Minding the Baby: Enhancing Reflectiveness to Improve Early Health and Relationship Outcomes in an Interdisciplinary Home‐Visiting Program

TLDR

The study evaluates the first‑wave outcomes of a pilot randomized controlled trial of Minding the Baby, an interdisciplinary, mentalization‑based home‑visiting program for infants and families. Families were recruited during pregnancy and followed through the child’s second birthday, with intervention delivered by a nurse practitioner and a clinical social worker. Intervention families exhibited better health and relational outcomes: higher 12‑month immunization rates, reduced rapid subsequent childbearing, fewer child‑protective‑services referrals, less disrupted mother‑infant interactions at 4 months for teen mothers, higher secure attachment at 1 year, and enhanced maternal reflective capacity over time.

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, we focus on the first wave of outcomes in a pilot‐phase randomized control trial of a home‐based intervention for infants and their families: Minding the Baby, an interdisciplinary, mentalization‐based intervention in which home‐visiting services are provided by a team which includes a nurse practitioner and a clinical social worker. Families are recruited during mother's pregnancy and continue through the child's second birthday. Analyses revealed that intervention families were more likely to be on track with immunization schedules at 12 months, had lower rates of rapid subsequent childbearing, and were less likely to be referred to child protective services. In addition, mother–infant interactions were less lilkely to be disrupted at 4 months when mothers were teenagers, and all intervention infants were more likely to be securely attached and less likely to be disorganized in relation to attachment at 1 year of age. Finally, mothers’ capacity to to reflect on their own and their child's experience improved over the course of the intervention in the most high‐risk mothers.