Infant Mental Health is defined as "the state of emotional and social competence in young children who are developing appropriately within the interrelated contexts of biology, relationships, and culture" as stated by Dr. Charles Zeanah of Tulane University's Institute for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. The field of infant mental health has been growing profusely as research methods develop and new advances are made. As quoted by the "Zero to Three" organization, "public policies play a critical role in shaping the healthy development of babies and toddlers" (Zero to Three, 2001). The public administrator is vital in forming the healthy future of America's youngest citizens.
The emerging field of infant mental health is an "inter-disciplinary field of research, clinical practice and public policy-making concerned with maximizing the emotional, physical, social and cognitive well-being of zero to five year old children and their caregivers." (The World Association of Infant Mental Health, 2002).
It is important to provide information to the general public, which will enhance awareness and bring to public attention the psychosocial/emotional needs of children in the first years of life (Zero to Three, 2001). This public attention is the first step in making changes to policy.
The World Association for Infant Mental Health
Zero to Three
Center on Infant Mental Health & Development
"Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory, nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt -
During pregnancy, there are dramatic changes occurring within the mother and between her and others significant in her life, in addition to the many physical changes that take place in the pregnant woman as she shares her body with the growing fetus. The mother-to-be also experiences the emotional and psychological impact of preparing to be a parent. Becoming a parent is a life event which, by definition, dramatically alters relationships with others, especially the partner and family members. It has been described as a "normal life crisis," a challenge whose resolution depends upon the resources available to her, both within herself and in her world.
-Zero to Three
What you can do to encourage
healthy mental health:
*Respond to your baby during periods when he/she is feeling alert and social.
*Return his/her desire for eye-to-eye contact.
*Respond to his/her smiles and cooing noises.
*Use smiling, nodding, touching, talking, and listening to him/her as ways to help strengthen emotional attachments.
*Observe your baby and try to "read" the signals he/she is sending you.
