Infant Mental Health Intervention for Preterm Infants in Japan: Promotions of Maternal Mental Health, Mother–Infant Interactions, and Social Support by Providing Continuous Home Visits until the Corrected Infant Age of 12 Months

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Japanese Infant Mental Health Program (JIMHP) for preterm mother-infant dyads until the infants reached 12 months of corrected age. Mothers in the JIMHP group (n = 26) received one hospital visit in addition to standard care in the Growing Care Unit (GCU) and five home visits based on the principles of infant mental health (IMH) after discharge from the hospital, until the infant reached 12 months of corrected age. In contrast, mothers in the control program group (n = 40) received standard care in the GCU and three conventional home visits during the same period. The dyads were then compared across groups, revealing that the JIMHP dyads showed less maternal depressive symptoms, better maternal interaction, increased social support by medical workers and healthcare professionals, a high persistence rate for attending the program, and a more positive perception toward the program (p < .05). However, there were no significant differences in the impact of parenting stress or in child development. These results are discussed in terms of their significance and the practical/clinical availability of IMH principles and the JIMHP as a new support model for preterm infants in Japan.

Mobilising social support to improve mental health for children and adolescents: A systematic review using principles of realist synthesis

“…Two of the interventions were linking parents with their community through a trusted lay person, who would connect the parent with informal and formal support [ 34 , 35 ]. One intervention was linking mothers with health professionals [ 36 ]. Two of the interventions included teaching skills such as mother-infant interaction [ 33 ] or broader social skills that would allow mothers to build relationships [ 35 ].…”

“…How is social support mobilised, to which populations, and in which context? Four studies [33][34][35][36] were concerned with providing or mobilising social support for parents of infants to improve children's mental health (S3 Table ). Two of the interventions were linking parents with their community through a trusted lay person, who would connect the parent with informal and formal support [34,35].…”

“…Does an increase in social support lead to improved children's mental health, and what are the mechanisms by which this is (expected to be) achieved? Three studies [34][35][36] reported increased social support, which in two studies referred to social support from health professionals, the community or formal services not measured with standardised scales (Table 1). None of the studies reported an increase in support from partners, parents or friends (even though all four studies measured this).…”

The Feasibility of Using “Premiestart,” a Mother–premature Infant Interaction Program, on a Neonatal Unit in England

“…Previously used MPI‐focused interventions include the Mother Infant Transaction Program (MITP; Rauh, Nurcombe, Achenbach, & Howell, ), Newborn Individualized Developmental Care Assessment Program (Als, ), and the Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (Melnyk et al., ). These programs, and others, have found a positive impact on infant development, MPI relationships, and maternal mental health (Cho et al., ), which suggests that interventions with mothers and premature infants can be effective. However, the timing of the interventions varied across the trials, when early intervention after birth is advocated because infants’ brains are more pliable (Blackman, ).…”

“…Most interventions in the past have not focused on improving the mother–infant interaction. Not all of the interventions have included education about the premature infant, although this seems important, as mainstream resources for new parents are focused on full‐term infants (Cho et al., ).…”