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PubMed2001

Factors affecting maternal role attainment among low-income, Thai, HIV-positive mothers.

This phenomenological study used content analysis of interview data to explore factors affecting maternal role attainment in a convenience sample of 39 low-income, Thai, HIV-positive mothers selected for their successful adaptation. All mothers reported feeling comfortable in their maternal roles and achieved greater than 80% of the total score on the Maternal Behavioral Questionnaire. In-depth interviews were conducted regarding the life experience of the mothers. The results revealed the mothers' uses of internal and external resources to attain their maternal roles. Six factors were identified: (a) setting a purpose for life, that is, to raise the infant; (b) keeping secrets from others; (c) a feeling of normalization; (d) having good quality of support from others; (e) having hope for an HIV cure; and (f) receiving accessible, pleasant health services that protect anonymity regarding HIV status. The results suggest that nurses can promote maternal role attainment by supporting the mothers' management style.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1995

Aggression in the lactating female rat: the normal decline is not dependent on the physical development of the pups.

Female rats that had been assessed for aggression on two occasions during pregnancy were also assessed for aggressiveness toward an unfamiliar adult female on days 5, 12, and 19 of lactation. Each female had its litter of pups exchanged for another litter on days 10 and 17 following parturition. Half of the females received pups that were 2 days old. The other half received pups of the same age as those taken away. Aggression by females of the two groups declined at a similar rate during the period of lactation. Retrieval of a group of seven 6-day-old pups following the last aggression test was present in females whose litter had been replaced with 2-day-old pups but not in females whose litter had been replaced with same-age pups. Lactation was maintained in all females during the three weeks following parturition but declined to a level that was not sufficient to maintain growth following the normal 21 day lactation period. A single set of biological or stimulus variables does not maintain all aspects of maternal behavior. Physical and behavioral maturation of the pups does not appear responsible for the decline in maternal aggression during the final two weeks of lactation.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Prematurity stereotyping and mothers' interactions with their premature and full-term infants during the first year.

OBJECTIVE: To longitudinally assess stability and correlates of prematurity stereotyping and perceptions of infant vulnerability in mothers of premature (N = 56) and full-term (N = 59) infants. METHOD: At 5, 9, and 12 months, mothers rated videotapes of unfamiliar infants with a full-term label (FTL) or a preterm label (PL), interacted with their own infant, and completed other questionnaires. A subgroup of infants were administered a developmental assessment at 32 months. RESULTS: Mothers rated PL infants more negatively than FTL infants at each age. Individual differences in stereotyping were not stable. Mothers who negatively rated infants labeled with the same birth status of their own infants exhibited more negative interactive behaviors with their infants. Mothers who viewed their own infant as more vulnerable and who showed more prematurity stereotyping at 5 months had infants with lower 32-month mental scores. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest an association between early maternal cognitions and both contemporaneous maternal behavior and later child developmental outcomes.

Female↗

PubMed1986

Maternal anxiety and sensitive mothering behavior in diabetic and nondiabetic women.

To evaluate the effects of a high-risk pregnancy on development of the maternal-infant relationship, the differences in anxiety, sensitive maternal behavior, and maternal separation anxiety in diabetic and nondiabetic mothers were examined. The findings imply that a high-risk pregnancy may not always be accompanied by increased anxiety or disturbances in sensitive maternal behavior. Questions are raised regarding the influences of demographic factors on maternal behavior and the differences that chronic versus sudden onset high-risk pregnancy factors might have on maternal anxiety and behavior. The findings also reinforce the influence of supportive medical and nursing care throughout a high-risk pregnancy.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2000

The broken mouse: the role of development, plasticity and environment in the interpretation of phenotypic changes in knockout mice.

With the advent of gene knockout technology has arisen the problem of how to interpret the resulting phenotypic changes in mice lacking specific genes. This problem is especially relevant when applied to behavioral phenotypes of knockout mice, which are difficult to interpret. Of particular interest are the roles of development and compensatory changes, as well as other factors, such as the influence of the gene knockout on nearby genes, the effect of the genetic background strain, maternal behavioral influences, and pleiotrophy.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Mother-child interactive patterns in abusive families versus nonabusive families: an observational study.

The interest in aspects relative to the maintenance of aversive family interactions is common among investigators who, from many different fronts, treat child and family issues. If these interactions end in episodes of physical abuse of a child by his/her parents, the need to quickly detect these patterns of family violence in order to prevent and treat them is all the more urgent. The present work falls within this context and focuses on a detailed analysis of behavior in the home of both the abusive mother and the victimized child. In line with recent investigations, the work also centers on the analysis of the actual mother-child interaction by carrying out a focused analysis of the behavior of the dyad given that these behaviors greatly affect each other. The study was conducted with a group of 23 mother-child dyads that presented episodes of physical abuse towards the child, and a control group of 24 dyads that did not present any interactional problems. The dyads were observed at home by a group of trained observers using the SOC III system of direct observation (Standardized Observation Codes IIIrd revision, Cerezo, 1991; Cerezo, Keesler, Dunn, & Wahler, 1986). Three stepwise discriminant function analyses were carried out for the variables relative to the maternal behavior, the child's behavior, and the measurement of the mother-child sequence of interaction. The results indicate that behaviors with a negative valence better classify the subjects into the groups to which they belong, obtaining a better classification when the variables relative to the interaction are used in the analysis. It can be concluded that it is necessary to include this measurement in future analysis due to its great classificatory and predictive value.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

The rationale for culling of rodent litters.

Based on a review of the pertinent literature and our own unpublished data, it is recommended that culling of rodent litters in the early postnatal period should be a standard practice in delivery-type reproduction studies. This, in turn, will reduce the litter size-induced variability in the growth and development of pups during the postnatal period and thus increase the sensitivity of statistical analyses to detect treatment-related effects. This will also ensure that any adverse effects on pup growth (body weight gain) and development (reflex and behavior development) are not masked by a treatment-induced reduction in litter size. The culling should be carried out randomly and no attempt should be made to selectively cull sick or underweight pups. Since male pups weigh significantly more than females and studies have shown differences in maternal behavior toward one sex over the other, whenever possible each culled litter should consist of an equal number of males and females.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Morphine treatment and reproductive condition alter olfactory preferences for pup and adult male odors in female rats.

Administration of morphine sulfate (MS) to pregnancy-terminated and postpartum lactating female rats disrupts both maternal behavior and postpartum aggression. Since the display of these behaviors may be heavily dependent on olfactory cues provided by the stimulus animals (rat pups and adult male rats, respectively), we examined whether MS was affecting the perception of the olfactory stimuli, and whether olfactory perception was modified by reproductive condition. In Experiment 1, lactating rats had their pups removed and were injected with MS (5.0 mg/kg, sc.) or saline. 60 min later they were placed into a two-choice apparatus, one side of which contained bedding soiled by neonates and the other clean bedding. Time spent on each side was recorded for a total of 5 min (300 s; chance = 150 s). Saline-treated mothers spent significantly more time on the pup-odor side, whereas MS-treated females spent significantly less. In Experiment 2, lactating females were treated with MS or saline and exposed to male odors (soiled bedding). MS significantly increased time spent on the side with male odors; when treated with saline, time spent was significantly reduced. Thus, in lactating rats. MS creates an aversion for pup odors while reducing the female's normal aversion toward male odors. In Experiment 3, ovariectomized (ovx) virgin females expressed neither an aversion nor a preference for the odor of pups following saline administration. After MS treatment, however, the virgins showed a distinct preference for pup odors. When exposed to male odors in Experiment 4 ovx virgins showed a marked preference for male odors after MS treatment, and neither a preference nor an aversion after saline. Experiment 5 examined pup odor preferences in intact virgins, early (Day 7), middle (Day 14), late-pregnant (Day 21), and prepartum (Day 22) rats. The pup odor preferences of virgin, Day 7, Day 14, and Day 21 pregnant rats were not different and generally were at chance levels. Day 22 pregnant females exhibited a marked preference for pup odors compared to chance levels, as well as compared to the other four groups. These findings suggest that opiates and endogenous opioids may regulate olfactory preferences and that alterations in this system may underlie normal behavioral changes toward conspecifics prepartum as well as during lactation.

Animals↗

PubMed1980

Developmental, behavioral, and pharmacological characteristics of rat offspring from mothers receiving ethanol during gestation or lactation.

Ethanol solution (10 or 20% v/v) sweetened with .4% saccharin was given to female rats as the only source of fluid. In the 1st experiment the administration was throughout the gestation period. Developmental, behavioral, and pharmacological tests were performed with the offspring. Litters born from females of the experimental group showed a decrease in the mortality rate induced by pentylenetetrazol, in comparison with either pair-fed controls or an ad libitum control group. No other differences were detected. In the 2nd experiment the administration was throughout the lactation period. Pups raised by lactating mothers receiving ethanol showed a significant decrease in weight gain. Also, the maternal behavior of the ethanol-treated mothers, measured by nest-building and retrieval activities, showed a significant decrease when compared to pair-fed controls.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1986

Aberrant parenting and delayed offspring development in rats exposed to lithium.

Natural lithium (Li) salts, including those used routinely in manic depressive illness, consist of two stable nonradioactive isotopes: lithium-7 (Li-7) (92.6%) and lithium-6 (Li-6) (7.4%). Female rats (3 months old) were treated with either Li-7 chloride or Li-6 chloride or were untreated prior to and during gestation and lactation. Birth weights were lower for Li-treated animals than for normal pups. Maternal behavior of all Li-treated mothers was altered. Li-7 mothers ignored their pups and nursed them infrequently. Li-6 mothers groomed and nursed their pups more often than normal mothers. All pups showed delays in development, especially in the maturation of depth perception. Although Li-6-treated dams were over-protective mothers, their offspring showed longer developmental delays than those of Li-7-treated offspring.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Pubertal decline in maternal responsiveness in Long-Evans rats: maturational influences.

Latency to onset of maternal behavior increases progressively from the weanling to the peripubertal period in female and male Long-Evans rats. Gonadectomy or hypophysectomy on day 21 had no influence on the pubertal decline in maternal responsiveness. Apparently, inhibitory neural pathways mature which are independent of pituitary hormonal influences.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

The physiological role of relaxin in the pregnant rat. I. The influence of relaxin on parturition.

Length of gestation, duration of labor and delivery, and fetal survival were determined in control intact pregnant rats (group C). Pregnant rats were bilaterally ovariectomized on day 9 and given progesterone (P) implants and, in addition, one of the following injection regimens; estrogen (E; group OPE), E and porcine relaxin (R; group OPER), or porcine R (group OPR). Hormone treatments were given in doses designed to produce serum levels of these hormones similar to those observed in intact pregnant rats. The P implants were removed during the evening of day 21 to mimic the decline in serum P levels that normally occurs as a result of luteolysis. Animals in groups OPE and OPR exhibited significantly prolonged gestation, prolonged duration of labor and delivery, and reduced fetal survival compared with controls. Group OPER animals exhibited slightly but not significantly shorter length of gestation, similar duration of labor and delivery, and similar rate of fetal survival compared to control values. Group OPER animals showed normal maternal behavior and were able to suckle their young.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Factors associated with infections among breast-fed babies and babies fed proprietary milks.

Correlation of first postnatal year infections among 251 babies was made with the infant feeding mode, socioeconomic status of family, maternal educational level, age, and maternal behavioral factors including smoking habit and number of siblings in the family. Initially, 127 mothers intended to breast-feed and 124 intended to formula-feed their infants. In the correlation matrix maternal education was the highest variable inversely correlated with infection; it was the first to enter in stepwise regression analysis and was highly significant (P less than .0001). Maternal weight gain during pregnancy and infant feeding mode were the next two variables, respectively, to be added during the stepwise regression but they were not significant in the presence of maternal education. The statistical significance of increased maternal education in inverse relation to infection persisted in the presence of the other two factors (P less than .0064). The t test showed no significant difference in the number of infections among the breast-fed and formula-fed babies within any of the three maternal education groups. It may be concluded that in the population studied, the infant feeding mode itself was not significantly related to the number of infections during the infant's first postnatal year when the education of the mother was taken into account.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Attraction and repulsion by amniotic fluids and their olfactory control in the ewe around parturition.

The reaction of ewes towards amniotic fluids was studied in intact multiparous ewes in various physiological states (oestrus, luteal phase, mid-pregnancy and around parturition), using a test of preference for food associated or not with the presence of amniotic fluids in the food. Fluids were collected on alien newborn lambs. Results indicate that ewes are strongly repelled by amniotic fluid at all of the times tested except for a short period around parturition. Immediately before expulsion of the foetus ewes become strongly attracted by amniotic fluids. This attraction persists just after parturition, but fades within 4 hours in most animals. This attraction-repulsion behavior appears to rely heavily on olfactory cues. Ewes made anosmic with zinc sulphate do not show repulsion or attraction towards amniotic fluids at any of the physiological states studied. These results are discussed in the light of our knowledge about the factors controlling the onset of maternal behavior in the ewe (hormones and genital stimulation).

Amniotic Fluid↗

PubMed2005

Reversal of maternal programming of stress responses in adult offspring through methyl supplementation: altering epigenetic marking later in life.

Stress responses in the adult rat are programmed early in life by maternal care and associated with epigenomic marking of the hippocampal exon 1(7) glucocorticoid receptor (GR) promoter. To examine whether such epigenetic programming is reversible in adult life, we centrally infused the adult offspring with the essential amino acid L-methionine, a precursor to S-adenosyl-methionine that serves as the donor of methyl groups for DNA methylation. Here we report that methionine infusion reverses the effect of maternal behavior on DNA methylation, nerve growth factor-inducible protein-A binding to the exon 1(7) promoter, GR expression, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and behavioral responses to stress, suggesting a causal relationship among epigenomic state, GR expression, and stress responses in the adult offspring. These results demonstrate that, despite the inherent stability of the epigenomic marks established early in life through behavioral programming, they are potentially reversible in the adult brain.

Aging↗

PubMed2001

Comparison of two positive reinforcing stimuli: pups and cocaine throughout the postpartum period.

This set of experiments investigated the appetitive or motivational processes underlying the performance of maternal behavior. The place preference paradigm was adapted to simultaneously investigate the reinforcing properties of cocaine and pups for maternal, lactating dams. These modifications allowed the authors to assess which stimulus, either a 10 mg/kg s.c. injection of cocaine or 3 pups, had the strongest reinforcing value. At Postpartum Days 10 and 16, the dams preferred the cocaine cue-associated chamber, whereas the dams tested at Postpartum Day 8 preferred the pup cue-associated chamber. Overall, the data revealed an interaction between the postpartum period at testing and the exhibited preference for cocaine or pups. Further testing will investigate the neural circuitry underlying the appetitive processes of each stimulus.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Uterine positions and schedules of urination: correlates of differential maternal anogenital stimulation.

Lactating Mongolian gerbils, like lactating Norway rats, reliably lick some pups in their litters more than they lick others. Male gerbil pups are licked more by their dams than are their sisters and some males and some females within each litter are licked more often than are their sibs of the same sex. In the present article, we explore the characteristics of same-sex littermates that are correlated with elicitation of extreme amounts of maternal anogenital licking. We found that both the male pup and the female pup in a litter of gerbils that received the most maternal anogenital licking: (1) released greater quantities of urine and (2) exhibited longer latencies to begin to urinate in response to artificial anogenital stimulation than did the male pup and the female pup in a litter that received the least amount of maternal anogenital licking. We also found that foster mothers rearing Caesarean-delivered litters spent more time licking the anogenital areas of: (1) those male pups that, as fetuses, had occupied uterine locations adjacent to relatively few females and (2) those female pups that, as fetuses, had occupied uterine locations adjacent to relatively many males. We discuss implications of these findings for understanding of how maternal behavior may mediate hormonal effects on the development of young gerbils.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Early contact, social support, and mother-infant bonding.

A study was designed to explore further the hypothesis that a period of close contact between mother and infant immediately after birth facilitates the establishment of a close bond. The study investigated whether the effects of extra contact interact with other variables present in the labor and delivery situation and with the extent of social support available to the mother. Two sets of procedures for the immediate postpartum period were established and mothers were randomly assigned to one of these conditions. Twenty-nine mothers experienced extracontact procedures in which the baby was placed on the mother's abdomen for 1 hour. Thirty mothers received routine care procedures in which the baby was shown to the mother and then taken to the nursery. Observations of maternal behavior during a feeding were made two days after birth by an observer blind to the randomization status of the mother. The mothers who received extra contact exhibited significantly more affectionate behavior toward their infants than did the mothers who received routine care. The extracontact treatment produced more affectionate behaviors in the mothers who had less social support than in those who had more social support. The extra contact was equally effective for multiparous and primiparous mothers. Mothers of female infants exhibited more affectionate behavior to their infants regardless of which postpartum procedures the mothers had experienced.

Adolescent↗