PEDIATRICS Vol. 81 No. 4 April 1988, pp. 529-536
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Barr, R. G.
Right arrow Articles by Elias, M. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Barr, R. G.
Right arrow Articles by Elias, M. F.

Nursing Interval and Maternal Responsivity: Effect on Early Infant Crying

Ronald G. Barr MDCM, FRCP(C)1 and Marjorie F. Elias EdD1

1 From the Department of Pediatrics, McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, and the Bradley Hospital, East Providence, Rhode Island

In industrialized societies, the unique pattern of crying in the first three months is "unexplained" but thought to be due to different biobehavioral factors from later crying behavior. To increase the range of the feeding and caretaking behaviors hypothesized to be relevant determinants of early crying, home observations and diary records were analyzed from samples of two subcultures of American middle-class women (LaLeche League and "standard care" mothers; each n = 16) differing primarily in such practices. Both during and after the early crying stage, frequently fed infants cried or fretted less often (8.1 v 15.8 episodes per hour at 2 months of age; 10.7 v 16.6 episodes per hour at 4 months of age), and fewer of them exhibited rhythmic crying behavior (four v 11 at 2 months; eight v 13 at 4 months) during observations. However, only during the early crying period at 2 months were interval between feedings and maternal response latency shown to be independent determinants of cry/fret frequency (overall r2 = .35, P = .01), each factor accounting for approximately half of the explained individual variance. Furthermore, feeding interval was the only variable associated with rhythmic crying behavior at 2 months of age (r2 = .20; P = .01). In similar analyses at 4 months, there were no significant relationships with later crying or fretting. The results suggest that, in the presence of variation in feeding practice greater than that which is typical for our society, feeding interval may be a significant factor in early (but not later) crying behavior; furthermore, this effect is independent of and additive to the soothing effect of short response latency.

Key Words: cry • infant • feeding

Submitted on April 6, 1987
Accepted on June 17, 1987




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
T. J. Clifford, M. K. Campbell, K. N. Speechley, and F. Gorodzinsky
Sequelae of Infant Colic: Evidence of Transient Infant Distress and Absence of Lasting Effects on Maternal Mental Health
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, December 1, 2002; 156(12): 1183 - 1188.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
T. J. Clifford, M. K. Campbell, K. N. Speechley, and F. Gorodzinsky
Infant Colic: Empirical Evidence of the Absence of an Association With Source of Early Infant Nutrition
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, November 1, 2002; 156(11): 1123 - 1128.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child.Home page
M F van der Wal, D C van den Boom, H Pauw-Plomp, and G A de Jonge
Mothers' reports of infant crying and soothing in a multicultural population
Arch. Dis. Child., October 1, 1998; 79(4): 312 - 317.
[Abstract] [Full Text]