A System for Monitoring Crying and Noncrying, Large, Medium, and Small Neonatal Movements

Abstract

KORNER, ANNELIESE F.; THOMAN, EVELYN B.; and GLICK, JON H. A System for Monitoring Crying and Noncrying, Large, Medium, and Small Neonatal Movements. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1974, 45, 946-952. A neonatal movement monitor was devised, which, in addition to the measures obtained by other movement monitors, discriminates among large, medium, and small movements; automatically screens out caretaker-induced motility; and provides several activity counts unconfounded by the infant's crying. A specially built, foam-rubber mattress provides the signal input to an analog recorder, 6 movement counters, and an integrator, which accumulates activity counts over 5-min epochs. A unidirectional microphone connected to a voice-activated switch provides a signal, which deactivates 3 counters and the integrator and thus provides separate measures of noncrying activity. This signal also activates an event channel of the analog recorder and starts a clock, which accumulates crying time. A switchmat in front of the crib deactivates all the counters and the integrator and provides a signal to a clock, which records the cumulative time a care giver attends the child. Simulation tests demonstrated that the static weight of the baby does not affect the sensitivity of the AC-coupled mattress, and that the threshold settings measuring movement amplitudes are highly stable. Rank correlations between monitor activity counts and independent visual observation ratings yielded a pooled value of .93.