Measuring Nighttime Parenting Behavior Using Overnight Infrared Video Recordings of Mother-Infant DyadsL.E. Volpe and the Centers for the Prevention of Child NeglectUniversity of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USAWhile research has explored the developmental implications of different
patterns of infant care, relatively little is known about how parents
care for infants at night. Nighttime parenting has become a topic of inquiry
only within the last decade, and substantial data is needed to address
the implications of nighttime parenting for child development. Existing
data indicate a significant relationship between different sleeping arrangements
and the form and frequency of particular behaviors, including breastfeeding,
sleeping position, and presence of risk factors in the sleep environment.
The present study explores sleeping and feeding patterns of 24 adolescent
(mean age 17.4 years) and 15 ethnically-matched adult (mean age 25.4 years)
primiparas. The sample was drawn from a larger longitudinal study on transition
to parenting across the first three years. When infants were four months
of age, overnight infrared video recordings of nighttime parenting behavior
were obtained at the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory. Participants
were allowed to maintain typical sleeping arrangements and routines, and
performed all caregiver interventions at will. Videotapes were coded for
infant feeding method, sleep location, presence of sleep-related risk
factors, amount of physical contact, and mother-infant interactions using
Observer 5.0. Sleep lab data were analyzed for group differences and were
related to prenatal cognitive readiness to parent, daytime measures of
parenting behavior, and child outcomes at one year of age. Adult mothers
were more likely than adolescents to breastfeed their infants, whereas
adolescent mothers were more likely than adults to sleep in bed with their
infants. For both adults and adolescents, cognitive readiness to parent,
including higher levels of knowledge of infant development, was related
to a greater likelihood of breastfeeding and a lower likelihood of placing
the infant to sleep in the unsafe prone position. Implications for child
development and for clinicians designing parenting intervention strategies
are considered. Paper presented at Measuring Behavior 2005 , 5th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The Netherlands. © 2005 Noldus Information Technology bv |