Mental health articles

EFFECTS OF FREQUENT HOSPITALISATION Frequent hospitalisations create stress on the infant–parent relationship in a number of ways, independently of the condition of the child. Whatever the condition, the infant is unable to function at the expected level of maturity until a measure of physiological stability is obtained. The infant who is hospitalised is likely to experience emotional distress in several different areas. There is exposure to a strange environment and a variety of people who will interact with the infant in different ways. Nurses may be nurturing at times and at other times inflicting pain as a result of necessary interventions. With babies and infants, if the parents are not present at the time of handling by strangers, the infant experiences abandonment and distress. The infant who has not left hospital is unable to establish the predictable daily routines that help the infant to organise her day-to-day life experiences. Each
time the infant is readmitted, this predictability of routine is ruptured. Of course,
there are some infants in chaotic environments where hospitalisation provides
order not experienced at other times. This type of variation in the familial
backgrounds of infants emphasises the difficulty of determining the effects of
hospitalisation alone.