Masters Degrees (Psychiatry)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Psychiatry) by browse.metadata.advisor "Berg, Astrid"

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    Parents’ practices and beliefs about their infants play at two state infant mental health clinics in Cape Town
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Domingo, Marchelle; Berg, Astrid; Mpinda, Bulelwa; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Psychiatry.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Insight into local beliefs about play, which is highly under studied within the first three years of life, could inform clinical practice in that clinicians and parents might have different views about play. Aim: The study aimed to explore and describe parents’ practices and beliefs about their infants play. Methods: Qualitative study using individual semi structured interviews with six purposefully selected parents, who attended an Infant Mental Health Clinic at either Tygerberg or Lentegeur state hospitals in Cape Town, over the last twelve months. Results: All parents were birth parents, with a mean age of 33 years. Most parents (83.3%) were female. Two-thirds (66.7%) were unemployed at the time of the interview. Infants were predominantly male (83.3%). Most parents had never considered play as something of significance in their own or their children’s lives. Several transgenerational subthemes emerged, suggesting that parents’ experiences and beliefs about play impacted their interaction and the messages they conveyed about play behaviours. Most parents appeared motivated to give their children the best opportunities for play, but some found it difficult to balance daily demands and demonstrated a reliance on expert guidance. Conclusions: There is a need for parental guidance – to allow for a space for parents to explore what they understand by ‘play’ and what their childhood experiences might have been, before the clinician can give information, examples, and guidance as to the importance of play so that it can be meaningful for the parent.
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    Problematic feeding behaviours in infants and the mental health of their caregivers : a descriptive study at two public health care facilities in the Western Cape
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Subramoney, Jeannine; Lachman, Anusha; Van Niekerk, Evette; Berg, Astrid
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Maternal mental health (MMH) is considered a risk factor for feeding difficulties in young children. Problematic eating behaviour may not pose an immediate physical health threat; however, long-term poor dietary intake is a known contributor towards poor developmental outcomes. Objectives: To describe the common mental health symptomatic status of mothers of children (1-3 years old) that present with problematic feeding behaviours at government health sites in Atlantis and a nonprofit organization – Courage-to-Care in the Western Cape. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design with purposive sampling, 16 mother-child dyads were recruited. Problematic feeding behaviours were screened for using the Montreal Children’s Hospital feeding scale and anthropometric measurements were used for growth development. MMH was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item and the Common Perinatal Mental Disorders screening tools. Results: Infants had a current median (IQR) age of 22 (18.00-36.00) months. Most infants had normal growth development. However, 43% of infants scored as having severe feeding difficulties. Mothers had a mean (SD) age of 28.40 (7.03) years with 18% reporting severe anxiety symptoms and 25% with severe depressive symptoms. Suicide risk was high (50%). Infants with severe feeding difficulties were noted for 25% of mothers with severe depression and 32% of the mothers that screened in the suicidal risk category. Conclusions: The findings suggest that MMH screenings should be integrated at baby wellness clinics to help mothers who may be experiencing common mental health disorders to seek early intervention at primary health care settings.