Promoting awareness: the mother and her baby

Abstract

This study considered the problem of how to increase a mother's awareness of her infant's behavior and her own behavior as a beginning step toward the promotion of quality interaction between mother and infant. The impact of informing 108 mothers of term infants and 32 mothers of preterm infants about: (a) neonatal interactive, motoric, state control, and response to stress behavior patterns; and (b) maternal behaviors to enhance and support infant behavior was tested with four groups. In describing the behavior that occurred during a feeding session, mothers in two treatment groups reported significantly more of their own behavior than that of their neonate. They more closely resembled the trained observers' report of the behavior than did mothers in two control groups. Recommendations include incorporating an educative treatment in plans of nursing care for mothers and infants and further research to determine the optimal timing and long-term effects of such an intervention.