child's sex, on mother-infant and father-infant interaction. A total of 58 mothers and 52 fathers were observed interacting with their infants. Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed several significant differences, particularly regarding maternal behaviors. Mothers from the highest SES level both talked to and interpreted their infants' ...

  8. Wearable Sensor Systems for Infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhihua Zhu

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Continuous health status monitoring of infants is achieved with the development and fusion of wearable sensing technologies, wireless communication techniques and a low energy-consumption microprocessor with high performance data processing algorithms. As a clinical tool applied in the constant monitoring of physiological parameters of infants, wearable sensor systems for infants are able to transmit the information obtained inside an infant’s body to clinicians or parents. Moreover, such systems with integrated sensors can perceive external threats such as falling or drowning and warn parents immediately. Firstly, the paper reviews some available wearable sensor systems for infants; secondly, we introduce the different modules of the framework in the sensor systems; lastly, the methods and techniques applied in the wearable sensor systems are summarized and discussed. The latest research and achievements have been highlighted in this paper and the meaningful applications in healthcare and behavior analysis are also presented. Moreover, we give a lucid perspective of the development of wearable sensor systems for infants in the future.

  9. The role of negative maternal affective states and infant temperament in early interactions between infants with cleft lip and their mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montirosso, Rosario; Fedeli, Claudia; Murray, Lynne; Morandi, Francesco; Brusati, Roberto; Perego, Guenda Ghezzi; Borgatti, Renato

    2012-03-01

    The study examined the early interaction between mothers and their infants with cleft lip, assessing the role of maternal affective state and expressiveness and differences in infant temperament. Mother-infant interactions were assessed in 25 2-month-old infants with cleft lip and 25 age-matched healthy infants. Self-report and behavioral observations were used to assess maternal depressive symptoms and expressions. Mothers rated infant temperament. Infants with cleft lip were less engaged and their mothers showed more difficulty in interaction than control group dyads. Mothers of infants with cleft lip displayed more negative affectivity, but did not report more self-rated depressive symptoms than control group mothers. No group differences were found in infant temperament. In order to support the mother's experience and facilitate her ongoing parental role, findings highlight the importance of identifying maternal negative affectivity during early interactions, even when they seem have little awareness of their depressive symptoms.

  10. No Camphor Toxicity in Cambodian Infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Casey R. Johnson MS

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Thiamine deficiency and beriberi are prevalent in Cambodia, although most infants with nonspecific clinical symptoms of beriberi, including tachypnea, lack echocardiographic evidence diagnostic of the disease. Camphor activates transient receptor potential vanilloid 3 (TRPV3, a nonselective ion channel expressed in the medial preoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus and thought to be important for thermo-sensitivity. Because camphorated ointments are used commonly among Cambodian infants, we hypothesized that topical camphor modulates thermoregulatory behaviors, causing beriberi-simulating tachypnea, separate from any influence of thiamine deficiency. We assessed 9 tachypneic and 10 healthy infants for Tiger Balm use and for presence of camphor in whole blood. However, no camphor was found in blood from any infants, indicating that camphor is unrelated to tachypneic illness in Cambodian infants.

  11. Modern and traditional diets for Noongar infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eades, Sandra J; Read, Anne W; McAullay, Daniel; McNamara, Bridgette; O'Dea, Kerin; Stanley, Fiona J

    2010-07-01

    Describe breast- and bottle-feeding patterns and the introduction of solid feeds and sugar containing drinks to the dietary intake of a cohort of urban Aboriginal infants in the first year of life. Two hundred and seventy-four infants were recruited to a cohort study and information about infant nutrition was collected from their mothers during face to face interviews when the infants were aged 6-12 weeks, 7-8 months and 12 months old. 88.3% of mothers initiated breast-feeding, but only 43.8% of infants were exclusively breast-fed at 6-12 weeks. By 12 months of age 69.8% of babies had received fruit juice in their bottles, 59.8% received cordial. 64.5% of infants were given water in their bottles. The majority of infants had received 'fast foods' by 12 months of age with 56.2% had been given coca cola, 68% lemonade and 78% fried chips. This study highlights areas in which nutrition health promotion can be targeted to prevent common childhood health problems including promoting and supporting mothers to sustain breast-feeding and opportunities to reduce the sugar and fat intake among infants.

  12. Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assays To Identify and Quantify Fecal Bifidobacterium Species in Infants Receiving a Prebiotic Infant Formula

    OpenAIRE

    Haarman, Monique; Knol, Jan

    2005-01-01

    A healthy intestinal microbiota is considered to be important for priming of the infants' mucosal and systemic immunity. Breast-fed infants typically have an intestinal microbiota dominated by different Bifidobacterium species. It has been described that allergic infants have different levels of specific Bifidobacterium species than healthy infants. For the accurate quantification of Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium angulatum, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifid...

  13. Infant bath seats, drowning and near-drowning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byard, R W; Donald, T

    2004-01-01

    To investigate the possible role of infant bathtub seats in drowning and near-drowning episodes in infants. A review was conducted of the files of the Forensic Science Centre and Child Protection Unit, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, for significant immersion incidents in infants involving bathtub seats from January 1998 to December 2003. A total of six cases of drowning occurred over the 6-year period of the study in children under 2 years of age, including two infants. One of these cases, a 7-month-old boy, had been left unattended for some time in an adult bath in a bathtub seat. He was found drowned, having submerged after slipping down and becoming trapped in the seat. Three near-drowning episodes occurred in children under the age of 2 years, including two boys aged 7 and 8 months, both of whom had been left for some time in adult baths in bath seats. Both were successfully resuscitated and treated in hospital. These cases demonstrate the vulnerability of infants to immersion incidents when left unattended in bathtubs. Bathtubs are particularly dangerous for infants as the slippery and smooth surfaces predispose to loss of balance and make escape from water difficult. Infant bathtub seats may give parents and child carers a false sense of security leading to infants being left unattended. Unfortunately, however, infants may fall out of, or slip and become trapped in, such seats. Infants and young children cannot be left unsupervised in water, and devices used as bathing aids such as bathtub seats may contribute to immersion incidents.

  14. Improving the treatment of infant pain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moultrie, Fiona; Slater, Rebeccah; Hartley, Caroline

    2017-01-01

    Purpose of review Pain management presents a major challenge in neonatal care. Newborn infants who require medical treatment can undergo frequent invasive procedures during a critical period of neurodevelopment. However, adequate analgesic provision is infrequently and inconsistently provided for acute noxious procedures because of limited and conflicting evidence regarding analgesic efficacy and safety of most commonly used pharmacological agents. Here, we review recent advances in the measurement of infant pain and discuss clinical trials that assess the efficacy of pharmacological analgesia in infants. Recent findings Recently developed measures of noxious-evoked brain activity are sensitive to analgesic modulation, providing an objective quantitative outcome measure that can be used in clinical trials of analgesics. Summary Noxious stimulation evokes changes in activity across all levels of the infant nervous system, including reflex activity, altered brain activity and behaviour, and long-lasting changes in infant physiological stability. A multimodal approach is needed if we are to identify efficacious and well tolerated analgesic treatments. Well designed clinical trials are urgently required to improve analgesic provision in the infant population. PMID:28375883

  15. Improvement of outcome for infants of birth weight under 1000 g. The Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-07-01

    The two year outcome of extremely low birth-weight (ELBW) infants (birth weight 500 to 999 g), born in the state of Victoria over two distinct eras, 1979-80 and 1985-7, were compared. In the 1979-80 era, 25.4% of the ELBW infants survived to 2 years of age; only 12.5% of liveborn ELBW infants survived to 2 years with no neurological disabilities. In the 1979-80 era, ELBW infants born outside the level III centres in the state were significantly disadvantaged in both mortality and neurological morbidity. By 1985-7, the two year survival rate of ELBW infants rose significantly from 25.4% to 37.9%. By 1985-7, the proportion of ELBW infants who survived to 2 years free of neurological disabilities increased from 12.5% to 26.2%. Despite the improved survival, the absolute number of 2 year old children survivors with severe neurological disabilities remained constant at 8/year in both eras. By 1985-7, fewer ELBW infants were born outside the level III centres, their survival rate remained lower, but the severe neurological disability rate in survivors was no longer significantly higher. There has been a concomitant improvement in both survival and reduction in neurological morbidity.

  16. Parenting of 7-month-old infants at familial risk for ADHD during infant's free play, with restrictions on interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landau, Rivka; Amiel-Laviad, Riki; Berger, Andrea; Atzaba-Poria, Naama; Auerbach, Judith G

    2009-04-01

    Patterns of interaction of 34 mothers and fathers with their 7-month-old boys at familial risk for ADHD and 25 comparison families were studied during infant play with blocks. The parents were instructed to refrain from intervening as much as possible. Infants in the risk group did not differ from those in the comparison group in frequency of needing help or involving parents in play. Nonetheless, they received adequate responsivity from their mothers less often than infants in the comparison group. Mothers in the risk group were also more likely not to respond to these needs at all. Mothers in the comparison group were more physically intrusive. No group difference was found for maternal rebuilding of the infant's play. No group differences were found for any of father's behaviors. However, fathers in both groups rebuilt their infant's play more frequently than mothers, infants looked at them more often, and a larger number of infants involved the father in their play.

  17. Infant Mortality and Asians and Pacific Islanders

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... infant mortality rates than the overall population, however statistics for Asian American subgroups are very limited for ... 1 0.4 Source: CDC 2015. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2013 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death ...

  18. Nourodevelopmental follow-up in high-risk infants: review article

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farin Soleimani

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Growing and developing are influenced by genetic, social and environmental factors and it's most important and initial phase step is formed of the early life of the fetus and infant. According to the world health organization, the incidence of preterm birth and low birth weight are increasing in most countries that most of it related to developing countries. Low birth weight (LBW and preterm birth are one the most important causes of death in the world and therefore are considered as one of the major health problems that can affect growing and developing so that it can threaten public health. Advances in medical technology in recent decades at intensive care unit, increased survival of premature infants and high-risk specialist care is needed, but failed, to reduce the complications of premature birth but it couldn’t reduce complications of preterm birth. There is also an increased recognition of the potential disconnect between perinatal outcomes and long-term outcomes. The administration of oxygen and postnatal steroids are prime examples of interventions that may have immediate positive effects but negative long-term effects. Many premature babies will be encounter with mobility problems, cognitive, neurosensory impairments, cerebral palsy, cognitive and language delays, neuromotor developmental delay, blindness and hearing loss, behavioral and psychosocial disorders, learning difficulties and dysfunction in scholastic performances in the future. These disadvantages appear to persist into adulthood and therefore have broad implications for society. Without a doubt, one of the tragedies of the world is people with physical or mental damage caused by premature birth, many of these disorders are not early diagnosed and the prediction of long term complications of infants discharged from the NICU is difficult. Although nourodevelopmental follow-up of these babies is a necessary part of the neonatal assessment but there is no standard process

  19. Predictors of Sensitivity in Mothers of 8-Month-Old Infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Alvarenga

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This longitudinal study investigated the impact of maternal mental health, including postpartum depression, and of maternal-fetal attachment, on maternal sensitivity when babies were eight months old. The study included 38 mother-infant dyads. The women answered the SRQ-20 and the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale in the third trimester of pregnancy, and the BDI, for evaluation of postpartum depression in the first month following birth. Maternal sensitivity was examined through an observation of mother-child interaction when babies were eight months old. The multiple regression model considering the three factors explained 18.6% of the variance in sensitivity, and only maternal-fetal attachment was a significant predictor. The results indicate the importance of interventions to promote the bond of pregnant women with their babies, which may even minimize possible harmful effects of postpartum depression on mother-child interaction.

  20. CDC WONDER: Mortality - Infant Deaths

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Mortality - Infant Deaths (from Linked Birth / Infant Death Records) online databases on CDC WONDER provide counts and rates for deaths of children under 1 year...