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Mothers' stress and close relationships: correlates with infant health status
This descriptive follow-up study focuses on changes in maternal stress and close relationships over the infant's first year and explores the association of these maternal variables with infant health status. After initial interviews at 1 month, mothers of 43 infants completed a follow-up questionnaire when their infants were 13 months old. Women tended to select their husbands or mothers as their closest relations, and 9 women noted that their closest person at 13 months was a different person than at 1 month. Infant hospitalization, but not risk status or major illness in the infant, was significantly related to maternal stress and relationship change. The association among infant hospitalization, greater maternal stress, and less closeness in relationships support the importance of focusing on the whole family in the hospital setting.
This descriptive follow-up study focuses on changes in maternal stress and close relationships over the infant's first year and explores the association of these maternal variables with infant health status. After initial interviews at 1 month, mothers of 43 infants completed a follow-up questionnaire when their infants were 13 months old. Women tended to select their husbands or mothers as their closest relations, and 9 women noted that their closest person at 13 months was a different person than at 1 month. Infant hospitalization, but not risk status or major illness in the infant, was significantly related to maternal stress and relationship change. The association among infant hospitalization, greater maternal stress, and less closeness in relationships support the importance of focusing on the whole family in the hospital setting.