Parent-baby clinic

report of an experience at a teaching hospital

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present the work developed at the parent-baby clinic
(Ambulatório Pais-Bebês) at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, so as to emphasize
the importance of this assistance modality to professionals of related areas within the
hospital environment. The authors emphasize the experience developed by an
interdisciplinary group of professionals who are dedicated to research, teaching and
providing assistance for babies and their families for about 10 years. It is hoped thatthe both research and practice will be stimulated in this area of childhood and adolescent
psychiatry, still little explored in Brazil. This collaboration among professionals resulted
from the need to assist a growing number of babies who present development-related
health problems, as well as to prevent gaps in the relationship with the caretakers. In
general, although most cases are serious, intervention tends to be brief and with
favorable results. The authors believe that this may result from the fact that, between
0 and 3 years of age, babies are extremely responsive to environmental changes.
Therapeutic interventions that focus on such changes elicit responses from the babies
who, in turn, also stimulate their caretakers to provide better qualified care. The clinical
experience throughout our experience has shown that the cost of such interventions
is extremely low, and as a consequence such actions should be prioritized as part of
the effort to prevent mental problems in children.