New perspectives on responsive infant care: A qualitative study of the ways in which Neuroprotective Developmental Care (NDC) shapes mother-infant co-occupations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Becoming a parent is a significant occupational transition. Many contemporary approaches to infant care focus on algorithmic schedules and rigid routines for sleep and feeding; delayed responses to cues related to feeding, sleep, and cry-fuss communication; minimising sensory stimulation for feeding, sleep, and to address cry-fuss communication; and sometimes highly medicalized approaches to unsettled infant behaviour via lenses of reflux, allergy, and tongue-tie, often without a supportive evidence-base or adequate assessment. Such interventions are at odds with a co-occupation perspective. Neuroprotective Developmental Care (NDC) provides information and guidance to support evidence-based infant care that supports caregivers to respond to their infant’s communication cues. This research aimed to explore how day-to-day co-occupations of parents and infants are shaped by accessing NDC. Methods This qualitative thematic analysis was guided by interpretive description. Twelve mothers who had accessed NDC with their infant in Australia participated in semi-structured telephone/Zoom video interviews. Findings Flexibility across the days was identified as the overarching theme regarding mother-infant co-occupations within the data. Three sub-themes describe how mothers changed the ways they put together their daily occupations with their babies in relation to 1) sleep, 2) feeding, and 3) calming through sensory nourishment. Conclusion This research offers novel insights into responsive care from the perspective of the ways in which mothers flexibly orchestrate their days so that they can respond to their infants’ communication throughout the days. Mothers’ responses offered insights regarding an occupational approach to responsive infant care which warrants further research.