The PAPMI® Program: reinforcing the emotional development of the baby

As much as babies do not speak and are not capable of thinking from concepts as complex as those handled by adults, it is clear that their mental world is very complex and dynamic.

In fact, in many ways paying attention to your emotional well-being is just as important as looking after your physical integrity. Not surprisingly, during the first months of life, the psychological structure that will later become their identity and personality develops.

To learn more about how mental health professionals can contribute to the emotional development of babies and the establishment of correct attachment bonds between them and their parents, We interviewed Patricia Sánchez Merino, psychologist and part of the TAP Center management team, clinic located in Madrid. In this psychological assistance center an intervention program is developed specially designed to ensure that that the emotional and affective development of the little ones is optimal during their first months after birth, a stage clue.

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The PAPMI® Program: ensuring good psychological development in the baby

Patricia Sánchez Merino is a psychologist and co-founder of TAP Center, an organization that has as one of its star services the application of the PAPMI® Program to families in which a baby is being raised. This program, acronym for Programa de Apoyo Psicológico P/Materno Infantil, is a set of practices and meetings with the parents and the baby whose The objective is to ensure that the emotional development of the little ones is adequate, and the attachment bond established with the father and the mother is also adequate.

In this interview, Patricia tells us the details about this form of psychological intervention and support.

What is the main objective of the PAPMI® Program?

The PAPMI® (Maternal and Child Psychological Support Program®) is a Social Innovation project that covers a basic need in babies and families, who are users of the Program: it provides babies with comprehensive care from 0 to the first 18 months of life, with the aim of promoting, in this very specific stage of its development, a healthy emotional architecture so that it grows with capacities for emotional regulation, abilities to function effectively with the environment, and secure attachment.

On the other hand, PAPMI® provides direct support and accompaniment to families. Parenting is a time where moms and dads need specific knowledge to make sure they are doing the best for their babies, so the Program It is a support that helps them understand and know what to expect regarding the development of their sons and daughters, in order to incorporate the best formula to enhance their strengths.

It is sought that this moment of life that is parenting during these vital months is enjoyed in a safe way.

What kind of lines of scientific research is PAPMI® based on?

Neuroscience studies on early brain development have shown that socio-affective experience affects brain architecture. Speaking of the importance it has on neurological connections, the first thousand days in the a baby's life and the interaction he has with her reference figures in this period are very important.

On the other hand, studies on emotional development have also documented that children who have developed emotional security when When they reach the second year of life, they have more social competence when they enter the school environment, and fewer problems in regulating their behaviors. emotions. As in the case of brain development, we know that this emotional security, this secure attachment, has its roots in the quality of the interactive experience in the first year of life with its most significant people.

PAPMI® has studies that support it since 1990, and based on the results that report its impact on the quality of attachment, it has been detected that the greater the follow-up of the service, the greater the proportion of children with attachment sure. The proportion of PAPMI® children with secure attachment is significantly higher than the proportion that exists in the general population used as a baseline.

What are the different phases in which this program is implemented?

PAPMI® has a tour of 6 quarterly sessions, from 3 to 18 months of the baby's life. At the beginning of the program there is a first introductory visit with parents, a little before the baby is 2 months old, to know the family structure and thus provide them with information personalized. We know that each family and their babies are different, so each process is totally adjusted to the people who use the service.

In this introductory visit, we are evaluating with the fathers and mothers how the areas involved in the performance of the new role, facilitating the necessary support so that the experience is exciting, confident and positive.

In each quarterly visit with the family we address aspects related, on the one hand, to the physical development of the baby to assess their development milestones, but we will also focus on evaluating the emotional and relational well-being of the child or little girl.

In addition, throughout these sessions, fathers and mothers have a space to share how parenting is being and to have advice from us in all aspects related to the parenting process (sleep, food, tantrums...). The program is supportive and accompaniment, which is why it pays special attention to the care and well-being of mothers and fathers, as well as the rest of the members of the family unit.

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Although newborns do not yet speak, there are ways in which they are learning to communicate with the people who are watching over them. Does the program help to strengthen this communicative bond early and consistently, or does it focus only on creating a correct environment in which the baby can develop well?

The Centro TAP team knows the importance of building a secure attachment at an early age. This is built from birth. Although babies have not developed a phonetic language, their ability to communicate needs is evident from the moment of birth.

Therefore, fathers and mothers are the translators of these expressed needs, and for this reason PAPMI® is key to providing the security babies need for their development. When we explain what they need, we build the communicative link they need to grow stable.

As I was saying, there is a direct relationship between how we relate to our babies and the development of their emotional brain, for Undoubtedly, the foundations of children's ability to relate are developed in their first relationships with their mother or father. father. The intervention and advice in the first 18 months of the baby's life will enable him for a healthy emotional development.

Why is it important to know the attachment dynamics that are established between the baby and the fathers and mothers during the first months of development of the little ones?

There is a lot of information about the construction of attachment, but not all of it is reliable or indicates how secure attachment bonds are actually built. So many parents following certain guidelines believe they are doing it correctly, not necessarily being true...

For this reason, from the program, knowing how attachment is built, the types that exist and the consequences that each has, will make it easier for families prevention keys in stages after the first 18 months of age, achieving greater emotional well-being for babies who have gone through PAPMI®.

We know the importance of attachment, since securely attached children explore their environment without fear, establish bonds of confidence, they regulate themselves emotionally, they have greater autonomy, they are children who express their needs, they have greater self-confidence, etc

One of the most interesting aspects of attachment between babies and mothers is the emotional bond that is created by breastfeeding. What do we know about this process?

To build a bond that provides babies with the construction of a secure attachment, families do not have necessarily had to choose breastfeeding as the main feeding option after the birth. We know that secure attachment is built for the safety, protection and translation of the baby's needs.

The important thing then is not what we do, but how we do it. We must ensure that the emotional needs of the baby are met regardless of the feeding option after the birth of her.

Is it possible to help the baby to develop well emotionally without being totally exhausted in the process? Keeping an eye on the little one day and night can be exhausting.

Indeed, PAPMI® provides families with the necessary keys so as not to exhaust ourselves in the parenting process. When we do not know the strategies and resources necessary to "make easy" the processes, the level of exhaustion is much higher than when we are aware of these skills.

PAPMI® is a program that reduces uncertainty about parenting, and therefore prevents fatigue in this sensitive period, as well as significantly preventing stress and anxiety.