Parent/Infant Attachment

Parent and Infant Bonding is a strong and vital process which makes the parent want to shower the child with love and affection. While studies on bonding are still a researched aspect of the scientific community, the strong ties provide the baby ‘s first model for intimate relationships building their sense of security and positive self-esteem. These will also have further impacts on the child’s social and cognitive development. While infants innately bond with the parent, the parents themselves can have a mixture of feelings. While some may feel instant attachment, others may take a bit longer, particularly if the child is colicky or if the parent is affected by post-partum depression. Some ways to start can include,

Skin-to-skin contact by holding, cradling, rocking, or stroking the baby
Baby massages. but only after proper instruction on how this is done
Breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, as smell and touch are so important as well as the responsiveness of the parent
Reading or singing to the baby
Mirroring the baby’s movements
Mimicking vocalization as a first effort at communication
Using a front baby carrier during routine activates
Letting the baby feel different surfaces and textures (under parental supervision)

Other measures include setting up a support system for yourself and fostering confidence in your own parental abilities. Also remember that exhaustion is one of the primary reasons behind a seeming “lack of attachment,” try your best to prevent anxieties from making you question your parental abilities. Other reasons may include hormones, imagination-to-reality difficulties, time apart due to the child being ill, and difficulty adjusting to the new routine.

In addition to individual pre-birth and postpartum assessment and psychotherapy, our clinicians offer helpful sessions for guardians and their babies. Regularly, parents seek these therapy sessions since they may feel that there's a mismatch between them and their child or their feelings are confused about them. Others have concerns about their child’s development, while others come to develop a stronger and deeper bond. These sessions can be most supportive when the child is still young (~a few months old). However, there is evidence that prenatal counseling which addresses parents' thoughts and concerns about the child can be instrumental for the establishment of a positive attachment and connection. Expecting mothers who have an elevated risk for Post-Partum Depression (PPD) can particularly benefit from the combination of prenatal and postpartum counseling that focuses on the mother-infant relationship.

What we offer…

A 10 week parent/infant bonding plan
At home visits for colicky babies & difficulty of setting a routine
Prenatal as well as postpartum psychotherapy

Our goal is to foster the bond between you and the infant! It is important for you to keep in mind that:

There is no “right” way to parent
No parent, or child, will ever be perfect
A therapist can be useful at assessing the situation from an outside perspective