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Objective: to measure the effect of an infant stimulation therapy (auditory, tactile, visual and vestibular) on the adaptation to postnatal life of the mother-child dyad., Method: an experimental and blind study composed of 120 dyads of first-time mothers and full-term newborns, who practiced breastfeeding. The follow-up was conducted during the first five weeks of life and the evaluation was carried at two different times., Results: the adaptive capacity was measured in two modes. The physiological adaptive mode (activity and exercise and neonatal nutrition) and the interdependence adaptive mode (appropriate affection and proper development); and statistically significant differences were found in favor of the experimental group. Regression models that show the collaborative relationship between mother and child, and their reciprocity in the process of adaptation were proposed., Conclusion: the early stimulation is a therapy with bidirectional effect, because it has favorable effects on the person who administers it; promotes health and prevents illness in the process of adaptation to birth; especially in contexts of vulnerability. It is recommended its teaching to mothers and its application in the home environment. This study was registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR) under protocol number: ACTRN12617000449336.

This article aims to discuss the impacts of the promotion of families' mental health following the diagnosis of Zika virus infection in the pregnant woman and/or congenital Zika virus syndrome (CZVS) in the infant. The study also aims to foster reflection on mother-infant bonding in this context. The study is relevant not only because there is still so much to learn about CZVS, with its enormous capacity for dispersion and many doubts as to the physical consequences and psychological impacts, but also due to the urgent need to provide families and/or caregivers with guidelines for care and alternatives for dealing with the illness. The study was conducted in an outpatient clinic specifically providing care to children with CZVS at the Unit for Infectious Diseases in Pediatrics in a tertiary hospital of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team is multidisciplinary, and each member conducts an assessment based on their specific field of knowledge. This qualitative study drew on participant observation, and the data analysis showed that the use of virtual social networks, which function (independently of the medicine approaches) as channels for communication and collective discussion of the different experiences, in order to share strategies to overcome the diagnosed impossibilities.

Breastfeeding is a multifaceted phenomenon involving the complexity of the social world, the roles assumed by women, their attributes and social expectations. This theoretical essay proposes a reflection on motherhood, problematizing the experience of breastfeeding and the construction of social identity in line with Anselm Levi Strauss's sociological concepts of interactionism. This article sought to make associations between body, identity, and socialization processes in adulthood, generated by new social demands in fulfilling the roles of woman and mother, focusing on the breastfeeding experience. The way motherhood is conceived in contemporary society and the register of breastfeeding as a phenomenon of nature are problematized to give the woman a vocation to motherhood and breastfeeding, producing a social expectation of the innate ability to perform them.

This study aimed to investigate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and anxiety and interference in the mother/child relationship, using structural equations modeling. Data were used from a prospective cohort study initiated during the prenatal period with 1,140 mothers in São Luís, Maranhão State, Brazil. Data were collected during prenatal care and when the children reached two years of age. Interference in the mother/child relationship was measured with the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire - PBQ (N = 1,140). In the initial theoretical model, socioeconomic status determined the maternal demographic, psychosocial, and social support factors, which determined the outcome, i.e., the mother/child relationship. Adjustments were performed by structural equations modeling, using Mplus 7.0. The final model showed good fit (RMSEA = 0.047; CFI = 0.984; TLI = 0.981). Depressive symptoms in pregnancy and the postpartum were associated with higher PBQ scores, indicating interference in the mother/child relationship. The greatest effect was from depressive symptoms in pregnancy. Other factors associated with higher PBQ scores were lower social support, unfavorable socioeconomic status, and living without a partner, by indirect association. Anxiety symptoms and maternal age were not associated with the mother/child relationship. The results suggest that identifying and treating depression in pregnancy and postpartum can improve mother/child bonding in childhood.

The objective was to understand the puerpera's experience during the first skin to skin contact with the newborn in the immediate postpartum period, the obstetric ward of a public hospital in a city in Bahia. Exploratory, descriptive and qualitative study, approved by the Ethics Committee and conducted with fourteen postpartum women, through semi-structured interviews in the period July-August 2011. The data were analyzed using Grounded Theory, identifying the phenomenon "Experiencing skin to skin contact as a mechanical act" and its three subcategories: "Encouraging the only contact", "Contact as a mechanical act" and "Being forced to initiate breastfeeding. "Encouraging the skin to skin contact and immediate breastfeeding occur mechanically, being highlighted only the contact, requiring the puerperas to initiate breastfeeding in sudden and abrupt manner, not respecting their willingness to perform or not this practice.

Clinical aspects of the mother-infant relationship and related issues are well studied and very relevant to medical practice. Nevertheless, some approaches in this context cannot plausibly be investigated in humans due to their ethical implications and to the potential harm to the mother's and child's health. Studies on maternal behavior in animals have evident importance to some clinical fields, such as psychiatry and psychology, particularly considering topics, including mother-infant relationship, postpartum depression, cognitive and behavioral development of children, and associated issues. Hence, this theoretical article draws attention to the clinical applicability of studies about maternal behavior in animals to psychobiology, taking into account a translational perspective.

Objective: To verify and evaluate the mother-child bond and mental health of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities., Methods: A total of 74 mothers of children aged up to 7 years participated. Data collection was made through interviews. Evaluation tools were Mother-Child Bonding Evaluation Protocol and Self-Report Questionnaire. We used statistical analysis χ² and Student-t tests. A 5%-level of rejection of the null hypothesis was set., Results: There were no significant results between the average maternal ages, between bond and schooling, nor time of marriage and social status. The percentage of low social condition mothers with weak bond were 38.7% and in high condition, 68.8%., Conclusion: The occurrence of weak bond is associated with the Self-Report Questionnaire and socio-cultural conditions. That is, mothers with alteration in the Self-Report Questionnaire are more likely to develop mental disorders, weak bond with their children, the same occurring with the mothers in the most privileged social conditions.