CONTACT DURING THE 1ST HOUR WITH THE WRAPPED OR NAKED NEWBORN - EFFECT ON MATERNAL ATTACHMENT BEHAVIORS AT 36 HOURS AND 3 MONTHS

ABSTRACT: Twenty women matched for parity, pregnancy and delivery criteria, medical history and infant outcome were randomly given their wrapped or naked babies to hold during the first hour after birth. At 36 hours after delivery and again at 3 months, an observer who was unaware of whether early contact had been skin‐to‐skin or with the wrapped baby recorded maternal attachment behaviors while the mother was breastfeeding (36 hours) or playing with her baby (3 months). There were no significant differences in the maternal attachment behaviors of the two groups 36 hours after delivery or 3 months after delivery. It is suggested that in other studies which showed more maternal attachment behaviors after skin‐to‐skin contact in the first hours and days after birth, it may have been the amount and timing of contact which accounted for observed differences in maternal behaviors, rather than whether the contact was skin‐to‐skin or with the wrapped newborn. Copyright © 1979, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved