Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 185

How might you help women to reduce the potential for HIV transmission to their infants? What challenges might you face in working with U.S. mothers? How might these differ from those experienced by women in an underdeveloped country?

Not only are low-birthweight infants at a physical disadvantage, but they often begin life at an emotional disadvantage because they are at risk for experiencing difficulties in their relationships with parents. Parenting a low-birthweight infant is stressful even in the best of circumstances (Howe, Sheu, Wang, & Hsu, 2014). Such infants tend to be easily overwhelmed by stimulation and difficult to soothe; they smile less and fuss more than their normal-weight counterparts, making caregivers feel unrewarded for their efforts. Often these infants are slow to initiate social interactions and do not attend to caregivers, looking away or otherwise resisting attempts to attract their attention (Eckerman, Hsu, Molitor, Leung, & Goldstein, 1999). Because low-birthweight infants often do not respond to attempts to solicit interaction, they can be frustrating to interact with, can be difficult to soothe, and are at risk for less secure attachment to their parents (Jean & Stack, 2012; Wolke, Eryigit-Madzwamuse, & Gutbrod, 2014). Research also indicates that they may experience higher rates of child abuse (Cicchetti & Toth, 2015).