Reaserachers warn parents distracted by social media can retard their babies' development. Jane Erasmus* sits on her bed breastfeeding her two-month-old son. In one hand, she cradles his head. In the other, she holds her phone and has a conversation on WhatsApp with her sister.But as she responds to every beep and ping on her cellphone, she could be inflicting lifelong damage on the baby.A new study has shown that "distracted parenting" interrupts the development of children's brains and places them at risk of emotional problems later in life.Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, issued a warning: "Put your cellphone away - fragmented baby care can affect brain development."story_article_left1Senior researcher and paediatric neurologist Professor Tallie Baram said: "While the study was conducted with rodents, its findings imply that when mothers are nurturing their infants, numerous everyday interruptions - even those as seemingly harmless as phone calls and text messages - can have a long-lasting impact."The study, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, involved two groups of rats: one in a calm environment where the mother could focus fully on her young; and one in which the mother was distracted. The second group later displayed signs of anhedonia, the inability to feel happy.Baram said the research built on many other studies that pointed to "unpredictable care" as having a large and negative impact on the developing child.Erasmus, who runs a small business from home, said the study made her feel "super-guilty"."I know I do it. I tell myself I will actually switch my phone off completely, but then I say to myself: 'What if a client is trying to get hold of me?' But with that justification, I respond to every sound from my phone," she said."Even when I was breastfeeding, I sometimes used to hold baby's head with one hand and my cellphone with the other."Johannesburg mother Shanthini Naidoo, 35, who has a four-month-old girl, said: "I was quite horrified by the findings and I feel a bit guilty after reading them. But as a working mother, a cellphone or any other smart device is also a link to the outside world, and one craves that on maternity leave."I will reduce the amount of time I spend on my phone, but I also do understand why parents do it."block_quotes_start I tell the parents to give baby full attention when awake. When baby is sleeping, there will be time to attend to the phone block_quotes_endSonja Giese, director of Ilifa Labantwana, an early childhood development programme, said distracted parenting was particularly harmful during the very early years of a child's life, when a baby's brain developed rapidly and was influenced enormously by its environment."During this time, the parent-child relationship, and in particular responsive and sensitive care from the parent, creates strong foundations for the future health and learning of children."This relationship is dependent on the quality of interaction. Distracted and unreliable interaction does not lend itself to supportive relationship building," she said.The focus needed to be on quality time of undivided attention even if just for short parts of the day.story_article_right2Nthabiseng Majara, a nurse specialising in neonatal care, said parents of newborns sometimes focused too much on using social media to document their child's journey, rather than on the journey itself."From my observation, the parents are still hooked on their phones - but it is uploading pics of their newborn and telling stories on social media about the joy they have."I tell the parents to give baby full attention when he or she is awake. When baby is sleeping, there will be time to attend to the phone."Nthabeleng Nkomo, a Johannesburg mother of two girls, one a few months old, said her cellphone did not distract her from them."I try not to include my phone when we are playing or spending quality time together," she said."[But] the continuous demands we are faced with make it difficult to cut out technology completely. It does require a concerted effort at times."Said Giese: "Responsive parenting means taking your cue from your infant and building on this. This kind of 'scaffolding' is essential for early development and is most effective when parents are fully engaged and present."*Not her real namefarbert@sundaytimes.co.za..