Early Mother-Child Interaction and Later Quality of Attachment in Infants With an Orofacial Cleft Compared to Infants Without Cleft

Abstract

Objective : The main objective of this study was to assess mother-child patterns of interaction in relation to later quality of attachment in a group of children with an orofacial cleft compared with children without cleft. Design : Families were contacted when the child was 2 months old for a direct assessment of mother-child interaction and then at 12 months for a direct assessment of the child's attachment. Data concerning socioeconomical information and posttraumatic stress symptoms in mothers were collected at the first appointment. Participants : Forty families of children with a cleft and 45 families of children without cleft were included in the study. Families were recruited at birth in the University Hospital of Lausanne. Results : Results showed that children with a cleft were more difficult and less cooperative during interaction at 2 months of age with their mother compared with children without a cleft. No significant differences were found in mothers or in dyadic interactive styles. Concerning the child's attachment at 12 months old, no differences were found in attachment security. However, secure children with a cleft were significantly more avoidant with their mother during the reunion episodes than secure children without cleft. Conclusion : Despite the facial disfigurement and the stress engendered by treatment during the first months of the infant's life, children with cleft and their mothers are doing as well as families without cleft with regard to the mothers' mental health, mother-child relationships, and later quality of attachment. A potential contribution for this absence of difference may be the pluridisciplinary support that families of children with cleft benefit from in Lausanne.

Maternal gaze to the infant face: Effects of infant age and facial configuration during mother-infant engagement in the first nine weeks

“…Regardless of its reason, our finding that, in the context of cleft lip, parents gaze less to the infant's mouth may be of clinical significance. Previous studies have found infants born with a cleft lip to show no temperamental difference, but are less communicative (Montirosso et al, 2012), and cooperative (Habersaat et al, 2013) during early interactions, while their mothers show decreased responsiveness and sensitivity to infant social behaviour (Field & Vega-Lahr, 1984;Murray et al, 2008;Speltz, Goodell, Endriga, & Clarren, 1994), negatively affecting later infant cognitive outcomes (Murray et al, 2008;Speltz et al, 2000;Wasserman & Allen, 1985). All these studies have, however, focused on infants of at least 2 months of age, with no available data on earlier behaviours of mothers and infants with cleft lip.…”

The impact of having a baby with cleft lip and palate on parents and on parent-baby relationship: the first French prospective multicentre study

“…In addition, difficulties in interactional skills have been observed [4]. Habersaat et al [5] describes that babies with CLP interact less with their mother at 2 months of age, compared to controls. Other studies [6] point the fact that mothers are less responsive and less sensitive in the interpretation of their infant's signals.…”

Attachment in Infants With Cleft Lip and/or Palate: Marginal Security and Its Changes Over Time

“…Moreover, Habersaat et al. () showed that children with a cleft were more difficult and less cooperative during interactions with their mothers, as compared to children without a cleft; however, no significant differences were found in mothers in that study.…”