Speaking for the baby: A therapeutic intervention with adolescent mothers and their infants

Abstract

Adolescent mothers frequently experience problems in mother‐infant interaction. However, intervention can be very difficult, particularly when complicated by unresolved conflicts involving relationships in the young woman's past. This article describes a therapeutic intervention, based on the work of Fraiberg, which allows the young mother to learn to interpret her infant's cues while also encouraging her to express her own emotions in the context of the mother‐infant relationship. Two case studies are discussed to illustrate the use of the technique as part of a program of mother‐infant intervention.

Effective preventive interventions to support parents of young children: Illustrations from the Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD)

“…Through 'Speaking for the child' (Carter, Osofsky, & Hann, 1991) the parent is invited to verbalize the child's behavior on the video recordings (Session 2), thus practicing observational skills. In Session 3 sensitivity chains are used to describe moments of positive interactions on the video recordings, that is: a signal of the child (e.g., reaching for a toy), followed by a sensitive, adequate response of the parent (giving the toy to the child), and the child's reaction (a happy smile to the parent).…”

Parental Reflective Functioning: An Approach to Enhancing Parent-Child Relationships in Pediatric Primary Care

“…While taking care to validate the parent’s perspective, the HCP may also offer alternative perspectives – perhaps the assumed perspective of the child. This approach is commonly referred to as “speaking for the baby” and involves providing a verbal description of what the parent (or HCP if the parent cannot) understands the child’s physical or emotional cues to mean (Carter, Osofsky, & Hann, 1991). When the HCP attempts to “speak for the baby” in an effort to convey the connection between the child’s mental state and behavior, the use of the first person may feel less formal or threatening to the parent.…”

Tailoring Clinical Services to Address the Unique Needs of Adolescents from the Pregnancy Test to Parenthood

“…In discussing development and behavior, borrowing strategies from infant mental health approaches can be useful in engaging the young mother, for example by taking the perspective of the baby by “…speaking for the baby” 167 also “speaking to the baby for the mother.” Rehearsing or role playing difficult negotiations with family members or outside agencies can be helpful and reassuring to the young mother, as can use of videotaping short mother-child playing, reading, or feeding interactions and watching them together if possible. These are all strategies to make more abstract parenting information and concepts come alive into more useable, concrete information for the teen parent.…”