Collaborative Consultation with Parents and Infants in the Perinatal Period

When professionals listen to and support new parents in the perinatal period, families enjoy long-lasting benefitsfrom stronger attachment to increased parent responsiveness and confidence. This guidebook shows practitioners how to conduct effective, collaborative consultation sessions that help parents and infants in the critical first few months of life.

Developed by an experienced clinician and researcher, this accessible guide helps practitioners form productive, equal partnerships with new parents, based on warm and attentive listening and responding. A wide range of professionalsincluding doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and home visitorswill discover how to

• understand and document key aspects of infant behavior and child-parent interaction
• observe the baby together with parents, engaging in thoughtful observation and respectful communication
• develop strong active listening skills so they can better understand and support parents
• guide parents in “reading” their baby’s cry patterns and developing strategies for soothing
• transform potential misperceptions of the infant that may interfere with parent-child bonding
• collaborate with parents during a structured neurobehavioral assessment
• conduct ultrasound consultations with mothers-to-be to increase their sense of connection with the baby
• explore how the consultant’s own feelings, intuitions, and bodily reactions can help uncover what parents and infants need
• tailor the consultation framework for preterm and/or substance-exposed infants and their parents

Principles of effective consultation come to life with clear examples and engaging vignettes, and the forms and tools—including Observation of Infant Neurobehavior, See Me Develop form, My Baby’s Behavior Diary, Cry Consultation Interview, Ultrasound Session Coding System, NETHELP social support interview, and Six Steps of Focusing— help consultants collaborate successfully with parents and record key information.

A positive, strengths-based approach for supporting infants and families, this book will help practitioners effectively nurture parent-infant attachment and give newborns the best chance for healthy development.