Child Development From Infancy to Adolescence. Laura E. Levine
also frequently turn to their own mothers, relatives, child care professionals, and books or websites on child care for support and advice. However, when a woman receives conflicting advice from different sources, it adds to her stress rather than relieving it (Hogan, 2017).
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When a woman gives birth she instinctively knows what to do to care for her new baby. False
New mothers get some help from their biology. A surge of sex steroid hormones, progesterone and estrogen, changes the structure of the new mother’s brain in the area that helps us think about what is going on in someone else’s mind (Caruso, 2016). These structural changes are associated with the woman’s feeling of attachment to her infant and persist for at least 2 years. You will learn more about the factors that influence the formation of an attachment bond between parents and infants in Chapter 7. Nurturing behavior gets a boost from hormones such as oxytocin and prolactin, which are at elevated levels in expectant and new mothers (Kohlhoff et al., 2017; Zhang, Su et al., 2017).
The rapid hormonal changes that follow childbirth, along with other stresses new mothers experience, can result in the anxiety, irritability, sadness, and restlessness that we associate with the “baby blues” (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2016d). These feelings usually go away without treatment within 2 weeks of the birth. A little time, together with some rest and help with caring for the newborn, are usually enough to alleviate the symptoms. When symptoms last longer or are more severe, the mother may be suffering from the mood disorder depression with peripartum onset. The peripartum period includes the last month of pregnancy and the first couple of months after birth. For half of the women who experience severe depression, the symptoms begin before the baby is born. Symptoms can include sadness, loss of interest in things that had been pleasurable, lack of energy, trouble concentrating, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and severe anxiety or even panic attacks (APA, 2013). When symptoms are severe enough to interfere with the woman’s ability to function, she should consult her doctor because effective treatments are available. The most common approaches are antidepressant medications and counseling or therapy (Mayo Clinic, 2015a).
Depression with peripartum onset: A major depression that occurs in the last month of pregnancy or the first couple of months after birth.
Just as there are cultural differences in the birth process, there are differences in what happens after birth. To continue our cross-cultural comparisons from earlier in the chapter, the new Ifaluk mother will never be left alone in the first 10 days following the birth of her baby, and she is not expected to do any work for the first 3 months of the baby’s life. Other women, usually relatives, cook and take care of household tasks while the mother rests (Le, 2000). In the Netherlands, a nurse visits the home for at least 7 days after the birth to provide medical care for the mother and infant, but also to cook, clean, and provide parenting information, with all services covered by insurance (Schalken, n.d.). Women in rural Nepal who give birth in a traditional goth remain there for 20 to 22 days after the birth and do not enter the house for 30 days after the birth (Kaphle et al., 2013). In many Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin, and indigenous cultures, the month or so following the birth of a baby is considered a crucial time for the new mother to recover. In this process, she has support from a female-oriented cultural network and cultural traditions that celebrate the birth as a new beginning for the woman and her family (Chang, 2011).
By contrast, women in Western society receive little recognition from society that their new role is valued, and they may have only limited support. Visitors are more interested in the newborn than the new mother, and women with young infants often feel uncomfortable or unwelcome in public places such as restaurants or coffee shops. Consequently, new mothers can feel a profound sense of isolation (Kendall-Tackett, 2014). Many also feel pressure (or financial need) to quickly return to work and may be torn between this need and their desire to devote themselves to caring for their infant. Later in this chapter, we discuss paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers.
New mothers in Micronesia and the United States. A new Ifaluk mother receives support from others in her community who help care for her and her child as she recovers from childbirth. New mothers in the United States, by contrast, may feel unwelcome and unwanted in public places such as restaurants. When a restaurant posted a sign similar to the one on the right, it experienced a 40% increase in reservations after their policy received news coverage.
Philip Game / Alamy Stock Photo
Becoming a Father
Many changes also occur for a man when he learns that he is about to become a father. Most of these changes are psychological and emotional, but some men from different cultures around the world experience what anthropologists call couvade (Brennan, Marshall-Lucette, Ayers, & Ahmed, 2007). In ritualistic couvade, the man might feign contractions and labor pains at the same time the mother is in labor in an effort to distract evil spirits away from the mother so that she and the child will not be affected by them (Abraham & Hemavathy, 2015). In the industrialized world, a type of psychosomatic couvade occurs in which men experience some of the physical symptoms associated with pregnancy, including weight gain, nausea, indigestion, backaches, mood swings, and food cravings. In international studies, the estimate of how many men experience these symptoms varies greatly, from 11% to 97%, but clearly they occur in a significant number of men in a variety of cultures (Brennan et al., 2007).
Couvade: A sympathetic pregnancy in which a man experiences a variety of symptoms associated with pregnancy or childbirth while his partner is pregnant.
An expectant father expresses his emotional investment in the pregnancy by nurturing and caring for his partner. He can help her choose a healthy diet, encourage her to get enough rest and an appropriate amount of exercise, and support her as she deals with the emotional and physical changes of pregnancy. Many men accompany their partners to doctor’s appointments and/or childbirth classes. In one study of more than 4,600 couples in England, over half of the fathers were present at one or more of the prenatal visits, and almost all were present for the ultrasound examination (Redshaw & Henderson, 2013). Having good information about what is happening to his partner and learning how he can provide tangible assistance helps a man prepare for his transition into fatherhood (Boyce, Condon, Barton, & Corkindale, 2007).
Although some men say they felt marginalized and even unnecessary while attending childbirth classes (Kowlessar, Fox, & Wittkowski, 2015; Premberg & Lundgren, 2006) or during the birth itself (Dolan & Coe, 2011; Hanson, Hunter, Bormann, & Sobo, 2009), many are overcome with a powerful and perhaps unexpected rush of emotions following the birth of their baby (Erlandsson & Lindgren, 2009; Reed, 2005). The opportunity to see and hold their newborn in those early moments becomes a rich reward for the new father. New fathers also get a boost from hormonal changes that may be linked with fathering behavior. Throughout their partner’s pregnancy, expectant fathers show a decline in testosterone and estradiol, and men who had greater declines in these hormones were more involved with infant care and household tasks and were more supportive to their partners after the baby was born (Edelstein et al., 2017).
A new father is born. The transition to becoming a new father can be a powerful experience for men. A father’s role today involves much more than being the breadwinner for the family. Fathers also can be sensitive and nurturant caregivers for their newborn infants.
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The expectations for a new father differ enormously from one culture to another. Some cultures strictly prohibit fathers and other men from taking part in the