What Can Nurses Learn from Structured Observations of Mother-Infant Interactions?

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Abstract
Mother-infant interactions during feeding sessions were examined in this study. Two nurse-observers visited 78 primiparae and their infants at 55–70 hours, two weeks, one, two, four, and six months after birth. Mother and infant were observed to assess the contribution of each partner of the dyad to the interaction. Results not only showed the tremendous potential for adaptation of both partners and the specific contribution each brought to the interaction, but also shed doubt on the validity of early evaluation of mother-infant interactions. The great improvement in the interaction over the first two weeks and the lack of correlation between first and second observation would indicate that evaluation of the interaction at two weeks would afford a better opportunity to detect possible problems. Findings also showed higher scores at the first observation for dyads who had the opportunity to breastfeed immediately after birth. Demographic data, baby's sex, and several perinatal factors did not affect interactions of these healthy, mostly middle-class subjects.