Experience with Pups Sustains Maternal Responding in Postpartum Rats

In these studies, we investigated the sustaining of postpartum maternal responsiveness through pup experience. In the first study, females were tested for maternal behavior at various times after pregnancy termination by Caesarean section (CS) at term. The females remained rapidly responsive to young for 7 days after pregnancy termination, but were no more responsive than virgins after 10 days. In the second study, females were allowed varying times of complete access to pups, beginning 24 hours after CS, and were tested for maternal behavior 10 days later. Females who retrieved and cared for pups for 30 minutes during exposure, remained rapidly maternal 10 days after CS; those who were allowed only 15 minutes of caring for pups did not. In the third study, females received 24 hours of exposure to distal sensory stimuli from pups, beginning 24 hours after CS. The proportion of females who became maternal within 24 hours of the beginning of maternal testing, 10 days after CS, was greater than that among females who received no exposure to pups.