Early maternal-child contact: effects on later behaviour

Abstract

Fifty normal, healthy, full-term infants were allowed 45 minutes contact with their mothers immediately after birth at Victoria Jubilee Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica. The behaviour of these infants and their mothers was compared with matched controls at six and 12 weeks in a hospital follow-up interview. More early-contact mothers solely breast-fed their infants than did control mothers. Early-contact infants were less likely than controls to be restless or crying during the interviews. At 12 weeks, early-contact mothers were more likely than control mothers to rise and follow when their babies were taken from them, gazed more frequently at their infants, and were more likely to vocalise to their infants during the interview. These differences indicate that early contact promotes a closer relationship between a woman and her infant. Given the importance of breast-feeding as protection against gastro-enteritis and malnutrition, this closer relationship may be especially valuable in developing countries where such diseases are common.