Birthing Parents' Neural Response to Infant Cry: Moderating Effects of Oxytocin and Perceived Childhood Care

Individuals who perceive the caregiving they received from their parents as more caring tend to bond better with their infants and show more sensitive parenting behaviors. Early caregiving experiences are also related to differences in the functions of hormonal systems, including the oxytocinergic system. The current study examined how perceptions of childhood maternal care related to parenting behaviors, oxytocin levels, and neural responses to infant stimuli.

Methods: Perceived childhood maternal care was measured using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) for 54 first-time birthing-parents. Salivary oxytocin and observations of parenting behaviors were assessed during parent-infant play at 3.5 months postpartum. Neural activation while listening to infant cry was measured with fMRI.

Results: More positive perceptions of childhood maternal care and higher oxytocin were interactively related to greater anterior cingulate activation to own infant cry. Higher oxytocin levels were associated with reduced left cuneus activation in response to own infant cry when compared with control cry and matched noise.

Conclusion: Findings suggested that positive memories of childhood caregiving may have protective functions for birthing-parents with high oxytocin levels during the early postpartum period, a time when parents need to manage increased stress and form an exclusive bond with their baby.