New Beginnings–an experience-based programme addressing the attachment relationship between mothers and their babies in prisons

Abstract

Data about the quality of attachment between infants and parents in high-risk populations suggests that early intervention may be advantageous for positive developmental outcomes for the child. Mothers in prison represent a high-risk parenting population in terms of both attachment histories and economic and social risk factors. New Beginnings was constructed as a short term, experience-based programme for mothers and infants in the Mother and Baby Units of two UK women's prisons. It is based on the early intervention model developed at the Anna Freud Centre. The programme was piloted in 2004–5, with 27 participating dyads. This paper presents an overview of the pilot stage. Our aim is to introduce the thinking that went into the programme and to present initial observations concerning the effect of the programme. We describe the development of a framework for the programme and its preliminary evaluation using pre- and post-interview protocols concerning the mothers' thoughts and feelings about their babies. We used the Parent Development Interview, for both a qualitative analysis of the major themes in connection to child rearing and quantitative measures of reflective capacity in relation to the child on the part of mother-participants.

Keywords:

• Attachment
• mothers and babies
• high-risk
• prison Mother and Baby Units
• early intervention
• reflective functioning
• intergenerational transmission

Notes

1. The issue of separation has been debated and challenged in many countries where babies are allowed to remain with their mothers in prison. When constructing the New Beginnings programme, a decision was made (by the first author) to work with the experience of the mothers and babies in the system as it currently operates and not to adopt an adversarial role regarding the ethics of separation. This article has been written in similar vein. However, since the programme has been running the team has been invited to work also with the staff in some Units around issues of attachment and separation.

2. Excepting activities such as baby massage, it is unusual for there to be dedicated activities or programmes for mothers and babies together in the Units.

3. Two mothers who participated in the course did not complete the research arm.

4. Initially prison visitors experienced in running New Bridge's ‘Family Matters’ courses in prisons were recruited to facilitate the New Beginnings programme and received a ‘top-up’ in Parent Infant Mental Health. It was concluded that this was not sufficient grounding for the New Beginnings course and therapeutically trained facilitators were recruited.

5. The work of the facilitators and relationships with them will be discussed in a forthcoming paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kata Lénárd

Her work was supported by the Eotvos Scholarship,the Hungarian Fellowship Committee