| Popis: |
Clinical and research findings on infant and child development over the past 50 years have profoundly shaped our understanding of the importance of the relationship between infants and their caregivers. The focus on the first 1000 days of life has gained increasing relevance in the Western world. Africa, which is largely not industrialized, is home to over half of the world's infants and young children; they live in families whose parenting practices and goals are informed by belief systems and customs that are adaptive to their social systems. In Africa, it is essential that knowledge and understanding of these beliefs and customs inform interventions to ensure that local practices are respected where information is imparted about the universal needs of infants. We present the chapter in four distinct parts. In Part I, we start with a background on infant mental health (IMH) and the First 1000 days of Life project, before describing IMH awareness and research in Africa in Part II. In Part III, we present reflections on indigenous cultural parenting practices and what we can learn from them, before concluding in Part IV with evidence-based interventions that could be regarded as relevant and applicable to families in Africa. |
