Low birth weight is a negative factor in the mother-infant relationship. (A study of 122 women following primary Caesarean section for breech presentation or repeat Caesarean section.) (author's transl)

Abstract

The mother-infant relationship was studied in the first days post-partum in 122 women following Caesarean section for breech presentation and following repeat Caesarean section. 1. Birth weight With low birth weights women had more rarely a good relationship to the infant in the early days post-partum. In only 20% of women with children under 3000 grams the early relationship was good compared to a good relationship in 61% with infants over 3500 grams birth weights. 2. Parity Less primiparae had good contact to the children in the first post-partum days (35%) than secondi and multiparae (54%). 3. Newborn care Women with difficulties to care for the newborn had good contact to the newborn in only 39% of the cases in the first post-partum days. Women without problems to care for the newborn had an early good relationship to the infant in 60% of the cases. 4. The personality of the mother Mothers with an intro-verted personality (according to MPI-E) and depressive tendencies (according to EDS) had significantly rarer close relationships to the newborn in the first post-partum days. According to these results the mother-infant relationship must be supported more vigorously in low birth weight infants not only in premature infants in the first days post-partum. Individual psychosocial factors must be taken into account which could make a satisfactory mother role more difficult.