An experimental study of vocal communication between mother and infant monkeys (Macaca nemestrina)

Vocal communication was studied in six feral-born mother monkeys (Macaca nemestrina) and their three- to four-month-old infants in tests which employed two sound-shielded rooms equipped with microphones and speakers. The mothers' locomotor activity levels were measured as activity counts, and vocalizations of mothers and infants were recorded under three conditions: mothers in two-way auditory communication with their own infants, in two-way auditory communication with other infants of matched sex and age, and without communication. Mothers' vocalizations and activity counts during auditory access were correlated with the number of infants' vocalizations in the same tests. Mothers' activity counts were higher with auditory access to an infant. However, neither activity counts nor vocalizations of mothers differed when in communication with their own infants from the same measures when in communication with matched infants. Neither mothers nor infants vocalized differently, either qualitatively or quantitatively, in the three conditions.     

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCI—Familial Infections Caused by Exposure of Babies in Hospital Nurseries

An antibiotic resistant staphylococcus with bacteriophage pattern 52/42B/80/81^* is frequently responsible for infectious outbreaks in the newborn nursery. Some time after an outbreak had occurred in the University of California''s hospital nursery, family members of the infants were found to be infected with this strain. Two families were studied in detail. In one of them, infection developed in six of the seven members within eight months after the infant''s arrival. In the other, half of the family members had recurrent infections during a 13-month period.Infants who left the nursery as asymptomatic carriers were found as likely to transmit the infectious strain as those with clinical infection. Considerable time sometimes elapsed before infection developed in either the infant or the family members. In one instance the first familial infection occurred six months after the infant had left the nursery as an asymptomatic carrier.Newborn infants are quite likely to disseminate antibiotic resistant staphylococci which they may acquire from a hospital nursery. Infections developing among persons in contact with a young infant must be treated with the possibility of a resistant hospital staphylococcus in mind.     

Mating season effects on mother-infant conflict in Japanese macaques,Macaca fuscata

The impact of seasonal mating on the mother-infant relationship during the first year of the infant's life was documented in a confined troop of Japanese macaques. During the weeks in which the mothers were being mounted, negative behaviour directed towards the infants increased. As maternal rejections and punishments escalated, the infants displayed regressive behaviour (showing signs of distress more frequently). Infants also groomed their mothers at an increased rate at this time. Behaviour that indicated increased independence did not show increases during this time. Moreover, behaviour negatively associated with independence, such as ventral contact and proximity to the mother, remained stable throughout this time period. The mother-infant relationship undergoes a period of conflict during the mating season not because the mother is weaning her infant, but because it is to her reproductive advantage to regulate the times in which the infant is allowed to suckle.     

Peer separation in infant chimpanzees,a pilot study

Seven nursery reared chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), 7.5 to 10.5 months of age, were studied to determine the effects of a short period of separation from their peers on behavior and heart rate. The chimpanzees were separated from their mothers at birth, and reared in the nursery in a group living environment. The experiment encompassed a 13-day period, including 4 days of normative baseline, 5 days during which three of the infants were separated and housed in isolation while the other four controls remained together, and 4 days in which all of the animals were reunited. Six quantified behavioral observations and five heart rate measurements were obtained daily. Following separation, the isolated infants were behaviorally agitated, and exhibited increases in vocalizations, rocking and self-clasp behaviors, as well as changes in facial expression including cry face, whimper face and pout face. Time spent locomoting decreased in all seven animals during the separation period. Agitated behavior in the separated and isolated infants alternated with stationary withdrawn behavior. Individual differences were prominent. Heart rate was notable by the generally poorly developed circadian rhythmicity throughout the 13 day period; significant HR changes did not appear otherwise associated with separation. Day three of separation appeared to represent a point of transition with stereotyped motor behaviors developing in the three isolated infants and in one control infant.     

Effects of age,rearing, and separation stress on immunoglobulin levels in rhesus monkeys

The study reported here examined the effect of different rearing conditions and psychological stress on immunoglobulin levels in rhesus monkey infants. In the first experiment, 24 rhesus neonates were placed in one of the three following rearing conditions: Separated from their mothers and reared in the laboratory nursery; kept with their biological mothers; or removed at birth from their biological mothers and cross-fostered to adoptive rhesus mothers. Plasma samples were obtained from the nursery-reared infants immediately after birth and at weekly intervals for the next 30 days. Samples were also obtained from mother-reared and foster-reared infants on days 15 and 29. All samples were tested for IgG and IgM levels. The results indicated that neither rearing nor diet affected Ig levels. IgG levels were highest at birth and decreased progressively for the first 30 days, suggesting that placental transfer of maternal IgG is the critical determinant of IgG levels in primate infants as in humans. IgM changes were also similar to those in human infants: Low levels at birth, a significant increase from birth to day 15, and a moderate decline from day 15 to day 30. When IgG levels and IgM levels were correlated across the first month, many significant correlations were found which were consistent with human data relating both infant IgG and IgM levels to infant maturation. In the second experiment, 11 of the previously tested nursery infants were subjected to four consecutive social separations from peer groups at 6 months of age. Plasma samples were obtained before and after the first and fourth weeks of separation and tested for IgG and IgM levels. Small but significant decreases in both immunoglobulins were detected after 4 days of separation, particularly on the fourth week.     

Location-restricted dyadic interactions and maternal patterns

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of infant restraint on dyadic interactions and maternal foraging patterns. Five bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) mother-infant dyads were observed under three conditions: high foraging demand for the mothers with nonrestrained contact between mothers and infants (HFD-NRC), high foraging demand with restrained contact (HFD-RC), and low foraging demand with restrained contact (LFD-RC). In the restrained contact conditions the infants lived in a nursery within the group pen that allowed dyadic nursing, contact, proximity, and grooming, but prevented the infants from being with their mothers in the remaining portions of the pen, including the foraging area. Observations began when the infants were a mean of 5.4 months old. HFD-RC resulted in decreased dyadic contact relative to HFD-NRC, but did not significantly affect foraging task engagement; there were, however, marked individual differences in the response patterns of the mothers. Dyadic contact was also decreased during the LFD-RC condition, but maternal patterns under low demand resulted in lower levels of infant contact initiation. This study demonstrated the feasibility of a nursery-restrained rearing paradigm in exploring the strategic patterns of coping with conflicting environmental and maternal demands in bonnet macaque mothers. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The process of weaning in hanuman langursPresbytis entellus entellus

Twelve langur infants (seven males and five females) of three focal bisexual unimale troops of Hanuman langurs,Presbytis entellus entellus living near Kailana, Jodhpur, Rajasthan (India) were observed for their weaning behaviour. Weaning starts between 7.0 to 10.0 months of age, average 8.6 months. The process of weaning lasts between 3.2 to 5.6 months, average 4.2 months. A 13-month-old infant is fully weaned. Infants are independent at this age. Male infants are weaned earlier compared to females. Males react to their mothers' rejections more fearlessly and are more vocal compared to females. By and large, infants were found in stress during this period as their mothers are often very harsh, hostile, punitive, and indifferent to their infants. By severing ties with their infants, mothers serve dual purpose of allowing their infants to become independent and may be to become ready to bear offspring.     

Light and magnetic fields in a neonatal intensive care unit

Effects of light and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on pineal function could have implications for long-term risk of breast cancer, reproductive irregularities, or depression. Health-care workers in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were interviewed to determine the tasks, work locations, and practices in their work environment as well as the care provided to the infants. After an initial visit, methods for measuring illuminance, luminance, and broadband resultant magnetic fields throughout the NICU were developed. Measurements were made of one nursery during a daytime (1:00 p.m.) and a night-time (12:30 a.m.) visit. Measurements relevant to both nurses and premature infants in the NICU were made. Some measurements could not be completed so as not to interfere with nurses' duties in the NICU. Illuminances measured during the daytime and nighttime averaged 184 and 34 lux (lx), respectively, much lower than those reported in other studies of illuminance in NICUs, with a maximum illuminance of 747 lx. Peak levels may be consistent with those thought to suppress melatonin. There was a high degree of variability in EMF levels, which exceeded 1,000 mG close to certain hospital equipment but averaged 1–2 mG at the nurses' workstation. Fields within incubators exceeded 10 mG. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Changes in the rhesus mother-infant relationship through the first four months of life

Measurements of the course of interactions between rhesus monkey infants (Macaca mulatta) and their mothers during the infant's first 16 weeks showed changes in the tendencies of both partners to be together and apart. Referring only to the partner who was primarily responsible for an age-related change, by using a single index of responsibility for contact or proximity, was found to be an oversimplification. Maternal rejecting behaviour may have been primarily responsible for changes in the time spent apart only during the first 6 weeks. After the infants' sixth week, both partners' tendencies to be apart increased together. Infants then began to spend longer away partly to interact with social companions other than their mother. Mothers restricted and followed their infants more up to week 4, but after week 8 decreases in these measures allowed infants to spend longer away. Similarities between the time courses of the time spent apart from their mothers by rhesus infants in this study and in field studies are pointed out. The similarities seem striking partly because differences between studies that do not use confidence intervals (or standard errors) cannot be shown easily. Conflict between parent and infant occurred, but how it appears, and how significant it is in each species at each infant age, remains to be discovered.     

Early infant development and maternal care in free-ranging vervet monkeys

The interactions of infant vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) with their mothers were examined during the first 12 weeks of life. During this period there was a gradual rise in behaviour associated with increasing independence from the mother: female infants were slightly advanced over males on measures of decreasing contact with mothers and increasing rejections from the nipple. There were differences between the mothers in the ways they interacted with their infants such that no consistent maternal styles could be defined. Dominance rank of the mother did however influence her behaviour towards her infant, and high ranking mothers tended to be less rejecting towards sons, but more rejecting towards daughters, than were low ranking mothers. It is suggested that since vervet mothers have access to allomothers they may not be limited to dichotomous mothering styles.     

Egg and cows' milk hypersensitivity in exclusively breast fed infants with eczema,and detection of egg protein in breast milk.

Forty nine eczematous infants who were still solely and exclusively breast fed and who had never received anything but breast milk were studied for evidence of sensitisation to foods. Thirty four similar infants without eczema formed a control group. The eczematous infants were divided into three groups according to clinical criteria: (1) definite atopic eczema; (2) possible atopic eczema; (3) atopic eczema unlikely. Twenty three infants showed cutaneous hypersensitivity to foods, usually egg and cows'' milk. Seven of 14 infants in group 1 and nine of 20 in group 2 were sensitised compared with four of 15 in group 3 and three of 34 controls (p less than 0.01). Ovalbumin was detected in breast milk from 14 of 19 mothers tested after ingestion of egg, the concentrations being the same for mothers feeding eczematous and normal infants. Breast fed babies developing eczema may be sensitised by foods eaten by their mothers.     

Individual and group effects on early caregiver-infant relationships in red-bellied tamarin monkeys

The relationship between changes in caregiver-caregiver and caregiver-infant behaviour was studied during the infants' first month in 10 family groups of red-bellied tamarins, Saguinus labiatus, with twin infants. With infants of a given age, fathers generally spent a higher proportion of time carrying per infant than did mothers, but in most cases these differences were not significant. Mothers and fathers carried significantly more than older siblings did at the beginning and end of the infants' first month. With older infants, caregivers started to rub off infants they were carrying, so that infants started to spend some time off all caregivers. Each caregiver initiated carrying by retrieving an infant from another caregiver, and sometimes retained an infant against a retrieve attempt by another caregiver in order to continue carrying it. Before infants started to spend some time off, time spent carrying by mothers, fathers and older siblings was positively correlated with the percentage of retrieve attempts by other caregivers that they retained against, and, more strongly, with the value of their own number of retains minus the number of retains by other caregivers against them. These results indicate that competition to care for infants has a direct effect on the early development of each caregiver-infant relationship within the family group.     

Mother-infant contact and maternal maintenance activities among free-ranging rhesus monkeys

Mother-infant dyads were observed among three populations of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) in India and Nepal. Physical contact between mothers and infants, essential for effective maternal care in rhesus, was found to be influenced by the mothers' feeding behavior. As early as the second week of life, infants exhibited a diminished probability of being in contact with their mothers if their mothers were feeding rather than resting. Rhesus mothers disproportionately rejected their infants within feeding contexts, indicating that mothers were actively discouraging contact attempts by their infants during feeding bouts—perhaps because an active infant, if it remained in contact, would diminish its mother's foraging efficiency. In contrast to the mothers' feeding behavior, mother-infant contact was found to be little influenced by maternal locomotion. Most infants were found to be neither disproportionately in, nor out of contact while their mothers were in motion. However, as the amount of time mothers spent walking increased, so did the probability that infants would be carried. These data suggest that rhesus mothers behave so as to minimize their energetic costs during locomotion.     

Multiprofessional training for breastfeeding management in primary care in the UK

Upon hospital discharge it is not unusual for mothers of preterm infants to continue to meet all or most of their infants' nutritional needs through bottle feedings of expressed breast milk (EBM) because of infants' physiological immaturity and maternal concerns with an inadequacy of milk supply. Although for some mothers the challenge of transitioning the infant to feeding at the breast may be beyond their ability and resources, for others it appears to be based on a conscious choice. Mothers are often unaware of the advantages of breastfeeding at the breast. The purpose of this article is to examine some of the factors that may contribute to the inability and resistance of mothers to transition their preterm infants, and to report on the potential short and long-term advantages associated with feeding at the breast as opposed to feeding bottles of EBM.     

Hospital-Based Program to Increase Child Safety Restraint Use among Birthing Mothers in China

Objective

To evaluate a hospital-based educational program to increase child safety restraint knowledge and use among birthing mothers.

Methods

A prospective experimental and control study was performed in the Obstetrics department of hospitals. A total of 216 new birthing mothers from two hospitals (114 from intervention hospital and 102 from comparison hospital) were recruited and enrolled in the study. Intervention mothers received a height chart, an 8-minute video and a folded pamphlet regarding child safety restraint use during their hospital stay after giving birth. Evaluation data on the child safety seat (CSS) awareness, attitudes, and use were collected among both groups before and after the intervention. An additional phone interview was conducted among the intervention mothers two months after discharge.

Results

No significant differences existed between groups when comparing demographics. Over 90% of the intervention mothers found the educational intervention to be helpful to some extent. A significantly higher percentage of mothers in the intervention than the comparison group reported that CSS are necessary and are the safest seating practice. Nearly 20% of the intervention mothers actually purchased CSS for their babies after the intervention. While in both the intervention and comparison group, over 80% of mothers identified the ages of two through five as needing CSS, fewer than 50% of both groups identified infants as needing CSS, even after the intervention.

Conclusion

The results indicated that child safety restraint education implemented in hospitals helps increase birthing mothers'' overall knowledge and use of CSS. Further efforts are needed to address specific age-related needs to promote car seats use among infants.     

Discrimination of mother by infant among Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Experiments on five mother-infant pairs of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata)living together in a captive group were conducted during the first 12 weeks after birth in order to assess the time at which infants begin to discriminate their own mothers from other adult females. After removal from their social group, infants exposed to their mothers and three unfamiliar adult females at a distance of 150 cm failed to orient visually toward their mothers. However, when the infants were allowed to approach the four females, they responded preferentially to their mothers during the third month of life. We concluded that by 8–12 weeks of age, infant Japanese macaques are able to discriminate between their mothers and other adult females.     

Breast-feeding and respiratory syncytial virus infection.

The pattern of breast-feeding in 127 infants admitted to hospital with respiratory syncytial virus infection was compared with that in 503 age-matched controls. Thirty per cent of children with infection had been breast-fed compared with 49% of controls. The approximate relative risk of being admitted to hospital with respiratory syncytial virus infection if not breast-fed was 2.2. Several other factors were also considered, including an assessment of maternal care and home environment; the mother''s age, marital state, and smoking habits; the number of siblings; and gestation. Adverse factors were all associated with an increased risk of admission with infection, but breast-feeding still appeared to provide protection after controlling for these other factors in turn. These findings provide further support for encouraging mothers to breast-feed their infants and should prompt further studies into the immune status of mothers and into the nature of the protective factors in their breast milk.     

Effect of night and day on preterm infants in a newborn nursery: randomised trial.

The effect of alternating night and day on sleep, feeding, and weight gain in 41 healthy preterm infants was examined in a randomised controlled trial. Twenty infants from a night and day nursery, where the intensity of light and noise was reduced between 7 pm and 7 am, spent longer sleeping and less time feeding and gained more weight than 21 infants from a control nursery, where the intensity of light and noise was not reduced. Differences were significant and became apparent only after discharge home; they were still present three months after the expected date of delivery, when infants from the night and day nursery were an average of 0.5 kg heavier (p less than 0.02). These findings suggest that physical environment has an effect (either direct or indirect) on the subsequent behaviour of preterm infants and that exposure to night and day is beneficial.     

Psychosocial predisposing factors for infantile colic.

OBJECTIVE--To study associations between characteristics of families during the first pregnancy and after childbirth and the development of infantile colic. DESIGN--Randomised, stratified cluster sampling. Follow up from the first visit to a maternity health care clinic during pregnancy to three months after birth with confidential semistructured questionnaires. SETTING--Maternity health care clinics in primary health care centres in Finland. SUBJECTS--1443 nulliparous women and 1407 partners. Altogether 1333 women and 1279 men returned the questionnaires. When the infants were 3 months old 1208 women and 1115 men returned questionnaires. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Marital relationship; personal and social behaviour of parents during the pregnancy and their coping with the pregnancy; mothers'' physical health and events, symptoms, and experiences in relation to pregnancy; self confidence and experiences of mothers and fathers in relation to childbirth; and parents'' sociodemographic and educational variables. Measure of colic when the infant was 3 months old. RESULTS--Experience of stress and physical symptoms during the pregnancy, dissatisfaction with the sexual relationship, and negative experiences during childbirth were associated with the development of colic in the baby. None of the sociodemographic factors was associated with colic. CONCLUSIONS--Early preventive health work during pregnancy should attempt to improve parents'' tolerance of symptoms of stress and ability to cope and increase their confidence in parenting abilities.     

Effect of maternal dietary exclusion on breast fed infants with eczema: two controlled studies.

Thirty seven breast fed infants with eczema were studied to see whether changes in their mothers'' diets affected their skin condition. Nineteen mothers and babies took part in a double blind crossover trial of exclusion of egg and cows'' milk, and 18 took part in open exclusion of 11 foods followed by double blind challenge to those mothers whose infants seemed to respond. Babies were examined at the beginning and end of each dietary period, and the extent and severity of the rash were given a numerical score. The eczema improved in six infants when their mothers avoided egg and cows'' milk and worsened again when these were reintroduced. Two infants suffered gastrointestinal reactions after maternal ingestion of egg and cows'' milk, one developing colitis. Maternal dietary exclusion seems to benefit some breast fed babies with eczema.