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Mother and newborn baby: Mutual regulation of physiology and behavior— A selective review
Author(s) -
Winberg Jan
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.20094
Subject(s) - crying , breastfeeding , physiology , psychology , developmental psychology , energy expenditure , balance (ability) , medicine , pediatrics , endocrinology , psychiatry , neuroscience
This article reviews 30 years of work demonstrating that interactions between mother and newborn infant in the period just after birth influence the physiology and behavior of both. Close body contact of the infant with his/her mother helps regulate the newborn's temperature, energy conservation, acid–base balance, adjustment of respiration, crying, and nursing behaviors. Similarly, the baby may regulate—i.e., increase—the mother's attention to his/her needs, the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding, and the efficiency of her energy economy through vagus activation and a surge of gastrointestinal tract hormone release resulting in better exploitation of ingested calories. The effects of some of these changes can be detected months later. Parallels to animal research and possible mechanisms are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 47: 217–229, 2005.