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

This study investigated the sleep/wake states, respiration, and affective behaviors of premature infants who were provided a ''breathing'' bear in the isolette from 33 to 35 weeks conceptional age (CA). The Breathing Bear is a source of rhythmic stimulation that is optional for the infants. Its ''breathing'' reflects the breathing rate of the individual infant. At 33 weeks CA, 27 premature infants were provided a Breathing 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 made of the babies' states and state-specific behaviors, along with respiration recordings. By 35 weeks, the BrBr babies showed less wakefulness, more quiet sleep, fewer startles in quiet sleep, and less crying than 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 findings replicate and extend previous reports of effects of the Breathing Bear on neurobehavioral organization. They also suggest that less negative affect is expressed by the BrBr babies; and they point to the importance of future study of preterm infants' affective expressions, both in sleep and in waking.