Crying in separated and non-separated newborns: sound spectrographic analysis

During the first 1-2 h after birth crying occurs during separation from the mother and stops on reunion. In rats, such "separation distress calls" have distinct phonetic properties. We examined this early crying by sound spectrography in 29 healthy, full-term, vaginally delivered babies, r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inActa pædiatrica (Oslo) Vol. 85; no. 4; p. 471
Main Authors Michelsson, K, Christensson, K, Rothgänger, H, Winberg, J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Norway 01.04.1996
Subjects
Animals
Anxiety, Separation - psychology
Crying - psychology
Humans
Hunger
Infant, Newborn - psychology
Mother-Child Relations
Pain - psychology
Psychoacoustics
Rats
Sound Spectrography
Time Factors
Touch
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Summary:During the first 1-2 h after birth crying occurs during separation from the mother and stops on reunion. In rats, such "separation distress calls" have distinct phonetic properties. We examined this early crying by sound spectrography in 29 healthy, full-term, vaginally delivered babies, randomly assigned either to be kept in a cot or to be placed in body contact with the mother during the 90 min following birth. The former babies cried almost 10 times more than the latter ones. The duration of the cry signal (the smallest element of a cry analysed by spectrography) in both groups was 0.8-09s; the melody contour was flat or slightly rising--falling with a fundamental frequency of around 500 hertz. The cry is provisionally characterized as a discomfort cry, elicited mainly by separation from the mother.
ISSN:0803-5253
DOI:10.1111/j.1651-2227.1996.tb14064.x