Mothers' responses to babies' crying: Benefiting from and getting over childhood experiences

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 10-Sep-2014

Contact: Hannah Klein
Society for Research in Child Development
Mothers' responses to babies' crying: Benefiting from and getting over childhood experiences

Research has told us that infants whose mothers respond quickly, consistently, and warmly when they cry have healthier emotional development than infants whose mothers are less sensitive to their cries. A new study has found that mothers whose childhood experiences with caregivers was positive and those who have come to terms with negative experiences are more infant-oriented when they see videos of babies crying and respond more sensitively to their own babies' cries.

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"Responding sensitively to infant crying is a difficult yet important task," notes Esther M. Leerkes, professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who led the study. "Some mothers may need help controlling their own distress and interpreting babies' crying as an attempt to communicate need or discomfort. Home visiting programs or parenting classes that help parents become more aware of stress and teach ways to reduce it, as well as individualized parent education efforts, may help build these skills."

Mothers who experienced depression or had difficulty controlling their emotions responded to videos of babies crying by focusing on themselves rather than seeing the needs of the distressed babies as the priority. Mothers whose physical stress was poorly controlled (measured, for example, by skin conductance—how much sweat was on their skin in response to the stress—and rapid heart rate) in response to the videos were also more likely to focus on themselves and responded more negatively to the videos (they perceived crying as a nuisance or manipulation). In addition, mothers who responded more negatively and focused more on themselves prenatally were less sensitive to their own infants when the babies were 6 months old.

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tags: child abuse

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