Assessment of Mothers' Interpretation and Care of their Infants’ Crying

Abstract

Crying is often the infant's most powerful means of communicating and interacting with parents and caregivers. Where from birth, normal infant crying and fussing increases week by week, typically peaking sometime in the second month to an average of two and a half hours per day and decreasing to an average of one hour per day around the third or fourth month. This pattern of infant crying is referred to as the normal crying curve (Maldonado Duran & Lecannelier, 2019). Infant excessive crying and fussing has been linked to adverse maternal outcomes such as increased depression and stress, decreased feelings of parenting self-efficacy, and affected on mother’s interpretation of crying behavior. The most extreme consequences for an inconsolably crying infant are neglect and outright abuse, especially Shaken Baby Syndrome, which sometimes results in brain damage or even death (Groisberg et al., 2020). Aim of study The aim of the study is to assess the mothers' interpretation and care of their infants' crying.