TITLE:
Mental health of mothers and their premature infants for the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment
AUTHORS:
Yuko Ishizaki, Teruyo Nagahama, Kazunari Kaneko
KEYWORDS:
Preterm Infants; Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Maternal Depression; Bonding; Child Abuse
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.3A,
March
30,
2013
ABSTRACT: Birth of preterm
infants is a stressful event for their parents, particularly for mothers. The
mothers of preterm infants often feel hard to relate their infants because
they have separated since their first days after delivery. Long term separation
and less attractive, less responsive appearance of preterm infants also make
it difficult to build mother-child relationships. In addition, the mothers of
preterm infants are likely to have mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, and
stress-related disorders. The mothers’ psychiatric illnesses affect the
psychosocial development of preterm
infants and are often regarded as a risk factor for child abuse and maltreatment
in later life. Child abuse and maltreatment are also prevalent among preterm infants
than the full term infants. Intervention from the early period of preterm
birth is an important issue for both preterm infants and their mothers. Medical
and co-medical professionals should pay attention to developmental outcome of
preterm as well as psychosocial conditions of their mothers for the improvement
of their mental health.