EFFECTS OF INTERGENERATIONAL MALNUTRITION ON THE MOTHER-PUP RELATIONSHIP IN RATS

The mother-pup relationship was studied in animals with histories of intergenerational malnutrition. Malnourished females rearing pups with intergenerational malnutrition spent more time nursing, had contact with more pups, and spent more time in the nest than did well-nourished females rearing pups with intergenerational malnutrition. The pups reared by the malnourished females also weighed significantly less than those reared by the well-nourished females. Well-nourished females rearing pups with intergenerational malnutrition also spent less time nursing and had contact with fewer pups than did well-nourished females that reared well-nourished pups. Weight differences between the two groups of pups reared by well-nourished females were small but significant. © 1979 Ablex Publishing Corporation.