Originally published July 3 2005
Strong relationships make for well-developed babies, research shows
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Babies who are raised in a household with parents engaged in a strong relationship are more likely to be well-developed emotionally, research shows; the Post-Gazette reports that psychologist Dr. John Gottman feels there should be five positive exchanges between parents for every negative one.
Struggling in a marriage strained by the arrival of a new baby, Ty Rogers was doing her best to be a good mother.
But arguments with her husband left her drained.
During that time nearly two years ago, the Theodore, Ala., paralegal says she found it hard to play spontaneously with her baby.
She and her husband were often in bad moods.
And although they never quarreled in front of the baby, the infant seemed to catch the tension like a virus, fussing and crying.
Research has shown that parents' play and bonding with babies has a powerful influence on infant development.
Now, new research is adding another variable to the mix: the quality of parents' marriages.
The health of parents' relationships shapes babies' emotions and ability to calm themselves, says John Gottman, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Washington.
Marital problems taint not only the emotional climate at home, but the way parents relate to and play with their infants, based on a study of 45 couples and their three-month-old babies.
Researchers coded facial expressions, posture, eye contact and the quality and content of the trios' interactions.
Infants born to parents in marriages rated as troubled by the researchers cried and fussed more and were less engaged with their mothers and fathers, compared with infants born to happy couples, according to the study, which was conducted by Alyson Shapiro, working with Dr. Gottman.
Parents in unhappy marriages cooperated less in playing with their babies, and spoke less positively to them.
While happily married dads tended to support their babies' play and heed the infants' signals, unhappily married dads tended to withdraw or overstimulate their babies, making them cry.
When the same couple was videotaped with their baby, the father withdrew from the infant and the mother criticized him for it.
Ellen Snook and her husband, Richard Croghan, hit a rough patch after bringing home their second baby three years ago.
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