Research at TRI
INTERVENTION STUDIES
Brazelton demonstrations
Field, T., Dempsey, J.,
Hallock, N., & Shuman, H. H. (1978). The mother's
assessment of the behavior of her infant. Infant Behavior and Development, 1, 156-167.
• There were no differences between mothers’ and testers’ assessments
except that testers assigned more optimal interactive process scores. Normal
term infants received more optimal scores from both mothers and testers.
Mothers assigned more optimal ratings at one month than at birth.
Widmayer, S., & Field, T. (1980). Effects of Brazelton demonstrations on early interactions of
preterm infants and their teenage mothers. Infant Behavior and Development, 3, 79-89.
•
Brazelton demonstrations and Mother’s Assessment of the Behavior of her Infant
(MABI) were provided to lower class teenage mothers of preterm infants during
the neonatal period. Both the Brazelton/MABI group and the MABI group showed
more optimal Brazelton interactive process scores, feeding and face-to-face
interaction ratings at one month than did preterm and term infant control
groups.
Widmayer, S., & Field, T. (1981). Effects of brazelton demonstrations for mothers on the development
of preterm infants. Pediatrics,
67, 711-714.
•
Results of the first and fourth month assessments showed that the experimental
groups preformed more optimally on the Brazelton scale interactive process
items, showed superior ratings on the video-tape feeding and face-to-face play
sequences, and had better fine motor-adaptive skills.
Carrying
position
Field, T., Malphurs, J.,
Carraway, K., & Pelaez-Nogueras, M. (1996). Carrying position influences infant behavior. Early Child Development and Care, 121, 49-54.
•
Results indicate that when the infants were carried facing-in in a soft infant
carrier, they spent more time sleeping and were rarely actively awake and
looking at the environment. In contrast, the infants were more active in the
facing-out position including more time moving their arms, head-turning,
kicking, and looking at their environment.
Interactions
Field, T., Healy, B.,
Goldstein, S., & Guthertz, M. (1990). Behavior
state matching and synchrony in mother infant interactions of nondepressed
versus depressed dyads. Developmental
Psychology, 26, 7-14.
•
The depressed mothers and their infants matched negative behavior states more
often and positive behavior states less often than did the nondepressed dyads.
The total percentage time spent in matching behavior states was less for the
depressed than for the nondepressed dyads.
Interaction coaching
Pickens, J.N. & Field,
T. (1993). Attention-getting vs. imitation effects
on depressed mother-infant interactions. Infant
Mental Health Journal, 14, 171-181.
•
Data suggest that the attention-getting condition was the most effective
“intervention” for eliciting positive behavior in the depressed mother-infant
dyads. Mothers generally rated as showing more positive facial expressions and more game playing (particularly the depressed mothers)
during the attention-getting versus the imitation sessions. The infants received
more optimal physical activity and facial expression ratings during
attention-getting, and the infants of depressed mothers, in particular, showed
more positive facial expressivity and more joy expressions. In the imitation
condition, mothers showed more imitative behavior, contingent responsivity, and
silence during gaze aversion. Infants generally showed more disinterest and
self-comfort behaviors, and the infants of depressed mothers, in particular,
showed more anger expressions, fussiness, and squirming during the imitation
condition.
Nonnutritive
sucking
Ignatoff, E., & Field,
T. (1982). Effects of
nonnutritive sucking during tube feedings on the behavior and clinical course
of ICU preterm neonates. Infant Behavior and Development, 107-115.
• Infants
provided with nonnutritive sucking stimulation during tube feedings were ready
for bottle feeding three days earlier following fewer tube feedings and greater
daily weight gain than the control group. They were also discharged earlier
with a lower average hospital cost.
Field, T., Ignatoff, E.,
Stringer, S., Brennan, J., Greenberg, R., Widmayer, S., & Anderson, G.
(1982). Nonnutritive sucking during tube
feedings: Effects on preterm neonates in an Intensive Care Unit. Pediatrics, 70, 381-384.
•
The infants provided with pacifiers averages 27 fewer tube feedings, started
bottle feeding three days earlier, averaged a greater weight gain per day, and
were discharged eight days earlier for an average hospital cost savings of
approximately $3,500.00.
Field, T., & Goldson,
E. (1984). Pacifying effects of
nonnutritive sucking on term and preterm neonates during heelstick procedures. Pediatrics, 74, 1012-1015.
•
Term neonates and preterm neonates, in minimal care or intensive care participated
in the study. The treated infants (preterm, minimal care neonates) who were
given pacifiers spent less time during and following the heelstick procedure.
Parent
training
Field, T., Widmayer, S., Greenberg, R.,
& Stoller, S. (1982). Effects of parent training on
teenage mothers and their infants. Pediatrics,
69, 703-707.
•
Growth and development during the first two years were superior for the infants
whose mothers received training, particularly those who received paid parent
training as teachers aide’s in the infant nursery. Repeat pregnancies were
lower and return to work/school rates were higher for the infant nursery
mothers.
Review
Field, T. (1980). Supplemental
stimulation of preterm neonates. Early Human Development, 4, 301 314.
•
The present work is a review of supplemental stimulations of preterm infants
treated in intensive care nurseries which suggest benefits for stimulated
infants. The types, degree, and duration of benefit, however, vary across
studies.
Field, T. (1981). Intervention
for high risk infants and their parents. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 3, 69-78.
•
Different studies suggest a number of general implications for social policy on
early interventions for high-risk infants. Any form of early intervention must
be heavily researched to ensure there are no undesirable side effects. Also,
long term assessments must be provided for the subjects, demonstrating
long-term effects and cost effectiveness. Generalizability of findings on
particular interventions with particular infants should also be evaluated
because studies may not always relate to the same group of people. Lastly, the
parent should be involved in the interventions as trainee and trainer, they can then become more knowledgeable and
skillful.
Field, T. (1986). Interventions
for premature infants. Journal of
Pediatrics, 109, 183-191.
•
Compensating influences of early interventions for premature infants include
supplemental stimulation, nonnutritive sucking during tube feedings and
heelsticks, tactile and/or kinesthetic stimulation, and parent training.
Field, T. (1988). Stimulation
of preterm infants. Pediatrics in
Review, 10, 149-154.
•
Three of the most popular forms of stimulation for preterm infants in the NICU
are described, as well as their effects. They are nonnutritive sucking,
kangaroo care, and massage therapy. Results suggest that preterm neonates not
only benefit from soothing, calming properties of these forms of stimulations,
but they conserve energy, can be pacified during painful procedures, and can
demonstrate growth gains following this stimulation.
Field, T. (1990). Alleviating
stress in newborn infants in the intensive care unit. Perinatology, 17,1-9.
•
Natural care-giving stimulation such as gentle stroking and self-comforting
stimulation such as sucking appeared to attenuate distress behavior and
physiology during stressful intensive care procedures. These interventions not
only soothe the infant, but enable increased weight gain and shorter hospital
stay.
Field, T. (1992). Interventions
in early infancy. Infant Mental
Health Journal, 13, 329-336.
• To
facilitate attachment to and from their caregivers three interventions and
their affects are described. They include; giving high-risk pregnant women
video feedback during prenatal ultrasound, providing preterm neonates
nonnutritive sucking opportunities to reduce stress during heelstick and gavage
feedings, and providing preterm neonates and preterm cocaine-exposed neonates
massage therapy.
Field, T. (1994). Caregiving
environments for infants. Children's
Environments, 11, 147-154.
•
Two of the infants’ most vital caregiving needs are an interesting, organized
physical environment and a responsive human environment. Studies suggest that
an infant’s physical environment must pay special attention to the following
attributes; adequate caregiver and infant ratio, infant group schedule, and
environmental organization and stimulation. The human environment, on the other
hand, requires the caregiver to be sensitive to the infant’s biological rhythms
and social behaviors and to be contingently responsive.
Rooming-in
Prodromidis, M., Field, T., Arendt, R.,
Singer, L., Yando, R., & Bendell, D. (1995). Mothers touching newborns: A
comparison of rooming-in versus minimal contact. Birth, 22, 196-200.
•
Data revealed that the rooming-in mothers looked at, talked to, and touched
their infants more, watched less television, and talked less on the telephone
than mothers with minimal contact with their infants.
Tactile/Kinesthetic
stimulation
Field, T., Schanberg,
S.M., Scafidi, F., Bauer, C.R., Vega-Lehr, N., Garcia, R., Nystrom, J. &
Kuhn, C. M. (1986). Tactile/Kinesthetic stimulation effects
on preterm neonates. Pediatrics, 77, 654-658.
•
Tactile/kinesthetic stimulation was given to 20 preterm neonates (mean
gestational age, 31 weeks; mean birth weight, 1,280 g; mean time in neonatal
intensive care unit, 20 days) during transitional ("grower") nursery
care, and their growth, sleep-wake behavior, and Brazelton scale performance
was compared with a group of 20 control neonates. The tactile/kinesthetic
stimulation consisted of body stroking and passive movements of the limbs for
three, 15-minute periods per day for 10 days. The stimulated neonates averaged
a 47% greater weight gain per day (mean 25 g v 17 g), were more active and
alert during sleep/wake behavior observations, and showed more mature
habituation, orientation, motor, and range of state behavior on the Brazelton
scale than control infants. Finally, their hospital stay was 6 days shorter,
yielding a cost savings of approximately $3,000 per infant. These data suggest
that tactile/kinesthetic stimulation may be a cost effective way of
facilitating growth and behavioral organization even in very small preterm
neonates.
Field, T. (1987). Alleviating
stress in ICU neonates. Journal of
the American Osteopathic Association, 87, 646-650.
•
Forty preterm infants were assigned to a control or treatment group. The
treatment group received tactile/kinesthetic stimulation for three 15-minute
periods during three consecutive hours per day for 10 days. Data suggested that
the stimulated infants had a 47% greater weight gain than the control group,
were more awake and active a greater percentage of the observation time,
received better scores on the Brazelton habituation, orientation, motor
activity, and range of state behaviors, and the stimulated infants were
hospitalized for 6 days less than the control infants, which saved the hospital
approximately $3,000 per infant.
Teenage
mothers
Field, T., Widmayer, S.,
Stringer, S., & Ignatoff, E. (1980). Teenage, lower class,
Black mothers and their preterm infants: An intervention and developmental
follow up. Child Development, 51,
426-436.
•
Lower-class, black teenage mothers were provided a home-based, parent training
intervention, and their development was then compared with that of
nonintervention controls, of term infants of teenage mothers, and of term and
preterm infants of adult mothers. The preterm infants of teenage mothers who
received intervention showed more optimal growth,
Field, T., Widmayer, S., Ignatoff, E.,
& Stringer, S. (1982). Developmental effects of an
intervention for preterm infants of teenage mothers. Infant Mental Health Journal, 3, 11-18.
•
Compared to preterm infants without intervention and of teenage mothers, term
infants of teenage mothers, and term and preterm infants of adult mothers, the
intervention infants of teenage mothers showed more optimal growth, cognitive
development, temperament and play behaviors during
interactions with their mothers across their first year of development.
Field, T., Widmayer, S., Adler, S.,
& Decubas, M. (1990). Teenage parenting in different cultures, family
constellations and caregiving environments: Effects on infant development. Infant Mental Health Journal, 11,
158-174.
•
Teenage parenting was investigated in Cuban and American Black ethnic groups;
single parent, nuclear, and extended families; and primary caregiving
arrangements- mother versus other. Being a Cuban mother, living in a nuclear
family, and being a secondary caregiver were each associated independently with
stronger social support systems and more positive child-rearing attitudes and
mother-infant play interactions.
Ultrasound
feedback
Field, T., Sandberg, D.,
Quetel, T. A., Garcia, R., &
•
The feedback reduced pregnancy anxiety and fetal activity, particularly for the
primiparous women. These women experienced fewer obstetrics complications and
gave birth to neonates who were greater weight, more appropriate
weight-for-length, and less active and irritable.