Mother-infant interaction: Effects of a home intervention and ongoing maternal drug use

Examined the effects of a home-based intervention on mother-infant interact ion among drug-using women and their infants. At 2 weeks postpartum, mother s and infants were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n = 84) or a control (n = 87) group. Control families received brief monthly tracking visits, and intervention families received weekly visits by trained lay vis itors. Mother-infant interaction was evaluated at 6 months through observat ion of feeding. Although there were no direct effects of the intervention, in the control group, mothers who continued to use drugs were less responsi ble to their babies than mothers who were drug free. In the intervention gr oup, drug use was not associated with maternal responsiveness. Weekly, home -based intervention may be a protective strategy for children of drug-using women because it disrupts the relation between ongoing maternal drug use a nd low maternal responsiveness.