Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 7, 2026

P50 Sensory Gating in Infants
12:55

P50 Sensory Gating in Infants

Published on: December 26, 2013

9.5K

Impact of Prematurity and Maternal Bonding on Sensory Processing at 12 Months

Ayse Yildiz1, Ramazan Yildiz1, Zekiye Basaran2

  • 1Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Erzurum Technical University, 25050 Erzurum, Turkey.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 30, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Preterm infants show weaker mother-infant bonding and impaired sensory processing skills. Improved bonding is linked to better sensory function, particularly in tactile and vestibular domains, regardless of prematurity.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal research
  • Developmental psychology
  • Sensory processing disorders

Background:

  • Prematurity impacts infant development, including sensory processing and mother-infant bonding.
  • Understanding these relationships is crucial for early intervention strategies.
  • Previous research has not fully elucidated the interplay between these factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between sensory processing skills and mother-infant bonding in preterm and term infants.
  • To explore the influence of prematurity on these developmental outcomes at 12 months corrected age.
  • To identify specific sensory domains affected by prematurity and bonding quality.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 22 preterm infants (gestational age < 34 weeks) and 20 term infants was studied.
  • Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) assessed bonding at 4 months corrected age.
  • Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI) evaluated sensory processing at 12 months corrected age.

Main Results:

  • Preterm infants exhibited significantly higher MIBS scores, indicating weaker bonding.
  • TSFI total scores and tactile deep pressure, adaptive motor, and vestibular stimulation subdomains were significantly lower in preterm infants.
  • Weaker bonding (higher MIBS score) correlated with lower TSFI total scores, tactile deep pressure, and vestibular stimulation scores, independent of gestational age.

Conclusions:

  • Mother-infant bonding quality is significantly associated with sensory processing skills in infants.
  • Prematurity is independently linked to deficits in sensory processing, particularly in tactile and vestibular functions.
  • These findings highlight the importance of supporting mother-infant bonding in preterm populations to optimize sensory development.

Keywords:
mothermother-to-infant bondingpreterm infantsrelationshipsensory processing

More Related Videos

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder09:13

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published on: April 22, 2015

17.0K
Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit11:50

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Published on: January 7, 2020

27.4K

Related Concept Videos

Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
455
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
1.5K
Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
206
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
398