Effect of maternal expectations on early infant behavior

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Abstract
Parents are prepared for their roles with the new infant during pregnancy, the anxiety and turmoil serving as a source of energy for reorienting them to their new roles. The individuality of the neonate then shapes their responses to him and essentially creates an environment which is suitable to his particular needs. Rather than being at the mercy of the environment, the kind of infants a culture produces may perpetuate the culture and its outcome. The powerful intrauterine experiences of malnutrition, infection, and uterine depletion can seriously affect the genotype as it is reflected in neonatal behavior. When the mother can respond with expectation for his recovery, and when proper nutrition can be provided in the neonatal period, the infant is more likely to live up to his genetic potential. When the extrauterine environment does not provide necessary nutrients, and parents cannot respond to their psychological needs, the cycle of poverty and malnutrition must reproduce itself via infants who will be impaired‐‐somatically as well as psychologically. The author brings cross‐cultural observations to support these statements, and suggests a preventive out‐reach program for pregnant mothers which aims at changing the vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation reproducing themselves.