Impact of a mother–infant intervention in an indigent peri-urban South African context

Abstract

The pilot study produced preliminary evidence of a benefit of a community-based mother-infant intervention delivered by trained, but otherwise unqualified, community workers, sufficient to warrant a formal controlled evaluation of this treatment.

Interventions for common perinatal mental disorders in women in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] China contributed three trials; India, Pakistan and South Africa contributed two trials each, and Chile, Jamaica, Mexico and Uganda contributed one each. Twelve studies were controlled and randomized either at the individual or the cluster level and one study 28 used a historical matched control from another epidemiological study. The main outcomes assessed were maternal mental health, the mother-infant relationship, and infant or child cognitive development and health.…”

“…Ho et al 33 and Lara et al 31 provided information about the symptoms and causes of postpartum depression in an information booklet and supplemented this with either supportive discussion with a primary care nurse to encourage early help-seeking behaviour, 33 or participation in a series of group discussions facilitated by professionals. 31 Five studies 22,24,26,28,35 did not address maternal mental health directly. However, the researchers hypothesized that individual parenting education provided by a supportive home visitor or within the context of a mother's group might also improve maternal depression and improve infant health and development.…”

“…However, the researchers hypothesized that individual parenting education provided by a supportive home visitor or within the context of a mother's group might also improve maternal depression and improve infant health and development. In South Africa, Cooper et al 26,28 demonstrated what neonates could do using a neonatal assessment scale. In a study conducted by Baker-Henningham et al 22 in Jamaica and in the adapted Learning Through Play (LTP) programmes implemented in Pakistan 24 and northern Uganda, 35 mothers were shown ageappropriate play activities and how to craft toys out of affordable, accessible materials to stimulate infant cognitive development.…”

Parenting Education in Indonesia: Review and Recommendations to Strengthen Programs and Systems

“…• Increase parents' sensitivity to their children, reduce negativity towards children, improve parents' emotional abilities, expressiveness, responsiveness and sensitivity in interactions and nurturing behaviors, help parents be less intrusive and better able to support children's independence (Brooks-Gunn, Berlin, and Fuligni 2000;Cooper et al 2002;Heinicke et al 2001;Olds et al 2004). …”

“…• Increase immunization rates, child nutrition levels, and child height and weight (Cooper et al 2002;Johnson, Howell, and Molloy 1993;Super, Herrera, and Mora 1990). …”