Abstract
Mothers' ability to recognize their infants facies from a standardized Polaroid color photo was compared to nonparent subjects (students). Maternal visual exposure to infant was in immediate postpartum period in the delivery room. Students viewed infants on 1st day of life in nursery. Exposure time was limited to 10 minutes in each group. Positive result was defined as ability to distinguish specific infant photo from a group of 7 pictures. Fifty percent of mothers did not receive any medication, 43% received narcotic analgesia and 7% had an epidural. Only 37% (11/27) of the mothers could identify their infant as compared to the 73% (27/37) success rate in the nonparent group (p<0.01). Additional similar recognition study of adult fades, noted maternal 41% (7/17) success versus student (13/14) success of 93% (p<0.05). No effect of parity, maternal age, education or analgesia/anesthesia was noted.
These results suggest that mothers have a limited capacity for visual recognition in the immediate postpartum period, and that limited exposure to the infant in the delivery room is insufficient for subsequent facial recognition of the infant by the majority of mothers.
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Eidelman, A., Kaitz, M. & Rokem, A. RECOGNITION OF NEWBORN BY MOTHERS AND NONPARENTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 180 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00086
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00086