Initial mothering patterns of low-income black primiparas

Observations at three separate intervals of 24 black, low-income primiparas revealed that there is not necessarily a progressive use of the mother's fingers, hands, and arms during the attachment process. Although the mothers did use fingertips to explore their new infants at some time during the first contact, this was not their immediate behavioral responses as defined by Rubin as well as Klaus, et al. The orderly sequence from fingertip exploration to encompassing behavior has been noted by Rubin to occur over a period of time. Klaus reports the interval to be only days. The mothers in this study exhibited encompassing behavior immediately by reaching out for their infants using both hands and arms. The majority held and looked at their new babies throughout the contact time indicating the instinct for the en-face position which Klaus, et al. have described so clearly. The study data would also support Perry's statement that eye contact is an indicator of the intensity of the mother-infant interaction. Over one-half of the subjects, during the first contact, initiated verbal response to their infants. None, however greeted their infants by using given names. Clark, Affonso, and Harris do not refer to the significance of identification of baby by the mother, only to verbal interaction. All mothers in the study made positive statements regarding their infants's appearance and behavior which compares exactly with findings of Robson and Moss.