The roots of paternal depression: Experienced and nonexperienced trauma or Folie a Deux?

The transition to fatherhood may be challenged with anxiety and trepidation. A high prevalence has been found for paternal depression and it is reactive to maternal depression. This review aims to address potential sources of paternal depression, which may have adverse consequences on child development. We describe through three hypotheses how fathers may be at risk of depression during the transition to fatherhood: (1) psychological (interacting with ecological systems); (2) brain functional∖structural changes; and (3) (epi)genomic. We propose that paternal stressful experiences during the transition to fatherhood may be the source for paternal depression through direct stressful paternal experiences or via (potential, currently debated) nonexperienced (by the father) epigenomic transgenerational transmission. On the other hand, we suggest that resilient fathers may undergo a transient dysphoric period affected by identifying with the newborn's vulnerability as well as with the mother's postpartum vulnerability resulting in "paternity blues." In accordance with recent views on paternal "heightened sensitivity" toward the infant, we propose that the identification of both parents with the vulnerability of the newborn creates a sensitive period of Folie a Deux (shared madness) which may be a healthy transient, albeit a quasi-pathological period, recruited by the orienting response of the newborn for survival.

Neonatal DNA methylation and childhood low prosocial behavior: An epigenome-wide association meta-analysis.

Low prosocial behavior in childhood has been consistently linked to later psychopathology, with evidence supporting the influence of both genetic and environmental factors on its development. Although neonatal DNA methylation (DNAm) has been found to prospectively associate with a range of psychological traits in childhood, its potential role in prosocial development has yet to be investigated. This study investigated prospective associations between cord blood DNAm at birth and low prosocial behavior within and across four longitudinal birth cohorts from the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) Consortium. We examined (a) developmental trajectories of "chronic-low" versus "typical" prosocial behavior across childhood in a case-control design (N = 2,095), and (b) continuous "low prosocial" scores at comparable cross-cohort time-points (N = 2,121). Meta-analyses were performed to examine differentially methylated positions and regions. At the cohort-specific level, three CpGs were found to associate with chronic low prosocial behavior; however, none of these associations was replicated in another cohort. Meta-analysis revealed no epigenome-wide significant CpGs or regions. Overall, we found no evidence for associations between DNAm patterns at birth and low prosocial behavior across childhood. Findings highlight the importance of employing multi-cohort approaches to replicate epigenetic associations and reduce the risk of false positive discoveries.

Neonatal Brain Response to Deviant Auditory Stimuli and Relation to Maternal Trait Anxiety.

OBJECTIVE: Excessive response to unexpected or "deviant" stimuli during infancy and early childhood represents an early risk marker for anxiety disorders. However, research has yet to delineate the specific brain regions underlying the neonatal response to deviant stimuli near birth and the relation to risk for anxiety disorders. The authors used task-based functional MRI (fMRI) to delineate the neonatal response to deviant stimuli and its relationship to maternal trait anxiety. METHODS: The authors used fMRI to measure brain activity evoked by deviant auditory stimuli in 45 sleeping neonates (mean age, 27.8 days; 60% female; 64% African American). In 41 of the infants, neural response to deviant stimuli was examined in relation to maternal trait anxiety on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a familial risk factor for offspring anxiety. RESULTS: Neonates manifested a robust and widespread neural response to deviant stimuli that resembles patterns found previously in adults. Higher maternal trait anxiety was related to higher responses within multiple brain regions, including the left and right anterior insula, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and multiple areas within the anterior cingulate cortex. These areas overlap with brain regions previously linked to anxiety disorders and other psychiatric illnesses in adults. CONCLUSIONS: The neural architecture sensitive to deviant stimuli robustly functions in newborns. Excessive responsiveness of some circuitry components at birth may signal risk for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders.

Newborns' sensitivity to speed changes as a building block for animacy perception.

The human visual system can discriminate between animate beings vs. inanimate objects on the basis of some kinematic cues, such as starting from rest and speed changes by self-propulsion. The ontogenetic origin of such capability is still under debate. Here we investigate for the first time whether newborns manifest an attentional bias toward objects that abruptly change their speed along a trajectory as contrasted with objects that move at a constant speed. To this end, we systematically manipulated the motion speed of two objects. An object that moves with a constant speed was contrasted with an object that suddenly increases (Experiment 1) or with one that suddenly decreases its speed (Experiment 2). When presented with a single speed change, newborns did not show any visual preference. However, newborns preferred an object that abruptly increases and then decreases its speed (Experiment 3), but they did not show any visual preference for the reverse sequence pattern (Experiment 4). Overall, results are discussed in line with the hypothesis of the existence of attentional biases in newborns that trigger their attention towards some visual cues of motion that characterized animate perception in adults.

Neonatal Negative Emotionality and the Child Behavior Checklist-Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP) in middle childhood.

Objective: Determine whether an association exists between neonatal negative emotionality and childhood emotional dysregulation. Background: The Child Behaviour Checklist-Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP) has been used as a measure of emotional dysregulation in childhood. Although there is now good evidence that the CBCL-DP predicts later psychopathology, little is known about what factors predict elevations on the CBCL-DP. Methods: 30 mother-child dyads who previously participated in a study of neonatal temperament were recruited to a follow-up study of emotional dysregulation during middle childhood. The Neonatal Behaviour Assessment Scale (NBAS) and the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ) were utilised as observer and maternal measures of neonatal negative emotionality, respectively. Maternal post-partum depression was also measured during the neonatal period using the Edinburgh Post-Partum Depression Scale (EPDS). The Child Behaviour Checklist-Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP) was used as a measure of childhood emotional dysregulation. Results: The ICQ fussy-difficult scale was significantly correlated with the CBCL-DP score (r = .46, p = .010), and this correlation remained significant after controlling for maternal EPDS score (CBCL-DP r = .51, p = .01). The NBAS irritability score was not associated with the CBCL-DP score. Conclusions: This association provides preliminary results that neonates rated as having high negative emotionality may indeed experience chronic difficulties with emotional dysregulation.

Skin-to-skin contact and infant emotional and cognitive development in chronic perinatal distress.

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether the timing of maternal-neonate skin-to-skin contact (SSC) predicts infant emotional and cognitive development in the context of chronic maternal perinatal stress and depressive symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: This secondary analysis included data from a group-based prenatal care clinical trial for 37 pregnant women with low household income. Mothers completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) during the third trimester and postpartum. After birth, they reported timing of SSC, and completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised Very Short Form (IBQ-R VSF) (M = 51.7 weeks, SD = 4.2). Increased PSS or CES-D score from the third trimester to post-birth indicates chronic maternal perinatal stress or depressive symptoms compared to a decrease or no change. Using hierarchical regression models, we examined if the timing of SSC makes a unique contribution in predicting infant outcomes in the context of chronic maternal perinatal stress and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Stress-exposed infants had less negative emotionality if SSC is provided immediately after delivery, less than 10 min after birth. The effect of SSC on effortful control in relation to chronic perinatal stress was not statistically significant. The impact of timing of SSC on negative emotionality or effortful control in relation to chronic perinatal depressive symptoms was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: This work implies that very early SSC may play a role in later infant emotion regulation process and could act as a protective factor in chronically stressed pregnant women.

Validez y consistencia interna del instrumento Vínculo entre padres e hijos neonatos / Internal consistency and validity of the instrument Attachment between parents and newborn children

OBJETIVO: Determinar la validez y la consistencia interna del instrumento Vínculo entre padres e hijos neonatos versión en español resultado de la adaptación transcultural del Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) de Mary Müller. MATERIALES Y MÉTODO: Estudio descriptivo metodológico - psicométrico, cuya validez facial y de contenido se logró con la participación de un panel de expertos y 385 potenciales padres con bajo nivel de escolaridad. Para la validez de constructo y consistencia interna la muestra fue de 352 padres de recién nacidos a término. RESULTADOS: La validez facial para la población general mostró una comprensión global y por ítems superior a 90 %, y un índice de aceptabilidad superior en las tres categorías valoradas; igualmente el índice de Kapa y Fleiss mostró concordancia interjueces para cada uno de los ítems por encima de 0.69. La validez de contenido global presenta fuerte pertinencia y relevancia con un índice de Kapa y Fleiss de 0.71 y 0.77 respectivamente. En la validez de constructo el análisis factorial exploratorio arrojó cuatro factores con una varianza total explicada por el índice de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) de 73 %, y la consistencia interna por el Alfa de Cronbach fue de 0.7 para el total de la escala. CONCLUSIONES: El instrumento Vínculo entre padres e hijos neonatos es válido y confiable para medir el vínculo afectivo en el contexto colombiano cuyo uso favorece la práctica de enfermería basada en evidencia en contextos diversos como Unidades de Cuidado Neonatal y en la práctica ambulatoria

OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity and internal consistency of the instrument Attachment between parents and newborn children, spanish version as a result from the transcultural adaptation of the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) by Mary Muller. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Methodological - psychometric descriptive study, whose facial and content validity was achieved with the participation of a panel of experts and 385 potential parents with low level of schooling. For the validity of construct and internal consistency the sample was 352 parents of full-term newborns. RESULTS: Facial validity for the general population showed a global and item understanding of more than 90%, and a higher acceptability rate in the three categories valued; likewise, the Kapa and Fleiss index showed inter-concordance for each of the items above 0.69. The validity of global content has a strong pertinence and relevance with a Kapa and Fleiss index of 0.71 and 0.77 respectively. In the validity of the construct, the exploratory factor analysis yielded four factors with a total variance explained by the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Index (KMO) of 73%, and the internal consistency by Cronbach's Alpha was 0.7 for the total of the scale. CONCLUSIONS: The Attachment between parents and newborn children instrument is valid and reliable to measure the affective attachment in the Colombian context whose use favors the practice of evidence-based nursing in diverse contexts such as Neonatal Care Units and in ambulatory practice

A public health approach to perinatal mental health: Improving health and wellbeing of mothers and babies.

Perinatal mental illnesses are one of the challenging aspects of public health. If not taken care of, then they can have a serious impact on women as well as their families. They constitute one of the major reasons behind the maternal mortality during pregnancy or in the later period after child birth with prevalence ranging from 10 to 20 %. The brighter side is that with proper care and support, women can make full recovery from such illness. However, in many places in the world, the perinatal mental health is not given its due recognition and as a result of which it is usually undiagnosed, undertreated and leads to suffering of women. This review article focuses on the global burden of perinatal mental illness and discusses a comprehensive approach to address the perinatal mental health in a community setup. In addition, it provides a comprehensive overview of public health approaches to find a sustainable solution to the mental health issues faced by millions of women throughout the world.

Biomusicalidade, Experiência e Awareness Coletiva: Gestalt-Terapia e Musicoterapia no Cuidado de Pais e Bebês / Biomusicality, Experience e Collective Awareness: Gestalt-Therapy, Music Therapy in Parent and Baby Care / Biomusicalidad, Experiencia y Awareness Colectiva: Terapia Gestalt, Musicoterapia en el Cuidado de Padres y Bebés

O artigo apresenta caminhos sobre a produção do cuidado para pais e bebês. Inicialmente é apresentado o conceito de 'biomusicalidade', trazendo em cena a visão da vida tecida em contrapontos, a partir dos signos-sinais afetivos advindos das relações. As perspectivas da Gestalt-Terapia, da Musicoterapia e das Filosofias da Imanência sustentam as experiências de produção do cuidado para os pais e bebês. Problematiza-se a questão da produção de novas temporalidades nas relações entre os pais dirigida à produção do cuidado onde a subjetividade dos filhos seja 'afetada' por campos de experiências vitais. Experiências movidas pela potência do desejo da descoberta, da busca pela novidade, do desejo de conexão com algo do ambiente que possa nutrir. Experiências da potência do devir-criança que habita os adultos e que pode ser despertada pelos campos de afetação do espaço clínico. O artigo propõe o desenvolvimento de uma Scientia Patibilis Natura, como uma Ciência da Alma Sensível. Ciência aliançada a uma 'fenomenologia biomusical' que orienta e excita as consciências sensíveis dos pais para a produção de uma consciência sensível mutual, uma awareness coletiva. Experiências produtoras de um espaço clínico excitante, espaço da relação, espaço do sagrado, espaço da musicalidade da vida, espaço biomusical. (AU)

The article presents paths on the production of care for parents and babies. Initially, the concept of 'biomusicality' is presented, bringing into view the vision of life woven into counterpoints, based on the affective sign-signals arising from relationships. The perspectives of Gestalt-Therapy, Music Therapy, and the Immanence Philosophies support the care-producing experiences for parents and babies. The question of the production of new temporalities in the relations between the parents is problematized in order to produce care where the subjectivity of the children is 'affected' by fields of vital experiences. Experiences that are driven by the power of the desire for discovery, the search for novelty, the desire to connect with something in the environment that can nurture; experiences of the power of the child-devir that inhabits adults and that can be awakened by the fields of affectation of the clinical space. The article proposes the development of a Scientia Patibilis Natura, as a Sensitive Soul Science. Science allied to a 'biomusical phenomenology' that guides and excites parents' sensible consciousnesses to produce a mutual sensible consciousness, a collective awareness. Experiences which produce an exciting clinical space, a space of relationship, a space of the sacred, a space of the musicality of life, a biomusical space. (AU)

El artículo presenta formas sobre la producción de cuidado para padres y bebés. Inicialmente se presenta el concepto de 'biomusicalidad', trayendo a escena la visión de la vida tejida en contrapuntos, a partir de los signos-señales afectivos provenientes de las relaciones. Las perspectivas de la Terapia Gestalt, la Musicoterapia y las Filosofías de la Inmanencia sostienen las experiencias de la producción del cuidado para padres y bebés. Se problematiza la cuestión de la producción de nuevas temporalidades en las relaciones entre padres y madres, con el fin de producir cuidados donde la subjetividad de los niños se 'afecta' por campos vitales de experiencia. Experiencias impulsadas por la potencia del deseo de descubrimiento, la búsqueda de la novedad, el deseo de conexión con algo en el entorno que puede nutrir. Experiencias de la potencia del devenir-niño que habita en los adultos y que se puede ser despertado por los campos de afectación del espacio clínico. El artículo propone el desarrollo de una Scientia Patibilis Natura como una Ciencia del Alma Sensible. Ciencia aliada a una 'fenomenología biomusical' que guía y excita las conciencias sensibles de los padres para la producción de una conciencia sensible mutua, una awareness colectiva. Experiencias que producen un estimulante espacio clínico, espacio de la relación, espacio de lo sagrado, espacio de la musicalidad de la vida, espacio biomusical. (AU)

Perception of sibilant-liquid phonotactic frequency in full-term and preterm infants.

We examined full-term and preterm infants' perception of frequent and infrequent phonotactic pairings involving sibilants and liquids. Infants were tested on their preference for syllables with onsets involving /s/ or /ʃ/ followed by /l/ or /r/ using the Headturn Preference Procedure. Full-term infants preferred the frequent to the infrequent phonotactic pairings at 9 months, but not at either younger or older ages. Evidence was inconclusive regarding a possible difference between full-term and preterm samples; however, limitations on the preterm sample size limited our power to detect differences. Preference for the frequent pairing was not related to later vocabulary development.

A plausible pathway of imprinted behaviors: Skin-to-skin actions of the newborn immediately after birth follow the order of fetal development and intrauterine training of movements.

We hypothesize that the competence of a newborn in the first hours after birth is the direct result of behavior training that begins during the first 12 weeks of fetal life. Correlation of Widström's 9 Instinctive Stages (behaviors of the full-term newborn during the first hours after birth) with the developmental movements during fetal life demonstrate that the fetus is invested in learning specific tasks, in a specific order, that are evolutionarily necessary for survival during the first hour and beyond.

In-Hospital Feeding Practices of Infants Born to Mothers With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Evaluating Policy Implementation Effectiveness.

OBJECTIVES: Women with diabetes in pregnancy may experience unique breastfeeding challenges. Few studies have examined the effectiveness of hospital policy to support breastfeeding in this patient population. This study aimed 1) to describe infant feeding practices of mother-infant pairs with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or type 2 diabetes in pregnancy before and after introduction of an in-hospital policy and, 2) to compare feeding practices before and after policy introduction. METHODS: A retrospective chart audit of mother-infant pairs (n=120) was performed: 60 at 1 year before and 60 after policy introduction. The primary outcome was provision of breast milk at discharge; a chi-square test was completed to compare pre- and postpolicy groups. Secondary outcomes included participant and infant feeding characteristics. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the number of infants receiving breast milk at discharge between pre- (58% [35 of 60]) and postpolicy (58% [35 of 60]) groups (p=0.64). The number of infants receiving breast milk exclusively throughout the hospital stay also did not differ by group (37% [22 of 60] before; and 43% [26 of 60] after; p=0.39). Information for each feed was infrequently recorded in charts for the method of feeding (34% [704 of 2,064]), infant state (96% [1,991 of 2,064]) and feeding description (96% [1,987 of 2,064]). CONCLUSIONS: This practice-based research has highlighted a need for continuation of this work, examining an in-hospital policy to support breastfeeding in those with GDM or type 2 diabetes in pregnancy. Initially, feedback could be collected from health-care providers to understand perceived facilitators and barriers to policy application and the use of job aids (e.g. record keeping tools).

A novel neurobehavioral framework of the effects of positive early postnatal experience on incentive and consummatory reward sensitivity.

Early postnatal experience has a profound influence on the development of organisms. In this integration, we provide a novel framework of the neurobehavioral pathways through which positive early postnatal experience acts to enhance adult reward sensitivity. The heterogeneity of the construct of reward and the underlying neurotransmitter systems (i.e., dopamine in incentive reward, opioids in consummatory reward, and oxytocin in orienting the reward systems to social cues) are first described as a means of organizing the discussion. Then, for each neurotransmitter system, their early postnatal ontogenesis is depicted for identifying potential sensitive periods for the effects of early experience. This is followed by the presentation of a model of the neurobehavioral foundation of two main forms of positive early postnatal experience that, with their essential components - novelty and positive tactile stimulation, facilitate the development of incentive and consummatory reward systems. Next, a detailed analysis of the major effects of positive early prewean and postwean experience on the neural and behavioral functioning of each neurotransmitter system is reviewed. The data support the neurobehavioral model presented, which theorizes that essential components of positive early experience enhance incentive and consummatory reward sensitivities through early activation of particular neural pathways. These activity-dependent effects are sustained via structural modifications of underlying neural circuitries.

Maternal Voice and Infant Sleep in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 10% of US newborns require a NICU. We evaluated whether the NICU acoustic environment affects neonatal sleep and whether exposure to the mother's voice can modulate that impact. METHODS: In a level IV NICU with single-infant rooms, 47 neonates underwent 12-hour polysomnography. Their mothers were recorded reading children's books. Continuous maternal voice playback was randomized to either the first or second 6 hours of the polysomnogram. Regression models were used to examine sleep-wake stages, entropy, EEG power, and the probability of awakening in response to ambient noise during and without voice playback. RESULTS: After epochs with elevated noise, the probability was higher with (versus without) maternal voice exposure of neonates staying asleep (P = .009). However, the 20 neonates born at ≥35 weeks' gestation, in contrast to those born at 33 to 34 weeks, showed an age-related increase in percent time awake (R 2 = 0.52; P < .001), a decrease in overall sleep (R 2 = 0.52; P < .001), a reduction in rapid eye movement sleep bouts per hour (R 2 = 0.35; P = .003), and an increase in sleep-wake entropy (R 2 = 0.52; P < .001) all confined solely to the 6 hours of maternal voice exposure. These associations remained significant (P = .02 to P < .001) after adjustment for neurologic examination scores and ambient noise. CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalized newborns born at ≥35 weeks' gestation but not at 33 to 34 weeks' gestation show increasing wakefulness in response to their mother's voice. However, exposure to the mother's voice during sleep may also help protect newborns from awakening after bursts of loud hospital noise.

Biomarkers of neonatal stress assessment: A prospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Early diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia, the major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity, might be improved by the detection of neonatal stress biomarkers such as cardiac troponin (CTn)T, CTnI, NT-Terminal-pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-pro-BNP), copeptin, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). However, reference values in neonates are lacking. The objective of our study was therefore to establish a reference range of these biomarkers in healthy full term newborns and to analyze the influence of delivery mode on their cord blood concentrations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: CTnT, CTnI, NT-pro-BNP, Copeptin and hs-CRP levels were determined in 201 neonates enrolled in this prospective study and correlated to the delivery mode and post-natal outcome. RESULTS: Using the 99th percentile, the upper reference limit in healthy newborns was established for all biomarkers. Neonates born after complicated delivery had significantly higher values of CTnT, CTnI and Copeptin than those born after uncomplicated delivery. In the multiple regression models with CTnT as dependent variable, the delivery mode was the statistically significant independent variable. CONCLUSION: In this study, we established reference values of cord blood concentrations of cardiac stress biomarkers in healthy newborns. We showed that cardiac-related birth stress is dependent on delivery mode.

Fusing autonomy and sociality via embodied emergence and development of behaviour and cognition from fetal period.

Human-centred AI/Robotics are quickly becoming important. Their core claim is that AI systems or robots must be designed and work for the benefits of humans with no harm or uneasiness. It essentially requires the realization of autonomy, sociality and their fusion at all levels of system organization, even beyond programming or pre-training. The biologically inspired core principle of such a system is described as the emergence and development of embodied behaviour and cognition. The importance of embodiment, emergence and continuous autonomous development is explained in the context of developmental robotics and dynamical systems view of human development. We present a hypothetical early developmental scenario that fills in the very beginning part of the comprehensive scenarios proposed in developmental robotics. Then our model and experiments on emergent embodied behaviour are presented. They consist of chaotic maps embedded in sensory-motor loops and coupled via embodiment. Behaviours that are consistent with embodiment and adaptive to environmental structure emerge within a few seconds without any external reward or learning. Next, our model and experiments on human fetal development are presented. A precise musculo-skeletal fetal body model is placed in a uterus model. Driven by spinal nonlinear oscillator circuits coupled together via embodiment, somatosensory signals are evoked and learned by a model of the cerebral cortex with 2.6 million neurons and 5.3 billion synapses. The model acquired cortical representations of self-body and multi-modal sensory integration. This work is important because it models very early autonomous development in realistic detailed human embodiment. Finally, discussions toward human-like cognition are presented including other important factors such as motivation, emotion, internal organs and genetic factors. This article is part of the theme issue 'From social brains to social robots: applying neurocognitive insights to human-robot interaction'.

Cortical route for facelike pattern processing in human newborns.

Humans are endowed with an exceptional ability for detecting faces, a competence that, in adults, is supported by a set of face-specific cortical patches. Human newborns, already shortly after birth, preferentially orient to faces, even when they are presented in the form of highly schematic geometrical patterns vs. perceptually equivalent nonfacelike stimuli. The neural substrates underlying this early preference are still largely unexplored. Is the adult face-specific cortical circuit already active at birth, or does its specialization develop slowly as a function of experience and/or maturation? We measured EEG responses in 1- to 4-day-old awake, attentive human newborns to schematic facelike patterns and nonfacelike control stimuli, visually presented with slow oscillatory "peekaboo" dynamics (0.8 Hz) in a frequency-tagging design. Despite the limited duration of newborns' attention, reliable frequency-tagged responses could be estimated for each stimulus from the peak of the EEG power spectrum at the stimulation frequency. Upright facelike stimuli elicited a significantly stronger frequency-tagged response than inverted facelike controls in a large set of electrodes. Source reconstruction of the underlying cortical activity revealed the recruitment of a partially right-lateralized network comprising lateral occipitotemporal and medial parietal areas overlapping with the adult face-processing circuit. This result suggests that the cortical route specialized in face processing is already functional at birth.

Investigation of the effect of training attachment behaviors to pregnant mothers on some physical indicators of their infants from birth to three months based on the separation of male and female infants.

BACKGROUND: Maternal attachment to the fetus during pregnancy improves infant's growth and development and is an important criterion for public health. The aim is to investigate the effect of training attachment behaviors to pregnant women on some growth health indicators of infants. METHODS: This is a clinical trial with convenience sampling which was conducted on 190 pregnant women in Hafez Hospital in Shiraz who randomly classified into intervention and control groups. For the intervention group, 6 sessions of 90-min classes were held. After delivery, both groups were compared in terms of physical growth (weight, height, head circumference) at birth, one and three months after birth. The data were analyzed using repeated Measurement. RESULTS: Weight increase in female infants in the intervention group compared to the control group was significant at birth (p = 0.016), one month (p = 0.010) and three months after birth (p = 0.014). Height increase in female infants in the intervention group compared to the control group was significant at birth (p = 0.025), one month (p < 0.001) and three months after birth (p = 0.009). Male gender was not statistically significant in any age group but it increased the size of the head circumference of three-month-old infants. CONCLUSION: Training of attachment skills to mothers improves height and weight of female infants in three steps. The average index for boys in the intervention group was higher than that of control group, but it was not significant.

The frequency-following response (FFR) to speech stimuli: A normative dataset in healthy newborns.

The Frequency-Following Response (FFR) is a neurophonic auditory evoked potential that reflects the efficient encoding of speech sounds and is disrupted in a range of speech and language disorders. This raises the possibility to use it as a potential biomarker for literacy impairment. However, reference values for comparison with the normal population are not yet established. The present study pursues the collection of a normative database depicting the standard variability of the newborn FFR. FFRs were recorded to /da/ and /ga/ syllables in 46 neonates born at term. Seven parameters were retrieved in the time and frequency domains, and analyzed for normality and differences between stimuli. A comprehensive normative database of the newborn FFR is offered, with most parameters showing normal distributions and similar robust responses for /da/ and /ga/ stimuli. This is the first normative database of the FFR to characterize normal speech sound processing during the immediate postnatal days, and corroborates the possibility to record the FFRs in neonates at the maternity hospital room. This normative database constitutes the first step towards the detection of early FFR abnormalities in newborns that would announce later language impairment, allowing early preventive measures from the first days of life.