The tactile context of a mother’s caregiving: implications for attachment of low birth weight infants☆

Maternal touch and maternal child-directed speech: effects of depressed mood in the postnatal period

“…Hence mothers with depressive symptoms of older babies, touched their infants perhaps as a means to control, restrain and direct their infants' actions, as well as to attract their attention (Field et al, 1990;Fergus et al, 1998). Weiss et al (2000), have suggested that maternal sensitivity seems to interact with frequency of touch to define its effects. Thus, a more sensitive mother would use touch to attend to her infant's developmental cues and emotional states, while less sensitive mothers may touch their infants without attending to their demands, leading to more negative consequences on the infant's sense of security and attachment.…”

2.47 the Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene, Birth Weight, Early Maternal Care, Maternal Depression Over the Postnatal Time Period, and the Prediction of Disorganized Attachment at 36-Months of Age: A Prospective Gene X Environment Analysis

“…Laucht et al (2001) found that VLBW children were susceptible to the quality of early caregiving, as VLBW children exposed to high levels of maternal sensitivity were at less of a risk of developing internalizing and hyperkinetic problems at the ages of 2, 4, and 5 when compared to VLBW children exposed to low levels of maternal sensitivity. Similarly, Weiss et al (2000) found that the degree of infant vulnerability (i.e., perinatal complications, birth weight, and responsiveness) moderated the effects of nurturing touch; specifically, nurturing touch was associated with more secure classifications for low-risk infants but with less secure classifications for highly vulnerable infants.…”

“…Significant associations between birth weight and attachment status have also been found in preterm / LBW samples at 12 months old by Weiss et al (2000) using the AQS and by Wille (1991) (1986) and Plunkett et al (1988) found that high-risk preterm / LBW infants were more likely to be classified as insecure compared to low-risk preterm / LBW infants. Similarly, Brisch et al (2005) found that in a sample of preterm / VLBW children, birth weight was only associated with attachment status if the child had a neurological impairment.…”

Extending the reach of social touch through haptic technology

“…The attachment relation is formed in an interplay between a child engaging in attachment behaviors, such as smiling, crying, moving closer and stretching out its arms, which are aimed at seeking proximity and contact with the mother, and the way in which a mother responds to these behaviors [7,195,469]. Attachment behaviors are especially relevant in situations where the child experiences distress [18,66,195,333,527], and physical contact with the mother serves as an important signal for safety and security to the child [527]. According to attachment theory a child will see a responsive and available mother as a secure, steady, and dependable base.…”

“…Nevertheless, it is also important how the mother responds to the child's behavior's. In a study into the role of social touch in the forming of attachments it was found that nurturing touch rather than the frequency of touch per se, was important for the forming of secure attachments for low-birthweight infants [527].…”