Perception of infant crying has been linked to the brain regions that are activated with stress and conflict monitoring, such as the anterior cingulate and amygdala. Whether the stress of cry perception affects cognitive processes is heretofore unknown. This research combines an experimental paradigm of an unsoothable infant cry task (Donovan, Leavitt, & Taylor, 2005) with a series of Rejection Stroop tasks (Dandeneau & Baldwin, 2004) with the expectation that perception of infant distress would deplete neural resources underlying the regulation of attention. Two studies were conducted on non-parent young adults and two studies were conducted on mothers of infants. Results indicated that the cry task causes negative affect and cognitive interference in non-parent young adults to a greater extent than does a musical stimulus, and that mothers of infants experience negative affect and cognitive interference comparable to the non-parent young adults.

Perception of infant crying has been linked to the brain regions that are activated with stress and conflict monitoring, such as the anterior cingulate and amygdala. Whether the stress of cry perception affects cognitive processes is heretofore unknown. This research combines an experimental paradigm of an unsoothable infant cry task (Donovan, Leavitt, & Taylor, 2005) with a series of Rejection Stroop tasks (Dandeneau & Baldwin, 2004) with the expectation that perception of infant distress would deplete neural resources underlying the regulation of attention. Two studies were conducted on non-parent young adults and two studies were conducted on mothers of infants. Results indicated that the cry task causes negative affect and cognitive interference in non-parent young adults to a greater extent than does a musical stimulus, and that mothers of infants experience negative affect and cognitive interference comparable to the non-parent young adults.

Bakgrund: Postpartum depressioner (PPD), en förlossningsdepression, drabbar kvinnor i hela världen. En långvarig postpartum depression hos kvinnan kan ha avgörande konsekvenser för utvecklingen av hennes barn och relationen till hennes partner. Många kvinnor lider i tystnad då de inte vet att det finns en förklaring till känslorna de genomgår eller att de skäms för att inte klara av att leva upp till bilden av den ”perfekta mamman”. Syfte: Att beskriva upplevelser av postpartum depression hos vuxna kvinnor diagnostiserade med PPD. Metod: Sju vetenskapliga artiklar användes för att genomföra denna systematiska litteraturstudier med en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Utifrån frågan ”vilka gemensamma upplevelser genomgår kvinnor med PPD”? Framkom sju teman: misslyckande, stress, ensamhet, inre strid, förlust av kontroll, rädsla och skam. Slutsats: Hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal inom MHV (Mödrahälsovård) och BHV (Barnahälsovård) kan lättare upptäcka tidiga symtom och tecken hos nyblivna mammor med postpartum depression genom att förstå deras upplevelser av PPD, och därmed förhindra en långvarig depression.

This study investigated the mother-infant relationships of Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) at the Mt. Longevity during the first 24 weeks of infants¡¦ age. The field observation took place from January to November 2002 and from April to December 2003. The total observation time recorded was 450 hours. The death rate of infant males (23.7%) was higher than that of infant females (2.8%). The death rate of infants born at the later period (41.7%) was higher than those of infant born at the earlier and the peak periods (7.7%, 8.2%). The death rate of infants from primiparous females (30.8%, 4/13) was slightly higher than that of infants from multiparous females (9.8%, 6/61, p>0.05). During the observation period, I followed 43 mother-infant dyads, but 5 infants died or disappeared, and only 38 pairs left. Mother¡Vinfant relationships in Formosan macaques were influenced by infant age and sex, matriline size and the number of immature sister of the infant. The percentages of time that mother-infant contact, sucking, mother carrying ,cradle infant, and the percentages of number that contact made by mother and mother restrain infant broken contact were decrease as infants grow older. On the other hand, the percentage of time that mother-infant distance > 1 meter and mother grooming increased as infants older. But mother reject infant contact was not affected by infant¡¦s age. Adult females spent more time carrying female than male infants when infants were one week old. Developments in jumping and eating were seen earlier in male than female infants. The percentages of time in ventro-ventral contact in mother-infant dyads decreased as the number of infants¡¦ immature sisters increased within infants¡¦ first month of age. When a mother wounded, she spent less time in contacts with her infant; however, when the infant wounded, mother¡Vinfant dyads spent more time in contacts. The data provide a better fit to the Reciprocity hypothesis because the percentage of the female (87.3%, 234/268) to take care of infants was higher than male (12.7%). The percentage of the adult female (allomother) to take care of female infants (59.0%, 79/134 ) is higher than taking care of male infants (41.0%, p<0.005 ). The percentage of the adult female that takes care of non-blood related infants (81.6%, 71/87) is considerably higher than the percentage of taking care of blood-related infants (18.4%, p<0.0001). The percentage of adult female that grabs infants roughly (87.4%, 83/95) is higher than juvenile female (7.4%, 7/95 ).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Clinical and Developmental Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-53). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004 & res_dat=xri:pqdiss & rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation & rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR31988.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-183). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis--New York University. / Photocopy of typescript. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1977. -- 21 cm. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-84).

This study examined mother-infant attachment relationships as identified by a social work team working with a highly vulnerable cohort. Infants in the ultra-high risk population are most at risk of poor attachment styles. Mothers often have a history of childhood abuse and adversity, criminality, substance abuse, and poor mental health. When combined with socio-environmental aspects within families a high incidence of poor attachment is likely. This study investigated Social Workers’ identification of attachment issues using qualitative methodology in the form of document analysis of Social Worker case notes and semi-structured interviews with Social Workers. Results indicate that the accuracy and frequency of identifying attachment varied and that often the focus was on individual behaviours rather than the dynamic attachment processes of the mother-infant dyad. Disturbance in the attachment relationship was most clearly and accurately identified in cases that involved a major disruption to the mother-infant relationship. Attachment styles were identified as secure in almost every non-crisis case, particularly in the infant’s early years. Possible early manifestations of insecure attachment styles were not viewed through the lens of attachment theory, but rather in the context of behavioural and parenting problems. The potency of the Social Worker-mother relationship emerged as a factor that may in and of itself be crucial in helping mothers attach to their infants.

Compared to term infants, it is known that preterm infants have relatively poor regulation and are less able to handle stimulation, which only allows limited time of alertness favorable for productive social interaction. Parents that are less knowledgeable in this would often feel distressed when they try to interact with their babies. Also, non-optimal parent-infant interaction may further stress the preterm infants. So, intervention that seeks to handle this problem is needed. Mother-infant intervention is a strategy that teaches mothers or parents to respond appropriately to infants’ cues and when to stop handling. This intervention helps to achieve optimal parent-infant interaction. Evidence in the current literature has suggested that early mother-infant intervention in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is effective in promoting maternal mental health after preterm delivery. Therefore, the proposed innovation attempts to use mother-infant intervention to reduce depressive symptoms and parenting stress of these mothers. The implementation potential of the mother-infant intervention was explored. It was found that the intervention is highly transferable and feasible to be applied in the hospital settings of Hong Kong with Chinese women. The benefits of implementing the proposed innovation also far outweigh the cost. An evidence-based practice guideline was then developed. Thorough communication plan, implementation plan and pilot study plan will be launched. The whole program will last for 24 months including stages from obtaining approval, planning, carrying out pilot study, launching the actual implementation, to conducting data collection and program evaluation. / published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

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