Mother-infant consultation during drug treatment: Research and innovative clinical practice

BACKGROUND: This paper details a model for consulting with mothers and infants, and drug treatment staff used in a residential drug treatment program and relevant to other treatment settings. The role of parent-infant consultation based on the Neonatal Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) was evaluated. METHODS: A sequential cohort model was used to assign participants to 1. NNNS consultation versus 2. standard care. The effects of NNNS consultation were evaluated using the Parenting Stress Index and NNNS summary scores. RESULTS: Participants in the NNNS consultation condition had significantly less stress overall, and less stress related to infant behavior than participants in standard care. There were no differences in infant behavior on the NNNS Summary scores. CONCLUSION: The implications for NNNS consultation in drug treatment programs is outlined. The importance of prevention/intervention to establish satisfactory mother-infant interaction in recovery programs which include a central parenting component is indicated.