2002 International International Biennial Scientific Meeting

MOTHER-BABY JOINT HOSPITALISATION UNIT IN MONTESSON, FRANCE: VIDEO PRESENTATION OF THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF INPATIENT TREATMENT OF EARLY RELATIONSHIP DISORDERS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR THE BABY

Carmen Da Mota-Mattonet and Patrick Chardeau

Institut Théophile Roussel, Montesson, France

patrickchardeau@hotmail.com

Our unit, which is part of the child psychiatry department, is one of the oldest mother-baby units in France as well as the largest (capacity: 8 pairs). It is specifically intended to provide care for early problems in mother-baby interactions and their functional effects on the baby, when the problems stem from maternal psychiatric disorders: post-partum depression and psychoses, and acute decompensation in schizophrenia

We treat the maternal psychiatric disorganisation, which is related to impediments to mothering processes, at the same time as we support the first stages of the baby's psycho-affective development. The father is included in the treatment.

This work can require a hospitalisation of up to several months, justified by its prevention of subsequent disruptions.

With this video, we would like to highlight some aspects of the care provided to mother and baby, as practised in our department. A multidisciplinary team manages all cases. The treatment involves techniques from a variety of approaches:

• The nurses are with the mother daily as she cares for the baby. They must not take her place.
• Individual mother-baby psychotherapy sessions are conducted by the child psychiatrist.
• The psychologists conduct a weekly group in which all the patients and their babies can interact and talk. They also observe the dyads directly, following Esther Bick's method.
• The psychologists, nurses and physical therapist conduct psychocorporal care sessions in a small pool (large tub) with mother and baby.