Effect of postpartum experience and infant temperament on maternal beliefs about infant crying

Infant crying is an important signal for their survival and socio-cognitive development. It is unclear how maternal beliefs about infant crying change with their caregiving experience. Additionally, this study examined a bidirectional relationship between maternal beliefs and infants’ temperament using longitudinal study design. Maternal beliefs about crying and infant temperament of first-time mothers were measured at 1-month intervals over a 4-month period ( N = 339 at Wave 1 and N = 164 at Wave 4). We found that parent-oriented beliefs about crying increased with the mother’s experience, and that infants high on surgency predicted changes in maternal beliefs. The current results suggest that the maternal beliefs change with an infant’s development and parenting experience in the early postpartum period.