Prenatal maternal reactivity to infant cries predicts postnatal perceptions of infant temperament and marriage appraisal.
Publication/Presentation Date
10-1-1996
Abstract
In a sample of 60 primiparous women, cardiac response and ratings of subjective aversiveness to recordings of unfamiliar infant cries were studied at 32 weeks' gestation. Regression analyses were used to examine relations between cardiac acceleration and subjective aversiveness and 3 groups of postnatal dependent variables: perception of infant temperament, the mother's emotional state, and her appraisal of her marriage. Mothers who prenatally rated the cry recordings as more aversive postnatally described their 3-month-old infants as more fussy/difficult and unpredictable. With statistical control for prenatal variation on the emotional state and marital outcome measures, cardiac acceleration predicted later marital quality. Women who showed greater cardiac acceleration to the cries described their postnatal marital relationships more negatively.
Volume
67
Issue
5
First Page
2541
Last Page
2552
ISSN
0009-3920
Published In/Presented At
Pedersen, F. A., Huffman, L. C., del Carmen, R., & Bryan, Y. E. (1996). Prenatal maternal reactivity to infant cries predicts postnatal perceptions of infant temperament and marriage appraisal. Child development, 67(5), 2541–2552.
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
9022255
Department(s)
Patient Care Services / Nursing
Document Type
Article