Explanation and Objectives

Communication between mothers and infants begins even before birth. During pregnancy, babies already perceive the rhythms, voices, and movements of their environment. After birth, face-to-face interaction becomes one of the primary ways for the infant to connect with the world.

From the first days of life, infants use various communication channels to interact with those around them. Mothers gradually learn to recognize and respond, thereby creating a dynamic and reciprocal interaction. Over time, each mother–infant dyad develops its own interactional patterns and rhythms.

By studying these early interactions, we hope to better understand how this particular rhythm develops from the very beginning of life.

Procedure

The study begins when your baby is 1 month old and ends when they are 6 months old. It requires six recording sessions spaced one month apart and therefore lasts 5 months.

The recordings take place at the Aix-Marseille University Babylab, which is a facility specialized in infant research and adapted to accommodate babies and parents (changing table, armchair). The laboratory allows for video, audio, and motion recordings. A nearby parking lot is reserved for parents, making it easier to arrive with a stroller.

After your arrival in the Babylab reception room, once your child feels comfortable, small reflective spheres — called markers — will be placed on you (head, shoulders, elbows, wrists) and on your child (head, wrists, ankles) so that we can record and analyze each of your movements. We will then comfortably settle your child either on an inclined mattress or in a baby seat, depending on their age, in the Babylab recording room equipped with cameras and microphones. We will then ask you to interact with your child as naturally as possible for 3 minutes. At each visit, we will record an interaction between you and your child, as well as an interaction between your child and a member of our team whom they do not know. Finally, we will also record your child when they are not interacting with anyone. The exact instructions will be explained to you in detail before the recordings begin.

In total, we will record for 9 minutes; this usually goes by very quickly! Each of your visits will last a maximum of 30 minutes.