Depressed mothers' neonates improve following the MABI and a Brazelton demonstration

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a short-term intervention for imp roving interaction behaviors of newborn infants with their depressed mother s. Method: Depressed mothers assigned to the experimental group first observed an administration of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) at de livery. Mothers then used a similar instrument, the Mother's Assessment of the Behavior of her Infant (MABI), to independently conduct NBAS-like infan t assessments periodically at home. Depressed mothers in the control group were not present when the NBAS was administered at delivery, and they perio dically completed written assessments at home of their parenting attitudes and infants' development. Results: One-month NBAS assessments administered by an examiner revealed th at experimental group infants performed more optimally than controls on Soc ial Interaction and State Organization. Conclusions: Findings suggested that an intervention consisting of mothers taking part in NBAS/MABI assessments may be a simple and cost-effective tec hnique for benefiting infants of depressed mothers during the early postpar tum period.