Effect of the pediatrician on the mother-infant relationship.

Child development literature suggests a relationship between mother-child interaction and enhanced infant development. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to determine if a pediatrician's guidance improves the mother-infant relationship and the infant's development. Thirty-two normal mothers and their healthy first-born infants were followed by one pediatrician at 2, 4, 8, 15, and 21 weeks of age. These dyads were randomly assigned to a control group, who received customary care, or to an intervention group, who also received guidance based on the infant's developmental status at each age. Just prior to a 27-week visit, the mother-infant relationship was assessed by a person blind to group assignment. Infant development was assessed with the Bayley Mental Scales of Infant Development and two of the Uzguris-Hunt Ordinal Scales. Intervention group mothers were rated significantly higher on sensitivity, cooperation, appropriateness of interaction, and appropriateness of play (P less than .05). Experimental infants were advanced on the Vocal Imitation ordinal scale. This study shows the effectiveness of this intervention on both the mother-infant relationship and infant development and supports pediatric involvement in this biosocial approach to well child care.