title: Early mother--infant interaction and somatic growth.
abstract: This study tests the proposition that selected behaviors of both mother and infant during feeding are predictors of weight gain during the 1st mth of life. 40 normal mother--neonate pairs were studied, and the target behaviors were examined using an adaptation of the techniques developed by Brown and Bakeman [18]. Aggregate scores of 4 specific maternal and infant behaviors accounted for over 32% of the variance in total weight gain. These findings indicate that the availability of nutrients is not, in itself, a sufficient condition to meet the infant's nutritional needs. Implicit in these findings are the possibilities that infants at risk of failure-to-thrive can be identified, and measures to prevent this syndrome can be introduced.
mesh_terms: D000773:Anesthesia, Obstetrical; D001835:Body Weight; D002652:Child Behavior; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010298:Parity; D012737:Sex Factors; D013391:Sucking Behavior; D014705:Verbal Behavior