by Dr Bronwyn Leigh
What is Infant Mental Health?
Infant Mental Health focuses on the health and development of infants with a particular emphasis on their psychological, emotional and social development, generally from pregnancy until 3-years of age.
Infant Mental Health recognises infancy as a foundational developmental period, highlighting the importance of infant experience in utero and across the first few years of life as formative for brain development and relationship formation.
Infant Mental Health holds interest in the individual capacities, vulnerabilities and preferences of infants. Knowing these helps parents provide optimal care.
Of course, babies are so closely linked with their caregiver/s that an infant’s emotional and social development is connected to their caregiver’s wellbeing and functioning too. That’s why we often say ‘parent and infant’, or ‘mother-baby’ / ‘father-baby’, or ‘Perinatal and Infant Mental Health’ – parents and babies are held together in this life-phase.
More broadly, infants are viewed within the context of the caregiving environments from family, to community, to culture. So many factors influence the development of a baby.
We always welcome babies to appointments, along with their parents.
Why?
Because they are part of the family, and part of the current context for any difficulties that are going on.
We hold all members of the family in mind.
Everyone matters.
We often see babies with their parents when baby has had a difficult start to life, such as prematurely born bubs and those with medical or developmental complexity.
We also work with parents and their baby with bonding issues, when baby is unsettled, and to increase joy and connection between parents and their baby.
There are lots of ways o support the social, emotional and relational development of infants.
We love to help parents see their baby through fresh eyes, and to understand how their baby communicates.
Our team of 100+ trained psychologists hold deep expertise in infant mental health and the mental health of their parents. We care about all members of the family.
About the Author
Dr Bronwyn Leigh is a clinical psychologist, perinatal and infant clinician and early parenting consultant. She is the Director of the Centre for Perinatal Psychology. Bronwyn is an expert in the psychological aspects of becoming a parent, the emotional development of infants, and parent-infant relationships.
