Incorporating Infant Mental Health Models into Early Intervention for Infants and Families Discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Premature and medically fragile infants demonstrate greater risk for regulatory challenges than healthy newborns, and primary caregivers of fragile babies experience heightened stress. Post-discharge from neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), babies are frequently referred to early intervention (EI) community-based services. However, EI providers may lack skills to meet the needs of fragile infants and families. This paper describes a training program for EI professionals to recognize infants' subtle changes in regulatory behaviors. The program emphasizes a developmental care model with a focus on infant mental health to support infants and families. After receiving training, providers were able to better support primary caregivers' responses to their infants' behaviors and subsequently, decrease caregiver stress. After 6 months, caregivers' skill, confidence, and closeness with their infants increased, while stress levels decreased. Implications for embedding infant mental health concepts into EI are explored and the role of infant mental health specialists in EI is discussed.