Analysis of Infant Social Withdrawal participating in the Kangaroo Mother Program

Abstract

Introduction: social withdrawal is a sign of organic and emotional infant distress associated, among other factors, with prematurity. Objective: the present study aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the alarm distress Baby scale (adBB), and evaluate the social withdrawal in infants in a Kangaroo Mother program. It also pursues to find out if there is a relationship between infant social withdrawal and maternal depression, and to investigate possible differences based on having had intrusive medical interventions. Materials and methods: 34 infants and their mothers were evaluated during the consultation of the Kangaroo Mother program. social withdrawal was assessed using the ADBB scale and postpartum depression using the  edinburgh postpartum depression Questionnaire. Results: the ADBB scale showed good reliability indices and inter-rater agreement. 61.8% of the infants reported signs of social withdrawal. No relationship was found between infant withdrawal and maternal depression. Greater withdrawal was observed in infants who required admission to the neonatal intensive Care Unit (NICU) or oxygen support. Discussion and conclusion: this study provides data on the validity of the ADBB scale for its use in Colombia. the high levels of social withdrawal observed highlight the need to identify this alarm sign in infants with a stay in the NICU or respiratory support.