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Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
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The development of mothers' understanding of infant crying

J E Drummond, M L McBride, C F Wiebe

    Clinical Nursing Research
    |November 1, 1993
    PubMed

    This study examines the development of mothers' understanding of their infants' crying. Semistructured tape-recorded interviews were conducted with 17 mothers at 6 weeks, 10 weeks, and 16 weeks postpartum. The mothers (9 primiparous, 8 multiparous) were chosen for their good health status and for their immediate support system. Two major themes were identified from the interviews. In general, it was found that as the mothers became more experienced, the understanding of the cry situation became more complete and soothing was more effective. The relation between crying and soothing became more differentiated, more cohesive, and more complete. The effect of experience on understanding was particularly dramatic in the case of multiparous mothers. Both health promotional and illness prevention programming are proposed as nursing care measures for mothers of crying infants. The important assumptions underlying each approach are delineated.

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