Overview
Pregnancy and early parenthood are an intensely vulnerable time for new parents, physically, psychologically, and emotionally. New parents undertake a momentous shift in their lives whilst physically recovering, sleep deprived and often drowning in an avalanche of conflicting advice. This conflicting, and often poor, advice can significantly increase their stress, lead to overmedicalisation of this perinatal period and increase the risk of postnatal depression and anxiety. In response to this Dr Pamela Douglas developed “neuroprotective developmental care,” an evidence based, peer-reviewed and paradigm shifting approach to support new families, and to banish the poor advice to where it belongs.
Body
Neuroprotective developmental care, through the five-domain approach, allows practitioners to support new families to grow joy in early life and to thrive, rather than just survive early parenthood. In this presentation we will discuss the five domains – infant health, carer physical and mental health, feeding, sleeping and sensory - and how they can be incorporated into consultations and early life care to minimise risk factors for postnatal depression, support families and manage postnatal mental health conditions when they do occur. We will discuss the dominant approaches to infant care and how they may negatively affect both parents and babies and increase risk of postnatal depression. Finally, we will discuss acceptance and commitment therapy and how it can be incorporated into practice to assist families at times of overwhelm.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the key modifiable risk factors for postnatal depression
2. Discuss key strategies health professionals can implement in consultations to support families presenting with feeding, sleeping or cry-fuss problems
3. Implement acceptance and commitment therapy strategies with parents suffering from postnatal depression or anxiety