Mother-Infant Interaction in Premature and Full-Term Infants

Abstract

The interactions of 16 premature and 17 full-term infants and their mothers were studied at 6, 8, 10, and 14 months of age. The infants were matched on sex, maternal age, parity, and social class. Premature infants vocalized less, played less, and were more fretful than full-term infants of the same chronological age but looked at objects and looked around their environment more. These differences, with the exception of vocalization, disappeared by 14 months. Mothers of premature infants demonstrated more caretaking and affectionate behavior toward their infants. With increasing age the differences between groups decreased. Premature dyads experienced as much interaction as full-term dyads, but premature mothers were not constant over the period under study in the amount of time they spend in the same room as their infants. Mothers responded to the developmental level of their infants. Premature infants behaved increasingly like full-term infants as they grew older.