THE BREATHING BEAR WITH PRETERM INFANTS - EFFECTS ON SLEEP, RESPIRATION, AND AFFECT

This study investigated the sleep/wake states, respiration, and affect ive behaviors of premature infants who were provided a ''breathing'' b ear in the isolette from 33 to 35 weeks conceptional age (CA). The Bre athing Bear is a source of rhythmic stimulation that is optional for t he infants. Its ''breathing'' reflects the breathing rate of the indiv idual infant. At 33 weeks CA, 27 premature infants were provided a Bre athing Bear (BrBr) and 26 were given a Non-Breathing Bear (N-BrBr). At 35 weeks, interfeed observations for an average of 1.7 hours were mad e of the babies' states and state-specific behaviors, along with respi ration recordings. By 35 weeks, the BrBr babies showed less wakefulnes s, more quiet sleep, fewer startles in quiet sleep, and less crying th an the N-BrBr babies. In addition, they were more likely to smile and N-BrBr babies were more likely to grimace in active sleep. These findi ngs replicate and extend previous reports of effects of the Breathing Bear on neurobehavioral organization. They also suggest that less nega tive affect is expressed by the BrBr babies; and they point to the imp ortance of future study of preterm infants' affective expressions, bot h in sleep and in waking.