Infant Mental Health
Nurture E Information Hub
Evidence
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.500361/full
Elizabeth Izett, Rosanna Rooney, Susan L. Prescott, Mia De Palma, Maryanne McDevitt
Good mental health in infancy and early childhood refers to healthy social and emotional development. It includes an infant’s ability to experience, regulate and express emotions, to develop close and secure interpersonal relationships, and to explore the environment and learn. All of these capacities develop best within the context of a caregiving environment that includes family, community, and cultural expectations for young children.
Australian Association of Infant Mental Health
Infant Mental Health is the developing capacity of the infant and young child (from pregnancy to 3 years old) to experience, express and regulate emotions; form close and secure relationships; and explore the environment and learn," all in the context of the caregiving environment that includes family, community, and cultural expectations. (Osofsky & Thomas, Zero to Three, 2012)
Education
Infant Mental Health is the infants emotional functioning and their social and emotional development.
This includes:
- The ability to form close relationships
- Experience and manage a full range of emotions without being overwhelmed or frightened by them
- Able to explore the environment and learn
You can support this by building a healthy and secure relationship, which in turn builds trust and security.
Babies are born ready to connect, engage and learn, even those born prematurely or sick. But separation at this critical time for infant-parent attachment can have adverse effects on the mental health of both infant and parent.
Lots of studies have shown that NICU babies and their families do better overall when parents are supported to get to know their babies and are taught how to care for them as soon as possible. This type of care is called Family Integrated Care (FICare), which aims to increase parent-infant interaction and closeness, to reduce both infant and parent stress and anxiety and improve parent confidence in caring for their infant.
Under the FICare model, parents are taught to be involved in all possible aspects of care (e.g., feeding, changing nappies, bathing, providing oral medications, tracking growth and progress, decision-making and taking part in medical rounds.)
Kangaroo care or skin-to-skin contact is another technique that has been shown to improve bonding between parents and baby, particularly because it avoids separating women from their newborns in the first days after birth.
Babies who have kangaroo care may even cry less and sleep more peacefully, some small-scale studies have suggested. It has also been linked to brain development, including improved attention and movement.
Research has also found that using kangaroo care can reduce postpartum maternal depression and stress and anxiety in the parent.
FICare and kangaroo care while in hospital are early intervention strategies that are used to improve infant and parent mental health and help to prevent the development of mental illness in later years.
When your baby is discharged from hospital, it can be quite a daunting experience as you now have sole responsibility for your baby’s care. You may be feeling a range of different emotions and realise that leaving hospital brings new challenges in caring for your baby. To read more about Life after the NICU visit:
https://www.miraclebabies.org.au/content/life-after-nicu/gjnkd4
Birth Trauma and the effects on Infant and Parent Mental Health
Birth Trauma is defined as a wound, serious injury or damage which can be physical or psychological or a combination of both. Many women who experience Birth Trauma can have physical injuries such as perineal tears, pelvic floor muscle damage, pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic fractures and caesarean wounds.
Psychological trauma can occur with or without physical trauma and can present as anxiety and/or depression, postnatal depression, postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. There are many factors that can contribute to trauma including the journey through pregnancy, feeding challenges, infertility challenges, premature birth, a baby born with a medical condition and pregnancy loss.
Experiencing a tough or traumatic time with your baby's birth can have a big effect on how you feel and how you take care of your baby.
If you’re feeling upset or anxious about your baby’s time in the NICU or your traumatic birth experience, it is important to talk to your doctor or child health nurse.
https://www.miraclebabies.org.au/content/birth-trauma/gmc0l4
Understanding your infant’s mental health and wellbeing
As well as meeting all your baby’s physical care needs, such as keeping them safe, fed and clean and making sure they get enough sleep, it is important to understand and take care of their mental health.
Simple, everyday interactions build strong, healthy brains, form bonding and attachments and promote good mental health in babies. Some ideas include:
- Always respond to crying, with gentle words and/or cuddles. Even if you don’t know why your baby is crying or how you can help, responding lets them know you are there for them when they need you.
- If your baby won’t stop crying and you are feeling overwhelmed, put them in their cot or another safe place and walk away. Go into another room or outside and take some slow deep breaths. Call a family member or friend to come and hold the baby for a while. Or call a parenting helpline to talk to someone who will understand what you are feeling.
- Gently massage/stroke your baby’s skin when changing their nappy.
- Talk and sing to your baby as often as you can. It doesn’t matter what you are talking about (or how out of tune your singing is!), just smile softly and use a soothing voice.
- React warmly when your baby tries to communicate with you. When they make sounds to get your attention, look in their eyes and respond with smiles and encouraging noises. You can have a ‘pretend’ conversation to encourage your baby to keep communicating – for example, say ‘Oh, right, then what happened?’ Or even just repeat back the sounds they are making – for example, if your baby says ‘ba-ba’ you say ‘ba-ba’ back, taking turns.
- Play. Infants love playing ‘peek-a-boo’ (when you hide your face behind your hands then ‘pop out’ with a smile). If your baby is squealing and showing you a toy, play with them – your response lets them know they are loved and helps develop communication and social skills.
Sometimes bonding isn’t ‘natural’ or instant. It can take time to understand your baby and develop a strong attachment. Don’t be hard on yourself; just take time to get to know your baby and hold them often.
A child’s mental health and wellbeing are greatly influenced by their parent’s mental health, particularly during infancy. If you have any mental health concerns or worry about the level of attachment or bonding between you and your baby, it is important to seek support by talking to your child health nurse or GP or using one of these support networks: In an emergency you should call 000.
For When - https://forwhenhelpline.org.au/
Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA)’s - https://panda.org.au/
The Parent-Infant Research Institute - https://www.mumspace.com.au/
Beyond Blue – https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health/parenting/caring-for-a-baby
COPE – Centre of Perinatal of Excellence - https://www.cope.org.au/new-parents/postnatal-mental-health-conditions/
Miracle Babies Foundation NurtureLine is a free family support helpline which is available 24 hours a day - 1300 622 243
How babies communicate their needs?
Babies 'talk' to their families all the time. Before they develop words, they use their voice and movements to communicate. These sounds and movements are called baby cues. Baby cues are the way your baby shows you how they feel and how to work out what they want.
In the first few months, many parents worry about their baby’s sleep or excessive crying. Most of the time these behaviours are normal and naturally pass as the baby develops.
There are many ways you can respond to their cry, which include:
- Talking to and reassuring them while watching and responding to their cues.
- Positive touch (hand hug) or skin-to-skin cuddles – just like Kangaroo care
- Feeding them or giving them a dummy to suck.
- Positioning or swaddling them so they feel secure.
- Changing the environment - reducing environmental noise or dimming the lights.
- Singing, talking or playing music to them.
When you pay attention and respond to your baby’s signals, your bond with them gets stronger and they feel safe and loved. As babies grow, they start to communicate more and react to how their parents act and to the world around them.
If you are concerned about any of your baby’s behaviours, speak with your GP or child health nurse.
Empowerment
Infants with positive mental health and wellbeing are usually achieving their developmental milestones (taking into consideration if they were born prematurely or sick). They are engaging with you (for example, keeping eye contact, smiling and laughing), sleeping and feeding well (mostly), and showing an interest in the world around them.
These are signs that your baby is discovering their emotions and behaviours and, with your help, learning to soothe and regulate themselves.
The Melbourne Children’s Campus Education Hub has produced a four-part series on infant mental health. The series covers the emotional development principles of patients aged 0-5 years old, how this can be disrupted by hospitalisation, and how we can support the mental health of our youngest children and families.
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cbs9f-12a7f91
Useful Links
The Australian Association for Infant Mental Health
https://www.aaimh.org.au/resources/letter-from-your-baby/
Emerging Minds
The Australian Institute of Family Studies
https://aifs.gov.au/webinars/understanding-and-supporting-infant-mental-health
Raising Children
https://raisingchildren.net.au/newborns/connecting-communicating
https://emergingminds.com.au/?post_type=resource&p=31376&preview=true
Need support? NurtureConnect allows you to connect with our NurtureProgram support team, or call our 24 hour NurtureLine 1300 622 243 or join our Facebook community.
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Disclaimer: This publication by Miracle Babies Foundation is intended solely for general education and assistance and it is it is not medical advice or a healthcare recommendation. It should not be used for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment for any individual condition. This publication has been developed by our Parent Advisory Team (all who are parents of premature and sick babies) and has been reviewed and approved by a Clinical Advisory Team. This publication is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Miracle Babies Foundation recommends that professional medical advice and services be sought out from a qualified healthcare provider familiar with your personal circumstances.To the extent permitted by law, Miracle Babies Foundation excludes and disclaims any liability of any kind (directly or indirectly arising) to any reader of this publication who acts or does not act in reliance wholly or partly on the content of this general publication. If you would like to provide any feedback on the information please email [email protected].
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