Barbara Welles-Nyström

Skin‐to‐skin contact may reduce negative consequences of “the stress of being born”: a study on temperature in newborn infants, subjected to different ward routines in St. Petersburg

Aim: To evaluate how different delivery‐ward routines influence temperature in newborn infants. Methods: A total of 176 newborn mother‐infant pairs were included in a randomized study. The babies were kept skin‐to‐skin on the mothers chest (Skin‐to‐skin group), held in their mothers arms, being either swaddled or clothed (Mothers arms group), or kept in a cot in the nursery, being either swaddled or clothed (Nursery group). Temperature was measured in the axilla, on the thigh, back and foot at 15‐min intervals at from 30 to 120 min after birth. Results: During this time period the axilla, back and thigh temperatures rose significantly in all the treatment groups. The foot temperature displayed a significant fall in the babies in the Nursery group and this decrease was greatest in the swaddled babies. In contrast, foot temperature rose in the babies in the Mothers arms group and in particular in babies in the Skin‐to‐skin group. Foot temperature remained high in the Skin‐to‐skin group, whereas the low temperature observed in the Nursery group gradually increased and two days after birth the difference was no longer significant.

Effects of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on severe latch-on problems in older infants: a randomized trial

BackgroundInfants with latch-on problems cause stress for parents and staff, often resulting in early termination of breastfeeding. Healthy newborns experiencing skin-to-skin contact at birth are pre-programmed to find the mother’s breast. This study investigates if skin-to-skin contact between mothers with older infants having severe latching on problems would resolve the problem.MethodsMother-infant pairs with severe latch-on problems, that were not resolved during screening procedures at two maternity hospitals in Stockholm 1998–2004, were randomly assigned to skin-to-skin contact (experimental group) or not (control group) during breastfeeding. Breastfeeding counseling was given to both groups according to a standard model. Participants were unaware of their treatment group. Objectives were to compare treatment groups concerning the proportion of infants regularly latching on, the time from intervention to regular latching on and maternal emotions and pain before and during breastfeeding.ResultsOn hundred and three mother-infant pairs with severe latch-on problems 1–16 weeks postpartum were randomly assigned and analyzed. There was no significant difference between the groups in the proportion of infants starting regular latching-on (75% experimental group, vs. 86% control group). Experimental group infants, who latched on, had a significantly shorter median time from start of intervention to regular latching on than control infants, 2.0 weeks (Q1 = 1.0, Q3 = 3.7) vs. 4.7 weeks (Q1 = 2.0, Q3 = 8.0), (p-value = 0.020). However, more infants in the experimental group (94%), with a history of “strong reaction” during “hands-on latch intervention”, latched-on within 3 weeks compared to 33% in the control infants (Fisher Exact test p-value = 0.0001). Mothers in the experimental group (n = 53) had a more positive breastfeeding experience according to the Breastfeeding Emotional Scale during the intervention than mothers in the control group (n = 50) (p-value = 0.022).ConclusionsSkin-to-skin contact during breastfeeding seems to immediately enhance maternal positive feelings and shorten the time it takes to resolve severe latch-on problems in the infants who started to latch. An underlying mechanism may be that skin-to-skin contact with the mother during breastfeeding may calm infants with earlier strong reaction to “hands on latch intervention” and relieve the stress which may have blocked the infant’s inborn biological program to find the breast and latch on.Trial registrationKarolinska Clinical Trial Registration numberCT20100055

Early lactation performance in primiparous and multiparous women in relation to different maternity home practices. A randomised trial in St. Petersburg.

This article explores the affection and the couple election production logics among teenagers from heterogeneous popular sectors of Cali city (Colombia) according to class gender and race factors. Without seeking to look directly into the conjugality anyway the text enters in the matter of couples election under the restrictions of adolescent and post adolescent life cycle of our research program through the courtship eventually with the option to cohabit and to have an offspring; in accordance with the information picked up to level of the interviews and the focal groups. In second place when having the opportunity of a statistical data through household survey series between 1998 and the 2003 in Cali and the Valle del Cauca urban region where Cali is placed on Afrocolombian and non Afrocolombian population we have been able to attempt a first approach to the racial homogamy phenomenon for the complete households (it means with spouses presence) establishing the necessary links with the qualitative data to look from a macro social perspective the behavior of these logics among the teenagers. For that reason the class gender and race factors are seen through the racial homogamy category in the sense of coming closer to the social constraints of the sexuality as a social practice the affection and the intent of conjugal couple conformation in the Cali society. (authors)

Mixed Methods in International Collaborative Research: The Experiences of the International Study of Parents, Children, and Schools:

The power of a mixed-methods approach combining anthropological and psychological theories and methods is demonstrated through the experiences of the International Study of Parents, Children, and Schools, a collaborative project involving teams of researchers from seven Western countries. The developmental niche framework of Super and Harkness proved useful for integrating multiple methods to understand the context of children’s early development at home and at school. Several parts of the study are presented as illustrations: the development and application of a common list of descriptors for coding parents’ discourse about their children; the construction of a derived etic form of a child temperament questionnaire; the discovery and exploration of ideas and practices related to parent-child co-sleeping; and the identification of cultural themes across various kinds of data. The authors conclude that a combination of anthropological and psychological methods can enrich understanding of children’s development in various cultural settings.

Influence of Skin-to-Skin Contact and Rooming-In on Early Mother–Infant Interaction A Randomized Controlled Trial

The objective of this research was to study influence of birth routines on mother–infant interaction at Day 4. The present research is part of a longitudinal study where mother–infant pairs were randomized by infant location and apparel. We intended to assess mother–infant interaction from videos filmed at Day 4. A protocol for the assessment/coding of the affective quality of maternal behaviors indicative of early mother–infant interaction was developed and interculturally validated. Results were compared with birth randomization, as to explain impact of birth practices. Findings indicate that separation and swaddling at birth interfered with mother–infant interaction during a breastfeeding session at Day 4; these mothers significantly demonstrated more roughness in their behaviors with their infants at Day 4. Results also show evidences of a sensitive period for separation after birth. Implications are to encourage immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact at birth, and rooming-in during postpartum, as recommended in World Health Organization/UNICEF Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding.

Culture, Temperament, and the “Difficult Child”: A Study in Seven Western Cultures

Charles M. Super1, Giovanna Axia2, Sara Harkness1, Barbara Welles-Nyström3, Piotr Olaf Zylicz4, Parminder Parmar5, Sabrina Bonichini2, Moisés Rios Bermúdez6, Ughetta Moscardino2, Violet Kolar7, Jesús Palacios6, Andrzej Eliasz4, and Harry McGurk7 1University of Connecticut, USA 2University of Padua, Italy 3Karolinska Institute, Sweden 4Warsaw School of Social Psychology, Poland 5The Pennsylvania State University, USA 6University of Seville, Spain 7Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australia

A history of mental health problems may predict maternal distress in women postpartum.

AIM to elucidate the effects of prior mental disorders on newly delivered womens mental health and to compare the outcome of different instruments to screen for maternal distress and depression after childbirth. The sample of 232 Stockholm women responded to a questionnaire on background data and three questionnaires, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Postpartum Depression Symptoms Rating Scale (PPDS) at 4-6 weeks and 10-12 weeks after childbirth. RESULTS show that maternal distress was experienced by 20% of the women as assessed by the BDI and the EPDS at 4-6 weeks postpartum, and by 13-16% of the women at 10-12 weeks after childbirth. A regression analysis showed that a history of mental health problems influenced maternal self-assessment at both points-in-time. The following background data showed a small but significant impact on maternal self-assessment; younger age, lower educational level, and a short-term partner relationship. The most important emotional responses were sadness, guilt and self-blame across all three instruments at both points in time. Loss of pleasure, self-accusations, irritability, anger, worry and somatic symptoms such as muscular tension, headaches and stomach cramps also occurred. CONCLUSION women with prior mental health problems are more vulnerable for maternal distress and midwives at the antenatal health clinics should encourage pregnant women to express emotional issues during their transition to motherhood in order to offer appropriate professional support and care.