title: Vitamin B-6 status of Egyptian mothers: relation to infant behavior and maternal-infant interactions.
abstract: Functional consequences of marginal maternal vitamin B-6 status for behavior of the neonate and for mother-infant interactions at age 3-6 mo were assessed by a double-blind procedure. In 27 of 70 Egyptian village women studied, vitamin B-6 concentration of their milk was considered indicative of poor maternal vitamin B-6 nutriture. Neonatal behavior, quantified by the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale, showed that consolability, appropriate build-up to a crying state, and response to aversive stimuli were significantly correlated with maternal vitamin B-6 nutriture. Naturalistic observational procedures, used twice monthly with infants aged 3-6 mo, indicated that mothers assessed as having marginal vitamin B-6 status were less responsive to their infants' vocalizations, showed less effective intervention to infant distress, and were more likely to use older siblings as care-givers than were mothers of better vitamin status. We conclude that vitamin B-6 was a factor influencing both the behavior of the mother and her infant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: McCullough
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirksey
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Wachs
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: McCabe
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Bassily
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bishry
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Galal
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: N W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Jerome
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001835:Body Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000032:analysis*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011736:Pyridoxine / Q000032:analysis*; D026681:Vitamin B 6 Deficiency / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D011736:Pyridoxine