Almost 200,000 infants and toddlers come into the child welfare system each year. They do so during the period of the most rapid brain development. Maltreatment can damage the architecture of the developing brain, with lifelong consequences for both baby and society. The child welfare system has not done well at addressing the developmental needs…

Pamela High, MS, MD, co-director of the Infant Behavior, Cry and Sleep Clinic at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, discusses the phenomena of infant crying and the impact it has on families. In most cases, infant crying will peak and resolve in the early months, but infant irritability can increase the risk of maternal…

The prevalence of traumatic stress in the lives of families who are homeless is extraordinarily high. Often these families are headed by single mothers who have experienced ongoing trauma in the form of childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and community violence, as well as the trauma associated with poverty and the loss of home,…

Children who suffer abuse or neglect, or have parents who suffer from mental health problems (especially maternal depression), substance abuse, or family violence, have as high a probability of experiencing developmental delays as do children with medical conditions that are automatically eligible for Part C services under the Individuals with…

This article summarizes the scant existing research on the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on mothers and their babies during the peripartum period and describes a pilot research project within the Infant-Family Service (IFS) at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, an outpatient mental health service for inner-city families with…