Revista de Enfermagem e Cuidados

Nursing Intervention in Infant Mental Health: Enhancing Mother-Infant Interaction and Self-Esteem of Adolescent Mothers

Abstract

Keiko Komoto, Taiko Hirose and Motoko Okamitsu

The study was an exploratory pilot study in which subjects consisted of adolescent mothers and their infants in Japan.

Background: Japanese adolescents giving birth to their babies are increasing although only at a rate of 1.4%. They chose to give birth more often instead of abortion than in past years. In Japanese society, it is not easy for an adolescent to be recognized as a mother because their knowledge is not sufficient for parenting and they are not ready to be a mother. They usually need support to be a mother.

Purpose: The study examined relationships among adolescent mother-infant interaction, maternal self-esteem, and parenting stress, which affect child development, in order to make recommendations for helping Japanese adolescent mothers in parenting.

Methods: The subjects were 10 adolescent mothers and their infants aged 3–12 months (adolescent group) and 10 mothers whose mean age was 28.9 years, the same age range when Japanese women gave birth to their first baby (comparison group). This study examined differences in mother-infant interaction, self-esteem, and parenting stress between the adolescent and comparison groups.

Results: Maternal self-esteem had a significant negative correlation with mother-infant interaction and parenting stress. Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale scores-especially the “Sensitivity to Cues” subscale-among the adolescent group were significantly lower than those of the comparison group. High parenting stress was influenced by difficulty in understanding about infant and a restraint coming from the parenting role.

Conclusion: Delicately reading of child cues and promptly an appropriately responds to them make more attuned mother-infant relationships. The study suggested that adolescent mother-infant relationship has positive correlation of maternal self-esteem and parenting stress, informing recommendations for nurses to replace their negative selfimage of these youth with a positive one, which may ultimately lessen parenting stress.