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[Infants with a very low birth weight: their development and interaction with their mothers]
1Psycho-sociale afd., Het Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis, Utrecht.
Twenty-eight very low birthweight children (less than or equal to 1500 grams; the VLBW-group) and 24 term born children were studied from birth to 2 years of age. Over this period the interaction of these children with their mothers was observed in 6 naturalistic situations, and other aspects of their development were measured. The VLBW-group consisted of a relatively homogeneous group of healthy preterms, who had no sign of handicap at birth. It emerged that these VLBW-children were more liable to develop various types of problem, although such problems were on the whole not very serious in nature. Interesting differences were observed in mother-infant interaction, particularly in relation to the expression of negative emotions between mother and child. These differences were mainly interpreted in terms of their function in the mutual adaptation of mother and child.
Twenty-eight very low birthweight children (less than or equal to 1500 grams; the VLBW-group) and 24 term born children were studied from birth to 2 years of age. Over this period the interaction of these children with their mothers was observed in 6 naturalistic situations, and other aspects of their development were measured. The VLBW-group consisted of a relatively homogeneous group of healthy preterms, who had no sign of handicap at birth. It emerged that these VLBW-children were more liable to develop various types of problem, although such problems were on the whole not very serious in nature. Interesting differences were observed in mother-infant interaction, particularly in relation to the expression of negative emotions between mother and child. These differences were mainly interpreted in terms of their function in the mutual adaptation of mother and child.