Delayed contact and breast feeding.

Fifty two mother-infant pairs were studied. Of these, twenty six belonged to the normal vaginal delivery group where babies were roomed in with their mothers immediately after birth. Twenty six belonged to the cesarean group where the mother and baby were separated for 2.8 +/- 1.0 days. The social support was comparable in the two groups. No significant difference was found in the number of mothers breast feeding their infants at four weeks postpartum.

Maternal participation in the care of the high risk infant: follow-up evaluation.

Fifty mothers of high risk infants admitted to the Neonatal Special Care Unit were followed up to the postnatal age of 2.5 mo +/- 15 days. Twenty five mothers (Group I) had stayed in the nursery with the infant for a period of 4.8 +/- 4.6 days until the discharge of the infant, providing expressed milk and participating in the non-specialised care of the infant. The other 25 mothers (Group II) remained separate from their babies for the duration of the latter's stay in the hospital although some of the mothers did come off and on to give expressed human milk and at times handle their infants. Family features such as parental age, educational and occupational status, and presence of residential elder women, were similar in the two groups. Infant characteristics too, such as sex, birth weight, and early neonatal morbidity were also comparable. Operative deliveries and maternal problems were as expected more in the separated group. The duration of the infants' hospital stay was also more in the latter (9.5 +/- 3.5 vs 6.3 +/- 3.9 days; p greater than 0.05). Subsequent to their discharge, mothers who had stayed with the infant identified the following benefits of their stay--acquiring of knowledge relevant to infant care especially hygiene (19) and their personal involvement in the care of their infant (12), both of which they said increased their self confidence in looking after the babies after discharge, and provision of breast milk round the clock (17).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Influence of cesarean section on mother-baby interaction.

Fifty two mother-infant pairs were studied. Twenty six of these were delivered by the normal vaginal route (NVD group) and twenty six by Cesarean section (CS group). The NVD babies were roomed in with their mothers soon after birth whereas the CS babies had a mean separation of 2.8 +/- 1.0 days. The mother baby interaction was evaluated by (a) direct observation of the mother's behaviour during feeding, (b) observation of mother's behaviour during BNBAS (Brazelton Neonatal Behaviour Assessment Scale) on her baby, and (c) interview of the mother with attachment questions. Mothers in the NVD group showed significantly greater affectionate behaviour and encompassing compared to mothers in the CS group. They (NVD mothers) were more often involved in the care-taking activities of their babies and scored significantly higher for the interview implying a greater mother-baby attachment in this group.

Cesarean section and delayed contact: effect on baby's behaviour.

Fifty two babies were assessed by the Brazelton Neonatal Behaviour Assessment Scale (BNBAS) first at 24-48 hours after birth and next at 28 days of age. Of these 26 belonged to the normal vaginal delivery (NVD) group where the babies were roomed in with their mothers immediately after birth. The other 26 were delivered by Cesarean Section (CS) and had a mean separation of 2.8 +/- 1.0 day from their mothers. Babies in the NVD group performed better for the interactive processes at both the initial and follow-up assessment. They were more active initially and on follow up. Although no differences were obtained at the initial assessment for organisational processes (physiological response to stress and state control) the follow up revealed that the NVD babies smiled more, cried less and were less irritable.

Ear infection and infant feeding practices.

Feeding practices were studied in 128 infants aged 18 months and below with middle ear infection, belonging to the low socio-economic group. By the age of one year, 117 (91.4%) had acquired the infection. At the onset of the first episode, 105 (82.0%) were breast-fed, 42 not receiving any other milk. There were no differences in the feeding practices between infants who had single and those who had multiple episodes. Ninety-six infants were being given water by spoon or bottle and 42, semisolids by spoon. Among the 105 breast-fed infants, in 93 (88.6%), the infants' heads were often flat during feeding. In contrast, in the 86 infants on 'top' feeds 53 (61.6%) of the mothers said that they kept the infants' head raised during feeding. The difference was significant (x2 = 53.18, P less than 0.001). Mothers should avoid feeding infants with the latter's head flat, although the former may adopt any comfortable position.

Spoon vs bottle: a controlled evaluation of milk feeding in young infants.

Fifty infants under the age of six months who were on artificial milk and who had attended the hospital for diarrhea, were taken up for study. They were divided into two groups. In Group I (n = 25) infants were given milk by spoon and in Group II (n = 25) by bottle. Mothers were given education relevant to the method of feeding on an individual basis. Follow up over a period of 3 months showed a fall in the number of diarrheal episodes which was similar in the two groups. Maternal compliance was significantly better in the bottle-fed group where only one mother expressed a desire to change over to the use of cup and spoon. The weight gain was better in the bottle-fed group, the difference being statistically significant relevant to the weight gain in the second and third month and to the total weight gain in the three months period (t = 3.24, p less than 0.01; t = 2.03 p less than 0.05; and t = 2.24, p less than 0.05, respectively).