Women & Infants Participating in National Pilot Program on Early Childhood Attachment

Online, March 29, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island is participating in the pilot distribution of a new toolkit designed to help parents learn about early childhood attachment and to develop the skills necessary to create secure attachments with their children. Women & Infants is one of 10 hospitals in the United States, the only one in New England, taking part in the pilot distribution. As one of the nation's largest birthing hospitals, Women & Infants was chosen for its high birth rate and the diversity of the families it serves.

Called "Early Moments Matter," the toolkit is part of a broader outreach campaign centered around the PBS series, This Emotional Life (pbs.org/thisemotionallife). Available in both English and Spanish, the toolkit includes an interactive handbook and a 30-minute film, both designed to help new and expectant parents learn the facts about attachment and to build the skills needed to emotionally connect with their children. Early Moments Matter also includes guides for parents and professionals, along with a bookmark and magnet reinforcing important attachment information.

"Women & Infants is proud to be a part of the Early Moments Matter campaign," said Paula Gillette, RN, MSN, senior vice president for Patient Care Services at Women & Infants. "Attachment is key to the emotional development of our children, and these materials will help parents as they navigate through the early years of their children's lives."

Women & Infants will distribute 100 toolkits throughout the month of April as part of this pilot distribution, and officials from the hospital will work with the project organizers to measure impact with participating families. The results of the pilot will be used as a nationwide distribution of the toolkits continues in the second half of 2010. The toolkits will be distributed through a number of channels, including high birth rate hospitals, public sector organizations, community and faith-based groups, and other agencies serving children and families in need.

"While becoming a parent can be the most joyous time in an adult's life, it also can be fraught with anxiety, particularly if mom and baby are having a difficult time attaching to each other," said Margaret M. Howard, PhD, director at Women & Infants' Day Hospital, the only psychiatric partial hospital in the US to care for the psychiatric needs of pregnant and postpartum women. "We are hopeful that the tools found in this toolkit will help those mothers who simply need access to some information and resources."

This Emotional Life is a two-year, multi-media campaign to foster awareness, connections and solutions around mental health and emotional well-being. Anchored by a three-part series that premiered on PBS in January, the project features a dynamic web presence, partnerships with leading expert and advocacy organizations, and toolkits that address the issue of attachment and the emotional health of our military families. The entire project is spearheaded by Seattle-based Vulcan Productions, a company owned by investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen.

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, a Care New England hospital, is one of the nation's leading specialty hospitals for women and newborns. The primary teaching affiliate of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University for obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics, Women & Infants is the seventh largest obstetrical service in the country with more than 9,000 deliveries per year. In 2009, Women & Infants opened the country's largest, single-family room neonatal intensive care unit.

Women & Infants has been designated as a Breast Center of Excellence from the American College of Radiography; a Center for In Vitro Maturation Excellence by SAGE In Vitro Fertilization; and a Neonatal Resource Services Center of Excellence. It is one of the largest and most prestigious research facilities in high risk and normal obstetrics, gynecology and newborn pediatrics in the nation, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Gynecologic Oncology Group. The hospital was named Rhode Island's Best Place to Work by Providence Business News and a National Center of Excellence in Women's Health by the federal government. For information about Women & Infants, log on to womenandinfants.org, and for the name of a physician on the Women & Infants' staff, call the Health Line at 1-800-921-9299.