Tag Archives: Infant mental health

Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2021

When is Infant Mental Health Awareness Week?

This year, Infant Mental Health Awareness Week will run between 7-12th June.

What is it?

Infant Mental Health Awareness Week takes place every year in June to highlight the importance of babies’ emotional wellbeing and development.

What’s happening and how to get involved

The theme for this year’s Infant Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘including infants in children and young people’s mental health’.

Join in the discussion on Twitter using #IMHAW21 and #IncludingInfants.

A member of the 1001 Days Movement

The First 1001 Days Movement

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance is a proud member of the First 1001 Days Movement.

Find out more about Infant Mental Health Awareness Week on their website.

 

MMHA response to ‘The Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days’

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) warmly welcomes the launch of the Government’s Early Years Review – The Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days.

Early Years Health Adviser Andrea Leadsom MP led the review, which details recommended best practice across the health system to ensure babies, children and their parents get the best possible start to their journey. Experts in child and perinatal health have been a key part of the review process, including many MMHA members.  Continue reading MMHA response to ‘The Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days’ →

Study by the Duchess of Cambridge finds more than 1 in 3 parents expect the pandemic to have a negative long-term impact on their mental wellbeing

“…The early years are not simply about how we raise our children. They are in fact about how we raise the next generation of adults.” The Duchess of Cambridge

The Duchess of Cambridge has unveiled the findings of the biggest ever UK study on the early years. The research, commissioned by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and conducted by Ipsos MORI, reveals what the UK thinks about the early years and explores how COVID-19 has impacted the perceptions of parents and carers of the under-fives. Continue reading Study by the Duchess of Cambridge finds more than 1 in 3 parents expect the pandemic to have a negative long-term impact on their mental wellbeing →

The First 1001 Days Movement highlights impact of COVID-19 on parents and babies

Today, the First 1001 Days Movement – which includes over 40 charities and professional bodies – calls on national and local decision makers to give urgent attention to the wellbeing of parents, babies, and toddlers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Led by Maternal Mental Health Alliance member, Parent-Infant Foundation, the movement argues that babies, both born and unborn, and their parents should be given particular attention during this critical period. The potentially serious immediate and long-term consequences of not doing so calls for strong leadership and a concerted, joined-up effort to reduce harm.

Read the full statement

 

Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2019

When is it?

10th to 16th June 2019.

What is it?

A week-long campaign organised by The Association for Infant Mental Health UK (AIMH UK).

This year’s topic is ‘Difficult Beginnings’.

What’s happening and how to get involved

AIMH (UK) will be sharing articles each day following a different theme, see full list on the AIMH (UK) website.

Join in the discussion on Twitter using #IMHAW19.

Marce 2018 – Global Experiences, Global Dialogues, Global Responses

Sally Hogg attended the Marce Society 2018 Biennial, to share learning and gain insights into global best practice in maternal mental health.

It was an absolute privilege to attend the International Marce Society Biennial meeting in Bangalore. The meeting brought together over 500 delegates from 31 countries to discuss the latest science and practice in protecting and promoting maternal mental health. I was there to share learning from the MMHA Mums and Babies in Mind Project, alongside trying to capture useful insights for those at home.

This was the first time that a Marce conference had been held in the Global South. The conference really opened my eyes to the challenges facing Low and Middle Income countries where the vast majority of the world’s babies are born, the prevalence of perinatal mental health problems is particularly high, and there are fewer resources to support families. The conference chair, Jane Fisher, powerfully reminded us that enabling mothers to be healthy is key to enabling children, and therefore societies and economies, to reach their full potential and thrive. Continue reading Marce 2018 – Global Experiences, Global Dialogues, Global Responses →

Infant Mental Health Awareness Week

#IMHAW18 June 10th – 16th

Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Trauma to Promote Secure Attachment

Mums and Babies in Mind are kicking off Infant Mental Health Awareness Week with a blog by Sally Hogg, Mums and Babies in Mind Strategic Lead, on the key themes and messages from the World Association of Infant Mental Health Congress.  Read more here.

Throughout the week we will be sharing blogs, resources on parent-infant mental health and our latest leaders’ masterclass Top Tips report on ‘Keeping Baby in Mind’.

Join in the discussion using #IMHAW18 and #MABIM on social media.

Reflections from the World Association of Infant Mental Health Congress

Sally Hogg, Strategic Lead for Mums and Babies in Mind, shares some of the key themes from the 2018 World Association of Infant Mental Health Congress.

At the end of May, I had the privilege of attending the World Association of Infant Mental Health congress in Rome. Over 1700 clinicians, academics and others with a passion for babies’ brain development gathered to discuss the latest research and practice over four, very full, days.

Each day ran from 8am to nearly 7pm, with 18 streams of activity at most times. It was hard to choose which events to attend, and despite filling my time and my brain, I came away feeling that there were things I had missed (I wish I’d have gone to more of the discussions about dads).

It was educating, inspiring, thought-provoking and exhausting! The lectures, symposia and presentations contained a wealth of fascinating content, and, as is so often the case, so much value also came from the opportunity to meet, spend time and reflect with colleagues with a shared interest.

This blog covers some of the key themes that I took away from the conference. It’s by no means a comprehensive report – one could write for the next year and still not cover everything that was discussed. For those with an interest in learning more, it’s worth looking at the #waimh18, #waimh2018 and #waimhtakehome hashtags on twitter, and at the conference abstracts. Continue reading Reflections from the World Association of Infant Mental Health Congress →

MABIM Masterclass 3 : Midwives and health visitors in perinatal mental health

What is it? This short report captures the key messages from our third masterclass event which was on the role of midwives and health visitors in perinatal mental health services.

What is it for? The document contains top tips from our expert speakers who work as midwives and health visitors within perinatal mental health.  The importance of the specialist role is included. It provides information and examples of how important the roles are within perinatal mental health and the way the specialist role can be valuable for the wider team.

How can it be used?  Commissioners, providers and clinicians can use the top tips to learn lessons from those who have experience in midwifery and health visiting and how these roles can be enhanced to provide specialist support in perinatal mental health care. Please tweet and share the report with anyone who might find it useful.

Midwives and Health Visitors in Perinatal Mental Health 4.00 KB

Training Gloucestershire health visitors to promote mums’ and babies’ mental health

dsc_0027By Catherine Whitcombe, Locality Practice Teacher (Infant Mental Health Portfolio), Gloucestershire

When mums experience mental health problems, it can make it more difficult for them to bond with their babies and provide the sensitive care their babies need. In this blog, Catherine Whitcombe talks about the work health visitors are doing in Gloucestershire to promote mums’ and babies’ mental health. Catherine also spoke at last week’s Babies in Mind seminar about the use of the Neonatal Behavioural Observation tool. You can see a summary of the seminar here https://steller.co/s/6SAzaW57Nju

In December 2014 the health visiting service in Gloucestershire provided me and a colleague with the opportunity to complete the Neonatal Behavioural Observation (NBO) training. The aim was to gain a greater knowledge about, and learn new skills in supporting parents in understanding their babies.

Continue reading Training Gloucestershire health visitors to promote mums’ and babies’ mental health →