Reaction of Infants to Maternal Voice Recordings - Essay Example

"Reaction of Infants to Maternal Voice Recordings" is an astonishing example of a paper on child development.
On almost all the mammalian species, the care of a mother is essential for the survival of its offspring. Good care leads to the development and growth of the infant to the stage where it can take care of itself. It is therefore right to claim that such species have a system that enhances parent-infant interactions. These interactions dictate that parents will have the capability of showing care to the infant, and the infant will simultaneously respond (Bozzette, 2008).

There are circumstances when immaturity takes unprecedented time. At this stage, the infant still requires the care of the mother. Still, the interactive process has the capability of creating a social interaction that creates an association between the parent and a child (Bozzette, 2008). When this relationship is created, the interaction mechanism reflects a reciprocal behavior between the child and the parent.

Take an instance when an infant falls down from a chair. The most immediate response of the child is to cry bitterly. The response from the parent is to cuddle the child, with exaggerated expressions. After some time, the child will stop crying, and react to the parent's expressions. This is an example of a reciprocal pattern of behavior between an infant and the parents. This behavior is witnessed in the research by various scientists on the impact of maternal video recordings on a pre-term infant.

Studies reveal that premature infants are more responsive to the maternal voice of their mothers ( Kruger, 2012). They show a sense of interest, and this proves that the maternal voice has an effect on regulating the psychological mind of a child. The tone of the child’s face changes and his eyes brightens. Studies also reveal that during this process, there is less motor activity and signs of stress are not reflected.

He gets a stable heartbeat rate and the oxygen saturation level. There are no signs of bitterness, or loss of tone, symbolized by too much crying. These studies prove that pre-term terms have the capability of responding to the happenings of their environment (Kruger, 2012). Their response can either be positive, or negative depending on the circumstances of the environment.

For instance, if there is too much noise, the pre-term infants will show signs of distress, since this will affect their psychological condition. It will be manifested through changes in their tones, and behaviors such as uncontrollable anger.

These findings contradict the explanations of various psychologists who argue that a pre-term infant is a helpless and passive organism (Kruger et al, 2010). These psychologists are of the opinion that it is the maternal parent, who shapes the development of an infant. However, recent studies prove these assertions as wrong. The studies are of the opinion that a pre-term infant is a skilled and competent communicator, in regard to the environment in which he is placed.

Further research denotes that other aspects of maternal concern such as skin contact with the infant produce a soothing effect (Kruger et al, 2010). Despite this finding, maternal voice is the most effective instrument of psychological taking care of a pre-term infant.