2024-05-14 22:00:00
this The first 1,000 days of a child’s life – “where it all began”, as the report of the eponymous committee published in September 2020 points out – constitutes a critical period in its development. We now know that experiences early in life, including those in the womb, can have an impact on an individual’s physical and mental health, as well as their social and emotional well-being.
The document “Supporting the First Parent-child Bond” in Health in Action Issue 466 shares the latest scientific knowledge about the complex and critical interactions between newborns and parents. It shows how early childhood professionals can provide support to build quality relationships that meet young children’s basic needs.
Emotional security is a basic need for young children
In recent years, different disciplines (psychology, neuroscience, molecular biology, epigenetics, etc.) have provided a more precise understanding of how experiences in early childhood and pregnancy shape brain structure and influence children’s emotions and social abilities. and their long-term health. Research shows that negative events in childhood increase the risk of developing conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease and some cancers in adulthood.
A baby needs to develop a secure attachment with the person who cares for him, which will increase his self-confidence and enhance his ability to face adversity in the future. In order for him to benefit from this emotional security, interactions with his “privileged partner” must be stable, warm, stimulating, and tailored to his basic needs. This requires parents to be emotionally and psychologically attentive and available.
Building such high-quality relationships is not self-evident. Several factors may impede this process, not least the vulnerability experienced by the family, whether socioeconomic or psychopathological. For example, some people are unable to overcome a “developmental crisis” represented by the birth of a child because of the chaos of their personal journey.
Parenting is Far from Intuitive
Parental burnout is a risk; this stress that causes physical and emotional exhaustion remains taboo, affecting nearly 6% of French people, mainly women. The scientific data presented in this issue challenge social representations of natural instinctive mothering and equally intuitive parenting and need to be shared.
To address these potential difficulties, several pathways have been identified to promote high-quality early interactions. Reference document” careful care » The World Health Organization (WHO) published Targeting Early Childhood in 2018, providing a roadmap to stimulate public policy and implement effective programs to serve parents and the professionals who serve them. In an interview, neuropsychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik explained that children’s need for security is closely related to their parents’ needs. This requires a social organization that is conducive to the life of the family unit and provides resources that can be relied on, such as the “First 1000 Days Home” that is emerging in France.
Support the strengthening of psychosocial skills
Interventions took many forms across the territory, as the three interviews with field actors in this paper illustrate.
In Brittany, where the Panjo device is being tested, midwives and childcare staff accompany vulnerable parents home during pregnancy until the baby is 6 months old.
In Aube, the provincial council offers 20 hours of free support from social and family intervention technicians to overcome the chaos caused by the arrival of a child.
In Mosel, the maternal and child protection service has established a structured pathway for mothers suffering from postpartum depression, using original tools such as “video feedback interactive guidance”.
What all these programs have in common is that they rely on the skills of newborn caregivers to expand their psychosocial and parental capacities, listening to their expressed needs without insulting them. However, this approach implies a change in professional attitudes in early childhood education, with the aim of emphasizing more collaboration with families. This development requires structural support.
Also Read – Child Vaccination and Prevention of Extreme Heat
This issue of Health Action also provides two articles:
A study in two maternity wards in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region shows that “motivational interviewing” conducted by trained midwives can improve new parents’ confidence in childhood vaccinations; the technique was used in many prevention areas to promote behavior change and increase neonatal vaccination willingness. Focus on the website Living with the heat French Public Health Agency: Online since May 6, 2024, this system focuses on positive approaches, namely happiness and comfort, rather than health risks, by providing advice and tips.
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