Maternal affective touch and adaptive synchrony in mother-preterm infant interactions: Implications for early bonding processes

Abstract

The way in which a mother and her preterm baby interact, especially in moments preceding or following stressful events, is fundamental in shaping the infant's autoregulation. Patterns of mutual sequential coordination constitute stress regulation competences and provide foundation for later socio-emotional development. Maternal affective touch has been postulated as an essential regulatory factor in early social exchange. In this study we aimed to better understand the interplay between maternal affective tactile behaviors and physiological synchrony between mother and child, with possible implications for early bonding processes. Fifteen mother-premature infant dyads were video-recorded during a free interaction and directly after a skin-interrupting medical procedure (vaccination or blood sampling) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The proportion of maternal affective touch was coded both in free and post-stress interactions. Parasympathetic response was assessed simultaneously in mothers and neonates in order to observe physiological synchrony in dyads. Finally, interactional misattunement during mothers' comforting actions and infant behavior after stress was evaluated as a potential indicator of risk in early bonding processes. Results indicated a positive association between the duration of maternal affective touch and adaptive autonomic synchrony patterns in dyads. Correlations were found between maternal affective touch both before and after stress-inducing procedure and several synchrony measures from free interaction phase (Spearman ρ = –0,57 do 0,72, p < 0,05) Additionally, the study revealed a positive correlation between the level of interactional misattunement and the duration of maternal affective touch after stress (ρ = 0,47, p < 0,05). The quality of synchrony was better in free interactions than during post-stress kangaroo care phase (p < 0,05).