Written by Louise Shalders for the Maternity & Newborn Clinical Network Publication, Department of Health, May 2011
The period of infancy is as important as any stage in the human life-cycle and infants may suffer significant psychological and psychosomatic distress during this period. The 0-3 years infancy period is a critical period because the mental health of the infant is so intimately linked with that of his/her mother.
The field of infant mental health is relatively young and offers the prospect of not only early diagnosis and intervention but also prevention. Early intervention can minimise negative impact on the infant’s physical and cognitive development.
Mental health disorders of infancy include: attachment disorders; eating disorders; developmental disorders; psychosomatic problems such as sleep disorders, disorders of bowel or bladder, behaviour regression or substantial and prolonged separation anxiety.
An infant who is displaying signs of an altered mental state, for instance, may exhibit some of the following:
- Gaze avoidance
- Flat affect
- Lack of, or a weak-sounding cry
- Limited vocalising
- Unsettled sleep or fussy feeding
- Emotionally under-responsive
- Difficulty in consoling when distressed
- Irritability, constant crying
- Difficulty separating from parent (age dependant) .
Immediately the clinician should be alerted by the presence of any of the above as flags for further investigation and appropriate referral should occur. In Victoria, treatment choices include care in an inpatient mother baby unit, an outpatient public or private child psychiatric service, a public or private psychology service and the emerging community-based, non-residential St John of God Healthcare Raphael Centres.
Choice of therapeutic intervention will obviously be dependent on many things such as severity of infant mental health disorder, mental wellness and therefore emotional availability of the mother, treatment costs, locality of the treatment facility, transport availability for family to access and family social circumstances, just to name a few.
It is essential to acknowledge that pregnancy, birth and caring for a baby are not only physiological processes but also emotional processes. Maternity services must pay equal attention to both processes. The benefits for mothers will be reflected in the positive impact on the physical and emotional health of their babies.
The infant, as a key consumer and recipient of maternity services, deserves individual mention and attention in his/her own right. It is important to remember that in particular the infant’s first year is one of extraordinary growth and development, both physical and emotional. The infant’s experiences during this time will stay with him/her for life. Attending to infant mental health, therefore is an important investment in the health of mothers and fathers of the future.
For more information, contact Louise.
Copyright Louise Shalders.
