Affect of the behavior of the nurse toward the baby on the behavior of the mother toward the baby

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that the behavior of the nurse toward the baby will influence the mother's visible behavior and response in a positive direction. The study was conducted in the inpatient maternity division of a 740 bed general hospital and extended over a period of approximately five months. Fourteen women were included in the sample, and systematically placed in one of two groups. Each of the 14 participants in the study was approached twice, at each of her first two postpartum encounters with the baby. The investigator, accompanied by a research assistant acting as an independent observer, brought the babies from the nursery to the mothers using two different behavioral approaches. The subjects in Group A were first approached by the investigator demonstrating positive outward behavior toward the babies. On the occasion of the second encounter with their babies, members of Group A were approached by the investigator as she demonstrated neutral behavior toward the babies. The members of Group B were treated the same, but in reverse order, i.e. a neutral encounter first, followed by a positive encounter. The independent observer marked maternal behavior on a data collection instrument during the encounters. Data indicated that deliberate exposure of the mother to positive or neutral interactions with her baby did not affect her behavior as a whole. Mothers of Group B in the second encounter touched the baby significantly more often using the whole hand. Mothers of Group A in their second encounter significantly more often adjusted the baby's position and rocked the baby. These behaviors could have been a product of the normal progression of the mother-infant relationship. As determined by this study, influence of a nurse in effecting positive maternal behavior is open to conjecture