Hope amidst crisis: exploring perinatal mental health and family dynamics in out-of-home care through virtual assessments during the UK COVID-19 response

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hope amidst crisis

T2 - exploring perinatal mental health and family dynamics in out-of-home care through virtual assessments during the UK COVID-19 response

AU - Iyengar, Udita

AU - Heller-Bhatt, Jessica

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by an Early Career Research Award from the King's College London IoPPN Research & Innovation Committee (RIC). Acknowledgments Funding Information: This work was supported by King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. We are also immensely thankful to Dr. Clark Baim and Bronwen Elliot for their insights and expertise in attachment coding, which significantly enhanced the quality of our work. We are grateful for their collaboration and the positive impact it has had on the completion of this work. We would also like to acknowledge and thank the foster carer and foster child for being so open and willing to be part of this important work. Publisher Copyright: 2024 Iyengar and Heller-Bhatt.

PY - 2024/2/12

Y1 - 2024/2/12

N2 - Caring for a young child exposed to early trauma, along with caregiving stress and heightened by the impact of lockdowns as a result of the COVID-19 response, may compromise the development of the parent-child relationship. Understanding a foster carer's attachment history and considering relational dynamics through an attachment lens may shed light on areas they need support in, to enhance their parenting capacity for vulnerable children. The feasibility of collecting and coding observational data and attachment interviews of foster carers and their children, when conducted remotely during COVID-19, needs to be explored. This perspective piece considers the impact on infant and perinatal health in the context of COVID-19 with particular emphasis on relational dynamics and attachment assessments, using a case study of a foster carer and her child in an out-of-home-care placement. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for safeguarding the well-being of both caregivers and vulnerable children during this challenging time.

AB - Caring for a young child exposed to early trauma, along with caregiving stress and heightened by the impact of lockdowns as a result of the COVID-19 response, may compromise the development of the parent-child relationship. Understanding a foster carer's attachment history and considering relational dynamics through an attachment lens may shed light on areas they need support in, to enhance their parenting capacity for vulnerable children. The feasibility of collecting and coding observational data and attachment interviews of foster carers and their children, when conducted remotely during COVID-19, needs to be explored. This perspective piece considers the impact on infant and perinatal health in the context of COVID-19 with particular emphasis on relational dynamics and attachment assessments, using a case study of a foster carer and her child in an out-of-home-care placement. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for safeguarding the well-being of both caregivers and vulnerable children during this challenging time.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85186439804&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1343944

DO - 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1343944

M3 - Article

SN - 2673-5059

VL - 5

JO - Frontiers in Global Women's Health

JF - Frontiers in Global Women's Health

M1 - 1343944

ER -