This study examined mother/child interactions during feedings for full-term, healthy premature, and sick premature newborns. Ten first-born infants in each of these categories were observed with their parents once in the hospital, twice at home, and once in the laboratory during the first 4 months of life. Observations focused on the position in which the infant was held; whether infants' eyes were open or closed; vocalizing, touching, movements, amount of fretting, crying and mutual gaze. The Brazelton Scales of Neonatal Assessment were administered to the infants just prior to the first newborn feeding. Data from the Brazelton Scales suggested that the fewer medical problems the baby had, the more likely the baby was to be alert for prolonged periods, responsive to social stimuli, and able to signal distress clearly by crying. Feeding data revealed several trends. At the first feeding, full-term infants were held close to the mother's body more than either sick or healthy prematures. At the 4-month lab visit, there were no differences among the groups on this variable. During the newborn feedings, parents of full-term infants touched and vocalized to their infants more than parents in the other two groups. These differences were no longer evident at 4 months. The two premature groups showed more behavior change from home to lab at 4 months of age than did the full-term group. No clear relationship between fussing during feedings and infants' medical status could be identified. (JMB)