Abstract
The study hypothesized that short-term interventions applied to a high-risk pregnancy population could improve parenting attitudes and home environments, measured by two inventories. Mothers received prenatal and well child care from one provider group at two urban practice sites. Participants were divided into intervention (N = 33) and comparison (N = 39) groups. Interventions included (a) training residents and clinic physicians, nurses, and ancillary staff to use interactions with patients to encourage parental sensitivity and understanding of child development and (b) a short-term nurse home visiting program engaging mothers in guided self-observation to enhance parental sensitivity to infant cues. Intervention participants demonstrated higher Adult—Adolescent Parenting Inventory scores than the comparison group. Significant differences overall between comparison and intervention groups occurred for 2 of 6 domains of the Infant—Toddler HOME Inventory. Short-term primary care and nursing interventions may be effective in high-risk families to promote more nurturing parenting attitudes and behaviors.
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