The Community-Based Family Administered Neonatal Activities (C-B FANA; Cardone, Gilkerson, & Wechsler, 2005) offers home visitors and expectant parents a new way to be together during the unfolding months before birth. Adapted from the hospital-based Family Administered Neonatal Activities (FANA; Cardone & Gilkerson, 1990), the C-B FANA…

This article describes efforts of an Australian tertiary maternity hospital to translate infant mental health research into preventive perinatal and early parenting practice. Clinical practice confirms what is known in the literature: For expectant parents, there can be myriad obstacles to adapting successfully to parenthood and forming a…

In the last decade, China began developing early intervention services for very young children with hearing loss, and their families. This article presents a broad description of some of these programs, including the national rehabilitation networks for speech and hearing training, increased attention on the development of professionals, the…

Extremely premature infants face multiple acute and chronic life-threatening conditions. In addition, the treatments to ameliorate or cure these conditions often entail pain and discomfort. Integrating palliative care from the moment that extremely premature labor is diagnosed offers families and clinicians support through the process of defining…

Pregnancy is a time of heightened risk for domestic violence and of increased vulnerability to traumatic events. In this article, the authors explain how the experience of domestic violence during pregnancy threatens the newborn's healthy development as well as the parent-child relationship. San Francisco General Hospital's Perinatal Child-Parent…

Multidisciplinary support for families of newborns is critical for their health and safety. This article describes three programs at one urban hospital which were implemented to (a) improve breastfeeding support, (b) enhance practitioners' observation and communication skills, and (c) provide a comprehensive social response to the urgent…

Infants who are born prematurely may experience developmental delays and impairments during infancy and beyond. Those who are born at extremely low birthweight face the greatest challenges. Many families could benefit from early intervention services through their local Part C of Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, but…

An educational program developed to prepare health professionals in a neonatal intensive care unit to initiate family-focused developmental care (FFDC) is described. The program was designed to support families with preterm infants. Findings suggest that the program was cost-efficient, prepared nurses to efficiently initiate FFDC, and improved…

This article describes the reflective process component of a multisite study of the effectiveness of family-focused, developmentally supportive care with low birthweight infants. Reflection is felt to be of particular value to developmental care because of the nature of the developmental approach itself, which is theory-guided, relationship-based,…

This new Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2008: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," is the latest annually produced book containing data on 18 different indicators of child and family well-being for the United States, Iowa and its 99 counties. The 18 indicators provide a wealth of health, education, welfare and…

This article addresses the need for very early identification of hearing loss; summarizes federal and state government involvement in early identification of hearing loss; compares common screening methods; explains the use of Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE) with newborns; reviews existing TEOAE screening programs; and urges…

The Preparation of Personnel To Provide Special Education and Related Service to Newborn and Infant Handicapped Children program of the University of Vermont offered interdisciplinary preservice programs to train Early Intervention Specialists at either the Master's level (36 credit hours) or the Certificate of Advanced Study level (30 credit…

This guide outlines hospital-to-home transition guidelines to ensure a successful transition of an at-risk infant. Interagency planning is discussed, with the benefits for families, hospitals, and infant-toddler service providers highlighted. Steps that transition planners should follow to ensure a sound transition plan are provided. Useful…

The Syracuse University Family Development Research Program (FDRP), which ran from 1969 to 1975, provided support and day care for five years to very deprived families with newborn children. Participants, recruited in the third trimester of pregnancy, were low-education families with an annual income of less than $5,000, 85 percent of which were…