1. What is infant mental health (IMH)?

1. A new area of psychiatry which looks at the infant and early years in order to prevent mental illness
2. The young child’s capacity to experience, regulate and express emotions, form close and secure relationships, and explore the environment and learn, within the context of the caregiving environment including family, community and cultural expectations for young children. Developing these capacities is synonymous with healthy social and emotional development
3. Is important in our developing countries and in underprivileged communities where the upbringing of children is in need of support and funding
4. Not particularly important in the early years development of children

2. What is the role of the placenta?

1. To feed the baby in utero; it has no other function during pregnancy other than cultural significance in some parts of the world.
2. The primary function of the placenta is to maintain an adequate supply of nutrients to the foetus. This is especially important for foetal brain development which undergoes rapid growth in the prenatal period
3. The role of the placenta is important because it attaches the baby in the womb to the wall of the uterus, thus physically securing the pregnancy. This means the baby is safe from harm and receives all required nutrition from the mother
4. The placenta is not particularly important in the development of infant mental health as the main function is to secure the infant during the pregnancy, provide a route for nutrition and does not have any significance for mental health of mother or child

3. Why is neuron and neural tube development important?

1. Neural tube development is not particularly significant in the emotional and mental wellbeing of infants and children as most of the positive or negative influences on life chances happen in the pre-school years only
2. Neural tube development is very significant in emotional and mental wellbeing of infants and children. A 3mm neural tube will grow into a whole brain containing 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections
3. Production of new neurons starts at 20 weeks gestation and stops after the infant is three months of age as they are no longer required. At this stage of 20 weeks the neural tube development is slow
4. Production of new neurons starts at 5 weeks gestation and continues through to 18 months – after this age they are no longer required as the baby will now have sufficient neurons to continue with his or her neurological development

4. What are attachment theories?

1. Are not of much importance in considering infant mental health and wellbeing; they are concerned with physical bonding only
2. About the bond between a mother and a baby and no one else.
3. Clear evidence exists that a baby’s social and emotional development is affected by the quality of the parental caregiver
4. Are old publications with limited contemporary relevance to the infant as recent science indicates the infant is programmed to survive regardless of the quality of the physical bonding

5. How would you classify IMH?

1. A safeguarding issue
2. A social issue
3. An ethical issue
4. All of the above