Pregnancy and the new baby Flashcards
Attachment
The strong affectional tie one has to another.
One has pleasure and joy when they are attached to an individual. This brings about comfort in times of stress.
The psychoanalytic theory of attachment.
Advocated by Freud:
Claims that breastfeeding is central for attachment.
- A child’s attachment with their mother forms a foundation for all later social relationships.
HOWEVER: this is false in assuming that breastfeeding is central for attachment.
Learning theory of attachment
Uses operant conditioning:
Claims that the mother is the positive reinforcer for the baby.
Baby sees the mother for satisfying hunger and discomfort.
Whereas the mother sees breastfeeding as a means to stop crying.
HOWEVER: this theory also assumes that breastfeeding is central for attachment.
Ethological theory for attachment
Promoted by Bowlby:
An infant’s attachment to its carer is based on a response that promotes and increases chances of survival.
Breastfeeding is important but not central in survival.
When the carer is responsive to any need of the infant, this creates a sense of security for the infant. Hunger is not the only need.
This is demonstrated in a experiment with monkeys:
Wired milk model vs fluffy milk model.
Infant monkey spent longer with the ‘soft mother’.
The attachment timeline
0-6 weeks: Pre-attachment
Non-specific attachment behaviour from the infant.
The infant shows little preference for its carer but can be able to distinguish between them.
6 weeks- 7 months: Attachment in the making
The infant starts to develop a preference for the attention/comfort from certain people.
More prominent for parents.
7 months- 2 years: Clear-cut attachment.
Attachment behaviour is directed at specific people.
This is when separation anxiety can occur. Can get distressed around strangers and mother leaving.
2 Years+ : Reciprocal relationship
Separation anxiety starts to diminish. The child starts to under other feelings and motives and develops mental consciousness.
Importance of attachment
- Allow certain positive feelings to develop in the child.
Child feels they are worthy of love, care and knows others are there in times of need. - Affects neurological development:
good quality attachment develops the limbic system and temporal lobes - Sets a foundation for future cognitive, emotional and social development.
- Continuity of caregiving ensures that the child can also identify with a key carer.
Advantages of breastfeeding
- Increase in intelligence:
Researched show that those BF performed better in intelligence tests at middle childhood and adulthood. - Strengthens disadvantageous children:
Those premature, with low birth weight, offspring of smokers. - Contains good nutrients:
Long fatty acids. - Develops physical and psychological contact which enhances attachment.
- Immunomodulatory qualities of milk:
The milk contains antibodies that can be passively passed to the infant in the first few days.
Different methods of carer-infant bond
Physical contact:
Using sling, touch, warmth.
Smell:
Mother/ carer pheromones stimulate comfort. Associated with food and pleasure.
Sight:
3-day old infant can visually distinguish their primary carer.
This can be enhanced by eye-contact which develop into authoritative parents.
Sound:
Infant develops a predisposition and preference for their sound of their primary carer’s voice.
Attachment behaviours
Crying
Smiling
Imitation of expressions
Post-natal depression
Can occur when the arrival of the child is anticlimactic and is not what is expected from the carer:
i.e in disabled children, behaviour of the children, poor attachment of mum to child.
Hormonal changes:
Sucking changes levels of prolactin and oxytocin. If this is decreased, this can lead to poor attachment.
Social role conflict:
Fathers may want to be involved in feeding.
Females are developing careers more now than before, having to balance two jobs.
