Mother- and father-infant interactions at 3 months of corrected age: The effect of severity of preterm birth

•Level of parental sensitivity and infant cooperation did not differ between mother- and father-preterm infant interaction.•During interactions, mothers showed high level of control, while fathers appeared very unresponsive.•Severity of prematurity based on birth weight did not significantly influence interactive pattern.

Early interactions of 92 preterm infants with their mothers (n = 54) and fathers (n = 38) were explored at 3 months using CARE-Index. Results showed differences in interactions based on parent's gender, with higher control in mothers and unresponsiveness in fathers, while no effect of severity of birth weight emerged.