A UCLA School of Medicine program compared the results of teaching obstectrics and pediatric neonatal medicine as a perinatal continuum with the results of the traditional separate clerkships and to assess the benefits and liabilities of the use of this integrated approach to teaching. (LBH)

Experimental group mothers reported significantly greater self-confidence and satisfaction with mothering and more favorable perception of infant temperament than did control group mothers. Differences between children on cognitive scores became significant at 36 and 48 months of age, when the experimental group caught up with normal children. (RH)

Attempts to replicate Ainsworth's Baltimore study by conducting lengthy home observations of mother-infant interactions before observing the infants in the strange situation. (NH)

Registrants of a four-day family practice refresher course responded to a survey assessing their reaction to a brief presentation recommending the use of penile anesthesia in newborn circumcision. The results suggest that evaluation of behavior change should consider attitudinal variables. (Author/MLW)

Outlines the difficulties parents face in the first year after childbirth and describes a postpartum intervention program. Obstacles faced by the program due to cultural prohibitions against acknowledging parental ambivalence to a newborn child are also discussed. (Author/DB)

Presents a model that identifies the adjustment process following the birth of a less-than-perfect newborn. Outlines specific counseling intervention strategies that guide the counselor and family through the process towards acceptance. Emphasizes that early counseling leads to more complete adjustment and acceptance, with positive implications…

The effects of continuing education programs on the knowledge of perinatal nurses were analyzed, using a pretest/post-test design. The hypothesis was confirmed that exposure to multiple continuing education programs is more effective than attendance at single, isolated programs. (MH)

Provides an overview of the development of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS), the nature of the instrument and conditions for its proper administration, and issues underlying the use of the NBAS in research (e.g., reliability). The first in a series of articles in a single monograph assessing the NBAS. (BH)

Reviews issues of reliability (especially test-retest reliability) in newborn assessment, discusses predictive models based on newborn assessment, and presents information on modifications of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale which may help in pursuing fruitful questions involving prediction of development. (Author/BH)

Discusses the role and limitations of the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale in the continuing effort to construct an adequate account of infant development. (BH)

Examined whether newborns were able to discriminate different stress patterns in multisyllabic stressed Italian words that varied both in consonants and in number of syllables. Found that newborns were sensitive to words' rhythm, as carried by stress patterns, and that this prosodic information was salient even in the presence of substantial…

High-risk infants may exhibit hearing impairments which can subsequently impede speech/language development. Discussed are prenatal risk factors, including environmental toxins and infections; and perinatal factors such as prematurity, asphyxia, intracranial hemorrhage, bilirubin, ototoxic drugs, and environmental noise. A table summarizes factors…

Discusses some of the legal questions raised when infants and children of drug-abusing mothers are exposed to crack. Courts have generally moved in a punitive direction against these mothers although some critics warn against intervention that is too fast. Foster care system has been overwhelmed by these difficult cases, and many child welfare…

Outlines the medical and social consequences of adolescent pregnancy, including maternal and infant mortality, and low birth weight. Discusses why pregnant adolescents do not seek prenatal care and implications for health providers. (FMW)