Mothers’ and fathers’ early tactile contact behaviors during triadic and dyadic parent-infant interactions immediately after birth and at 3-months postpartum: Implications for early care behaviors and intervention

To have and to hold: Effects of physical contact on infants and their caregivers

“… Mercuri et al (2019) investigate the relation between parents’ initial touch with their newborns and later touch when the infants are a few months old. Their findings indicate the nurturing and predictive quality of parents’ touch as a primary means of early contact and communication.…”

Affective touch experiences across the lifespan: Development of the Tactile Biography questionnaire and the mediating role of attachment style

“…From the earliest encounters after birth touch holds a communicative and regulatory function [ 33 ]. Mercuri et al [ 34 ] showed that in the postpartum both parents interact with their newborns by means of diverse touching behaviours, with a preference for stroking and caressing. This and other studies reported the presence of affective maternal touch after exposure to a stressful situation for the mother and her infant (Still Face paradigm).…”

Capturing touch in parent–infant interaction: A comparison of methods

“…The PCI videos were later coded offline, using a custom coding scheme based on criteria we adapted and modified from Stack et al (2014, as cited in Mercuri, 2019); these were as follows: stroke/caress (CT‐targeted touch); kiss/pat (light brief touch); hold/hug/cradle (constant pressure applied on large part of body; warmth); massage (deep pressure); touch with objects (incl. wiping mouth, fixing clothes; brief stroke); moving limbs/body (proprioceptive); tickle (unpredictable); games/routines played on body (predictable); static (constant pressure applied on small part of body); rocking (predictable and proprioceptive).…”

“…An example of this would be Stack et al (1996) including stroking and caressing in the same category as rubbing and massaging, even though the former have been shown to have distinct neurobiological mechanisms, associated with a special type of fibers called CT afferents (McGlone et al, 2014). Only relatively recently have stroking and caressing started to be treated as a separate category in coding schemes (e.g., Stack et al, 2014, as cited in Mercuri, 2019). Moreover, while being a relatively objective measure, PCIs observed in a lab, or even in a home setting, are quite an artificial situation for caregivers to find themselves in, likely affecting their behaviors in non‐negligible ways.…”