The quality of parenting in reproductive donation families: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

This review examined whether the absence of a genetic link with one or both parents in families using reproductive donation induced a different quality of parenting from that found in families with spontaneous conception or autologous assisted reproductive technology (AUT-ART), where the genetic mother carries the pregnancy and both parents have a genetic link with their children. MEDLINE, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched for English-language studies published from January 1993 to October 2021. A total of 45 studies were included in the systematic review, and 11 in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that in reproductive donation families, where there was no genetic link between parents and children, there were higher positive parental values (P = 0.007) and lower negative parental values (P = 0.007) than for parents and children in families that had spontaneously conceived. No statistically significant differences emerged when the reproductive donation families were compared with the AUT-ART families. The study showed that the quality of parenting was not conditioned by the presence or absence of a genetic link; instead, it was influenced by the processes underlying family building, such as the desire to have a child, the involvement of both parents in the childcare and the quality of disclosure.

Age correction in cognitive, linguistic, and motor domains for infants born preterm: an analysis of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition developmental patterns.

AIM: To verify whether it is appropriate to use age correction for infants born preterm in all the developmental domains (cognitive, linguistic, and motor) considered by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III). METHOD: Seventy-three infants born preterm (26-35wks) without major neurological sequelae and 67 infants born at term were assessed at 12 months (corrected age for infants born preterm). The performance of the infants born preterm was assessed with two different evaluations: scores based on uncorrected age and scores based on corrected age. RESULTS: The developmental trends of infants born at term and infants born preterm differ across domains. Statistical analysis shows that age correction produces an overrated estimate of motor performance (12.5 points [95% confidence interval 9.05-16.01]) but not of cognitive performance. INTERPRETATION: Given the broad use of the Bayley-III by psychologists and paediatricians, these results are important in the early diagnosis of developmental difficulties for children born preterm. Correction for gestational age should be applied for the cognitive domain only; whereas for the motor domain, chronological age should be used. No clear data emerged for language. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Age correction with Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III) for infants born preterm should be applied differently in cognitive, language, and motor domains. Using corrected age with Bayley-III, the motor skills are overrated. Correction for preterm births adequately measures cognitive skills. No clear indication emerged about language skills.

Parental disclosure of assisted reproductive technology (ART) conception to their children: a systematic and meta-analytic review.

STUDY QUESTION: Does a genetic link and/or a child's age influence a parent's willingness to talk to a child about how they were conceived? SUMMARY ANSWER: The presence/absence of a biological link and the child's age clearly influences the disclosure process. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The research published to date has yielded diverse findings on autologous and donor assisted reproductive technology (ART) parents' disclosure of the conception method to their children and on the ages at which the children are informed, if told. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out. A search of MEDLINE and PUBMED was run for English-language studies published from January 1996 through January 2015. A total of 26 studies were included in the systematic review, 19 of which were included in the meta-analysis. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: A total of 2814 parent responses were included in the systematic review. Two authors independently assessed the studies for review inclusion. Selection criteria were: peer-reviewed studies, quantitative studies only, research conducted after the birth of ART-conceived children, number of parent responses on disclosure status reported in terms of Told, Plan to tell, Uncertain, Plan to not tell. Thirty-two (32) study-level effect size statistics were included in the meta-analysis. Three authors independently assessed the risk of bias. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Among parents who responded, 23% of the total number of parent responses indicated that they had already Told; 44% were Planning to tell; 13% were Uncertain and 20% were Planning to not tell their children about their ART conception. Meta-analysis gave no statistically significant differences between autologous and donor ART in the <10 years age group, when comparing Told versus Planning to tell/Uncertain/Planning to not tell. In both cases, the probability of disclosure was <50% (P < 0.05). Conversely, in the older age group (≥10 years old), a statistically significant difference was observed for autologous ART (Cohen's h = 0.86): Planning to tell showed a higher probability in the 10 years age group for the autologous ART subsample, than in the donor ART subsample (Cohen's h = 0.89). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: All parents participated voluntarily in the studies and may have influenced the data in the direction of disclosure thereby. The reviewed studies, moreover, differed in terms of methodology, type of sample and data categorization method. The number of studies analyzing disclosure for children ≥10 years was quite limited; and lastly, most of the data examined were not collected longitudinally. IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The high number of non-disclosing parents treated by donor ART points to an underestimation of the medical risks for the offspring (the presence of genetic illnesses, inadvertent consanguinity) and suggests that these children's rights may not be given due consideration. The decision to disclose may become more difficult over time, and ART parents need greater psychological support throughout the process. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: The study was funded by the University of Trieste.

Defense mechanisms development in typical children.

The defense mechanisms (DMs) of 103 nonreferred children ages 47 to 102 months were assessed through dollhouse play. The authors measured the children's temperament (Temperament Assessment Battery for Children-Teacher Form [TABC]) and verbal capacities (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence or Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children). Four main findings were derived: (1) DM use decreased with age with different developmental trajectories; (2) regression, displacement, and reaction formation were more frequent in girls and denial more frequent in boys; (3) the number of DMs used was negatively associated with the TABC Adaptability score and positively with the TABC Approach/Withdrawal score; and (4) children who used rationalization and did not use identification and suppression scored better on verbal capacities.

Men's psychological transition to fatherhood: an analysis of the literature, 1989-2008.

BACKGROUND: The most recent review on men's transition to fatherhood was published in 1986. The present paper reports on how the literature has portrayed fatherhood over the past 20 years. The aim was to investigate men's psychological transition to fatherhood from pregnancy of the partner through the infant's first year of life. METHODS: The PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, Ingenta, Ovid, EMBASE, and WoS databases were accessed to conduct a literature search on the topic. The concepts of self-image transformation, triadic relationship development, and social environment influence were used to examine the complexity of the fatherhood transition process. Specific focus was placed on men's intrapsychic relational and social dimensions. RESULTS: Our analysis of the yielded results revealed three specific fatherhood stages: prenatal, labor and birth, and postnatal periods. Partner pregnancy was found to be the most demanding period in terms of psychological reorganization of the self. Labor and birth were the most intensely emotional moments, and the postnatal period was most influenced by environmental factors. The latter was also experienced as being the most interpersonally and intrapersonally challenging in terms of coping with the new reality of being a father. CONCLUSIONS: Men's transition to fatherhood is guided by the social context in which they live and work and by personal characteristics in interplay with the quality of the partner relationship. Men struggle to reconcile their personal and work-related needs with those of their new families.

Kangaroo mother care and mother-premature infant dyadic interaction.

The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological impact of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) on mother-infant bonding in cases of premature delivery. Examined variables were mother-infant relationships, maternal anxiety levels, and infant interactive signals. The KMC method requires that babies be undressed and held upright between their mother's breasts for a minimum of 1 hr a day, from birth until they are discharged from hospital. The present study examined 40 premature infants and their mothers, with 21 dyads experiencing KMC and 19 receiving traditional care (TC). Maternal emotional stress was assessed with the Parent Stress Index-Short Form questionnaire (Abidin, 1990), and mother-newborn interactive style was assessed with the Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (Barnard, 1975). Results revealed a better mother-infant interactive style, a significant decrease in maternal emotional stress, and better infant ability to make requests and respond to parental interactive style in the KMC group.