Developmental foundations of physiological dynamics among mother–infant dyads: The role of newborn neurobehavior

Abstract

This study tested whether newborn attention and arousal provide a foundation for the dynamics of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in mother–infant dyads. Participants were 106 mothers (Mage = 29.54) and their 7‐month‐old infants (55 males and 58 White and non‐Hispanic). Newborn attention and arousal were measured shortly after birth using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale. Higher newborn arousal predicted a slower return of infant RSA to baseline. Additionally, greater newborn attention predicted mothers’ slower return to baseline RSA following the still‐face paradigm, and this effect only held for mothers whose infants had lower newborn arousal. These findings suggest that newborn neurobehavior, measured within days of birth, may contribute to later mother–infant physiological processes while recovering from stress.

Annual Research Review: Prenatal opioid exposure – a two‐generation approach to conceptualizing neurodevelopmental outcomes

“…Infants contribute to their own environment, and factors such as newborn neurobehavior (Gao et al., 2022), temperament, and signs and symptoms associated with a NOWS diagnosis, could affect the quality of the caregiver–child interaction. Few studies assess ways in which the infant may contribute to the quality of dyadic interactions, and studies that have been published include small sample sizes.…”

Pregnant women’s autonomic responses to an infant cry predict young infants’ behavioral avoidance during the still-face paradigm.

“…As previously noted, existing research in this area has focused on parents’ autonomic responses during parent–infant interactions (e.g., Groh et al, 2019; Hill-Soderlund et al, 2008; Leerkes et al, 2017). However, given the transactional nature of parent–child interactions, it is possible that parents’ autonomic responses in these contexts may be due to child-driven effects on parents’ autonomic responses (e.g., DePasquale, 2020; Gao et al, 2022; Ostlund et al, 2017). Controlling for infant characteristics in analyses is an imperfect solution due to measurement error and the inability to assess all relevant infant characteristics.…”

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between parenting and child autonomic nervous system activity

“…A final limitation of this study is that the scope was limited to exclude child-driven effects on parenting and parental autonomic physiology, although undoubtedly this pathway contributes to parent and child outcomes (see for instance recent evidence by Gao et al, 2022).…”