The impact of childbirth settings and maternal medication on infant behaviors

✍ Scribed by Nancy Fohrell Gist; Kay Standley; Robert P. Klein; Joanne Nicholson

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 492 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0163-9641
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0355(198424)5:4<237::aid-imhj2280050406>3.0.co;2-1

✦ Synopsis

The Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (BNBAS) was administered to 61 full-term, healthy newborns between 7-10 days of age. Three groups of newborns made up the sample: 23 babies were born at planned home births to nonmedicated mothers, 2' 2 were born in the hospital to nonmedicated mothers, and 16 neonates were born in the hospital to mothers who received obstetric medication. Analysis of variance indicated a significant F ratio on the BNBAS cluster for orienting behaviors: comparison of the BNBAS scores of the three groups revealed a significant difference on the BNBAS cluster for orienting behavior between the home-born babies and infants born in the hospital to mothers who received obstetric medication. There was no significant difference between groups for medication or birth setting alone, suggesting these perinatal factors have a complex, perhaps synergistic effect on newborn behavior.

During the past ten years, alternatives to established childbirth practices, particularly out-of-hospital births at home or in birthing centers, have been chosen by increasing numbers of women in this country (Cohen, 1981). Proponents of home birth point to possible deleterious effects of interventions that are common in American hospitals, such as obstetric medication and postpartum separation of mother and baby (Sousa, 1976). Home birth advocates propose that the home-born infant is especially advantaged, yet virtually no research has compared babies born at home with babies born in a hospital setting.

Data on planned home birth are generally limited to reports that are T h s research was made possible by the cooperation of the staff of the Maternity Center Associates. Ltd.