Perinatal Mental Health Flashcards
what can influence a developing fetus?
During pregnancy, mental and physical health, behaviour, relationships and environment all influence the internal environment and the developing fetus.
what does the growing up in Scotland study show?
This study shows that maternal mental health is closely related with socio-economic disadvantage and lower levels of social and emotional support maternal mental health problems in the first year are birth are often associated with further episodes of poor mental health.
By the age of four, children who have prolonged and repeated exposure to a mother with mental health problems were particularly likely to have poor behavioural, emotional and social outcomes. This may affect their transition to school and their subsequent development and attainment.
what does the circle of security involve?
- Welcome my coming to you
- Protect me
- Comfort me
- Delight in me
- Organise my feelings
- Support exploration
- Watch over me
- Enjoy with me
Help me
how do children build different attachment styles?
Children build different attachment styles in response to the care they receive. That style of attachment is designed to help baby cope with the relationship system they live in. the nature of this early attachment sets the template for later relationships in that it shapes the child’s expectations of themselves, the world and others, and ca predict a number of physical, social, emotional and cognitive outcomes.
what secure attachment?
Sophie has an image of her parents as a secure base and available for comfort. Sophies self-image is that she is worthy of her parents attention and love.
Sophie can gain some comfort from this when separate, having confidence that her parents will return, her reactions to separations do no show panic; she has some capacity to contain them in the knowledge of her parent’s availability.
what is insecure avoidant attachment?
Liam has a rather troubled attachment to his parent. Liam is often not upset at separation and tends not to get close to his parents even when they are reunited after a separation.
Often he turns away from, rather than towards to parent. Liam seems to expect the parent’s response to be inappropriate and the relationship to be difficult, he seems to lack a solid sense of himself as worthy of affection.
what is insecure ambivalent attachment?
Emily is likely to show distress at separation which suggests that the parent’s presence is important to her but seems to lack a firm belief that her parents will return, or that the parent will be able to comfort her effectively on return and therefore fails to use her parents as a source of comfort at reunion.
Emily is not easily able to comfort herself and doesn’t seem to feel herself worthy of her parents affection. Emily also rejects stranger’s attempts to console her and her expectation seems to be a pessimistic one that cannot be eased by another.
what is insecure disorganised attachment?
Jason seems unable to ‘know what to do’, there seems to be a lack of clear expectations of what others can do or consistent strategies for handling stress.
Jason may seem to be somewhat hesitant about contact, not quite sure whether it is something to be pursed or not and there is little obvious goal seeking in the behaviour. Jason may turn to himself for comfort and may seem ‘dazed’ or confused or show repetitive stereotyped movements.
what are the four attachment styles?
- secure attachment
- insecure avoidant attachment
- insecure ambivalent attachment
- insecure disorganised attachment
what influences a parental role?
These early experience along with factors such as parental mental wellbeing, family circumstance and the support network around families can influence these core elements of how the parent approaches their parental role;
parental reflection function
mind-mindedness
parental sensitivity
what is parental reflective function?
refers to a parent’s capacity to recognise their own mental state and be able to communicate to their baby an understanding that they might have a different mental state - to ‘mentalise’. This is linked to how responsive a parent can be to their child needs..
what is mind-mindedness?
is a parent’s capacity to interpret what their infant is thinking and feeling. Research has linked this capacity with secure attachment as well as other positive developmental outcomes.
what is parental sensitivity?
relates to the parental capacity to see their child as a separate person, be able to accurately ‘read’ their child’s behavioural cues and respond appropriately. High parental sensitivity is also closely linked with the development of secure attachment.
what are the basic build blocks?
- Healthy food
- Safe environment
- Sleep
Medical needs met
what happens if sensitive and responsive care is absent?
If sensitive and responsive care is absent, the infant does not have the opportunity to learn that they can depend on their caregiver for meeting their emotional and physical needs.
This impacts on their sense of self, their interactions with other and their attachment to their caregiver.
what happens if consoling when they cry is absent?
If consoling when they cry is absent, it may have an impact on the infant’s development of secure attachment relationships and the development of their emotion regulation skills and capacity.
why is being able to read baby’s cue and communication important?
Being able to read the baby’s cues and communications allows you to respond appropriately to their needs. One way to understand a baby’s communication is through recognising key behaviour states. This helps you decide when the baby is ready for sleep, feeding or interaction so you can provide most sensitively to their needs.
Brazelton (Brazelton et al., 1990) identified six states of alertness in newborns, which are?
- deep sleep
- active (light) sleep
- drowsy state
- awake, alert state
- alert, but fussy state
- crying
what is deep sleep?
lies quietly without moving with eyes firmly closed, their breathing is deep and regular with no motor activity. The baby may have brief startles but will not be rouse. In this state, growth hormones are active.
what is active (light) sleep?
moves while sleeping and startles at noises. The baby’s eyes are firmly closed but there may be slow rotating movements of the eyes as the state is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. There will be bodily twitches and irregular or shallow breathing may be apparent. Facial movements include frown, grimaces, smiles, twitches, mouth movements and sucking. It is thought that brain growth and differentiation may occur during active sleep.
what is drowsy state?
eyes may open and close but looked glazed in appearance. The baby may doze where their arms and legs may move smoothly. Their breathing is regular but faster and shallower than in sleep. Babies in this state may be stimulated to a more alert and responsive state.
what is awake, alert state?
the baby’s body and face are relatively quiet and inactive with bright shining eyes. Sights and sounds may produce predict responses which can be very rewarding for parents. This is the state in which the baby is most amenable to play.
what is alert but fussy state?
this is a transitional state to crying. They are available to external stimuli and may be soothed or brought to an alert state by attractive stimuli. If this is too much, they make break down to fussiness where their movements are jerky, disorganised and these movements may produce startles in themselves.
what is crying?
cries, perhaps screams which can set off an automatic response of concern, responsibility and guilt in parents. This is the most effective mode for attracting a care giver. There are different types of cries such as hunger, pain, boredom, discomfort and tiredness.
