Mother-pediatrician relationship in the neonatal period

Abstract

<h2>Summary</h2> The role of the pediatrician in the neonatal period is discussed, and the problems incident to abnormalities and deviations in the newborn infant are presented. Analysis of the complaints and questions of the mothers regarding their offspring in a series of 100 cases is reported; average mothers were four times as interested in physiologic as in anatomic problems. The relatively constant psychologic reactions to the reproductive process are reviewed as a key to the pediatrician's understanding of the new mother and as a guide to clarification of confused emotions and attitudes.