1 research outputs found
Characteristics of Early Mother\u2013Infant and Father\u2013Infant Interactions: A Comparison between Assisted Reproductive Technology and Spontaneous Conceiving Parents
Abstract: This study aims to describe parents\u2019 and infant\u2019s interactive styles after assisted
reproduction treatments (ART), to compare them with parent\u2013infant interactions after spontaneous
conception (SC), and to assess the effect of specific ART variables (cause of infertility, treatment
type, and previous ART attempts) on interaction quality. The sample included 25 ART conceiving
couples and 31 SC couples with their 3-months-old babies. Free parent\u2013infant interactions (3\u20135 min)
were coded using the CARE-Index, a video-based assessment scale that gives both dimensional
(e.g., sensitivity, control, passivity) and categorical scores (sensitive, inept, at-risk) for parents and
infants. Results showed a global similarity between groups in CARE-Index dimensions.
Nevertheless, differences emerged in categorical scores, as the interactive patterns of ART parents
were more frequently classified as \u201cinept\u201d and \u201cat-risk\u201d compared to SC parents. With regards to
ART dyads only, infants conceived through intracytoplasmic sperm injection scored significantly
lower to the dimension compulsivity and higher to passivity, compared to infants conceived
through in vitro fertilization. Yet, infants conceived at the first ART cycle had significantly lower
levels of difficulty than infants conceived after one ART attempt. These results speak about the
existence of important parent\u2013infant interactive differences related to conception modality and ART
technique and suggest the need to implement support programs to promote more sensitive
parenting styles