Background: A high rate of maternal depression and associated disturbance in the mother-infant relationship has been found in an indigent peri-urban South African community, Khayelitsha. The question arises whether a community-based intervention could be beneficial.

Aims: To train community workers to deliver an intervention to mothers and infants in Khayelitsha, and to compare mothers and infants receiving this intervention with a sample receiving no such intervention.

Method: Four Khayelitsha women were trained in a mother-infant intervention, which they delivered to 32 women recruited in late pregnancy. At 6 months post-partum, maternal mood, the mother-infant relationship and infant growth were assessed. The findings were compared with a matched group of 32 mothers and infants.

Results: There was no reliable impact of the intervention on maternal mood. However, compared with the comparison sample, the quality of mother-infant engagement was significantly more positive for those who had received the intervention.

Conclusions: The pilot study produced preliminary evidence of a benefit of a community-based mother-infant intervention delivered by trained, but otherwise unqualified, community workers, sufficient to warrant a formal controlled evaluation of this treatment.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.180.1.76DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mother-infant intervention
12
indigent peri-urban
8
peri-urban south
8
south african
8
pilot study
8
mother-infant relationship
8
community workers
8
mothers infants
8
intervention delivered
8
maternal mood
8

Similar Publications

Female agency and probable depression in the perinatal period and beyond: Longitudinal findings from rural Pakistan.

Soc Sci Med

January 2025

Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, 123 W Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, USA.

In Pakistan, a setting with high gender inequality, the relationship between female agency and mental health has not been studied longitudinally or beyond a defined life stage like pregnancy. Using data from the Bachpan cohort of mother-infant dyads in Pakistan, we investigated female agency and depression at two life stages: perinatal (third trimester to 6-months postpartum; n = 1154) and beyond (3- to 4-years postpartum). Modified Poisson models estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) for probable depression (PHQ-9) associated with female agency (freedom of movement and participation in household decision-making) at the two life stages.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of supplemental nursing system on, sucking success, weight gain findings and bilirubin levels in newborns.

Design And Methods: The study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial. The population of the research consisted of 71 infants who received care and treatment at the Neonatal Intensive Care Clinic of the hospital located in a province in eastern Turkey between February and June 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Despite considerable research on pregnancy outcomes affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the consequences for infants exposed to the virus in utero remain unclear. : A retrospective cohort study was conducted, encompassing 392 mother-infant pairs delivered between April 2020 and July 2021 at a community hospital network in northeastern Pennsylvania, USA. Of these, 198 mothers had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, while 194 did not.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Although several conditions and specific risk factors have been associated with stillbirth (SB), in most of the cases it is difficult to identify the definitive etiopathology and cause of death. Specifically, the role of infections in SB is still debated. Our aim was to study maternal, placental, and fetal tissues in cases of SB in order to define the causative link between infections and fetal death, through a multidisciplinary clinical audit.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Evaluation of the Early Development of 6-Month-Old Babies in the Case of Maternal Postpartum Depression with or Without Bipolar Disorder.

Children (Basel)

December 2024

Lenval University Children's Hospital, SUPEA (University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), Competence Center for Rare Diseases with Psychiatric Expression (CC MREP), Expert Center for Pediatric Psychotrauma (CE2P), 06200 Nice, France.

Background: The first year of life is the period of greatest brain plasticity. Postpartum depression can adversely affect the first interactions with the child and, consequently, their emotional, social, and cognitive development.

Objectives: First, to describe the developmental profile of six-month-old infants of mothers suffering from severe postpartum depression, and, second, to compare the development of infants whose mothers suffer from depression with or without bipolar disorder.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!