Abstract
Previous investigations have demonstrated an increased sensitivity to the behavior of premature infants in the first 6 months of life. It has been assumed that this difference is a result of the mothers' experience of the infants' behavior after discharge. This study reports on the attitudes of mothers of preterm infants before hospital discharge. Twenty-two mothers of AGA preterm infants (28-32 weeks gestation) with medical complications completed the Cohler Maternal Attitude Scale, a 233 item Likert-type instrument, when their infants reached 34 weeks post-conceptional age. We examined 5 issues which assess attitudes towards maternal and infant attachment and infant separation. Scores were compared with Cohler's norms of 212 full-term uncomplicated deliveries. Two issues had elevated values: “period of reciprocal exchange”(2½-5 months,p< 0.01), and “period of early directed infant activity”(5-9 months,p < 0.02). There were no statistically significant differences in the three remaining issues (’focalization on the mother”, “widening reciprocity of interchange”, and “female sexuality”.) This suggests that mothers of ill prematures tend to be more sensitive to the infants' early efforts at stimulating and opening new areas of reciprocity with the mother, and that maternal attitudes toward premature infants are formed before hospital discharge of the baby.
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Szajnberg, N., Ward, M., Krauss, A. et al. 61 SEVERLY ILL PREMATURE INFANTS' MOTHERS' ATTITUDES. Pediatr Res 19, 121 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00091
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00091
