In a randomized, prospective study the long-term effects of early post-partum
skin-toskin and suckling contact was studied. In follow-up studies 36 hours, 3 and
12 months after delivery maternal behaviour, infant behaviour, the duration of
breast feeding and certain attitudes towards child rearing procedures were shown to
develop differently in a group of mothers and infants with early post-natal contacts
as compared to a control group. Three years after delivery parents with early
contact appreciated their children's language development to be faster; the number
of siblings born in these families was greater than in controls. In the discussion,
the relative importance of the immediate postnatal period is emphasized, a more
family oriented development seems to occur in the presence of early post-delivery interaction.
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