Mental health of mothers and their premature infants for the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment

Abstract

Birth of preterminfants is a stressful event for their parents, particularly for mothers. Themothers of preterm infants often feel hard to relate their infants becausethey have separated since their first days after delivery. Long term separationand less attractive, less responsive appearance of preterm infants also makeit difficult to build mother-child relationships. In addition, the mothers ofpreterm infants are likely to have mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, andstress-related disorders. The mothers’ psychiatric illnesses affect thepsychosocial development of preterminfants and are often regarded as a risk factor for child abuse and maltreatmentin later life. Child abuse and maltreatment are also prevalent among preterm infantsthan the full term infants. Intervention from the early period of pretermbirth is an important issue for both preterm infants and their mothers. Medicaland co-medical professionals should pay attention to developmental outcome ofpreterm as well as psychosocial conditions of their mothers for the improvementof their mental health.