CIBA FOUND. SYMPOSIUM NO. 45: BREAST FEEDING AND THE MOTHER

Studies from several areas suggest that early brief separation of the mother and infant during the first minutes and hours after delivery can alter the behavior of the mother with her child months and years later. To determine the physical benefits for the infant of early skin to skin contact with the mother the authors studied the effects of early mother infant contact on breast feeding in poor urban populations of Guatemala City. The mothers in the experimental groups were given their naked infants on the delivery table and then spent 45 min alone with them in a private room. The control group of mothers were separated from their infants according to hospital practices, usually 12 hr. The authors made follow up home visits when the child was 35 days and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months old to obtain accurate information about breast feeding habits, infection and weight gain. In two of the three populations studied there were significant differences between the experimental and the control groups in the mean number of days that the infants were breast fed. In all three studies, infants of early contact mothers had fewer episodes of infections. To explore the timing of this sensitive period, another 60 primiparous mothers were studied: 40 mothers had either the experimental or control conditions, as in the previous studies and the other 20 mothers first received their nude infant at 12 hr. Observations at 36 hr of maternal behavior showed that only those given early contact (45 min) had significantly more affectionate behavior. These studies suggest that (1) the maternal sensitive period is less than 12 hr and (2) early mother infant contact postpartum has far reaching effects on infant health during the first year.