Nurturing Connections: A Postpartum Intervention to Improve Mother-Infant Functioning and Interactions

Samantha M Brown, PhD, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Colorado State University, has designed an intervention “Nurturing Connections” that uses a relationally focused framework to target maternal mental health, infant development, and mother-infant relationship during the postpartum period.

Nurturing Connections will use the Mother-Infant Therapy Group (M-ITG) model through which mothers will explore how postpartum affects them and their interactions with their infants. Mothers will also learn skills to better relate to their infants and become more effective parents.

The goal of the program is to address the emotional needs of mothers and infants as well as mother-infant interactions. The curriculum will empower mothers to explore their past relationships and how they may influence their current emotional experiences and interpersonal interactions. It is postulated that when mothers become more emotionally available to and attuned with their infant, stronger mother-infant relationships ensue and form the basis for optimal development trajectories for infants.

Despite growing evidence of the benefits of the M-ITG Model, little research exists among low-income families residing in non-metropolitan regions of the US. Funding from MRI will allow for a new project to examine the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of Nurturing Connections interventions for low-income families living in a non-metropolitan area of Colorado.