Infant Mental Health

Infant Mental Health
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Infant Mental Health
Irrefutable research shows that brain development has a qualitative and quantitative impact on the initial years of life as compared to other phases in life. Early life experiences shape the brain significantly and have a profound impact on lifelong health, mannerisms, and cognitive abilities. No other life stage is more dependent on the external environment for development than the infant stage. Infants and young children are more susceptible to environmental stress as compared to older children. Even though intervention in later years has proven essential and effective, the most suitable option is to invest in the overall well-being and care of infants as well as young children. This fact underscores the significance of infant mental health.
The close attachment of an infant to their caregiver is essential in their growth and development. A warm, secure, and responsive relationship with the caregiver stimulates the development of neural networks in the brain leading to healthy growth and general well-being. Additionally, secure relationships with an infant have a positive impact on the formation of the hypothalamic axis that is responsible for stress regulation (Zeanah, 2018). Even in stressful environments, secure attachments protect the infant's brain from significant damage. A safe emotional and social foundation is a suitable platform for all other forms of growth and development that readies infants and young children for school and adult life. This paper defines and explores various aspects, risks, and importance of infant mental health.
Definition and Impact of Early Experiences
The wellbeing of an infant's brain is vital to growth and development. According to Zeanah (2018), infant mental health is the development capability of an infant from birth to the age of five years which enables them to establish secure and close peer and adult relations, experience, express, and manage a wide range of emotions, and curiously explore their surroundings with intent to learn.
The above aspects of infant mental health care occur in the setting of family and friends, culture and traditions, and the community.
Teenagers and youths struggling with mental illness have confided that their mental health issues started in their early childhood. In situations where infants are brought up in stressful environments, through issues such as violence, poverty, uncertainties, or parental absence, neural networks in the brain become more adjusted to reactivity (Ryan, O’Farrelly, & Ramchandani, 2017). This makes children more vulnerable to challenges and life problems in later years, such as failure in school and difficulties in forming solid social connections. Reports by early childhood experts indicate that abusive and traumatic childhood experiences are related to adulthood challenges such as alcoholism, depression, heart conditions, drug abuse, and various forms of cancer. Encounters with law enforcement agencies and risk-taking tendencies have also been associated with stressful childhoods.
During the first months, an infant develops the ability to read and...