Monthly newsletters with parenting tips may offer a simple, low-cost way to help new parents through their baby's first year. Researchers from UK followed 185 low-income, first-time mothers who were randomly assigned to either receive the monthly 'Baby Express' newsletter or stick with routine child healthcare alone. A total of 152 mothers completed the year-long trial. Each issue of the newsletter provided information on normal infant development at a specific age, parenting tips and a guide to local services parents could go to for help. When the mothers were interviewed after 1 year, those in the newsletter group tended to be less stressed and more realistic in their expectations of their babies. It was found that by the time their babies were 1 year old, mothers in the newsletter group appeared less stressed by the job of raising an infant. In general, the mothers reported fewer hassles, and were less likely to say, for example, that the baby cried 'all the time' or that they were 'continually cleaning messes of food.' They were also less likely than mothers in the comparison group to have unrealistic expectations about their babies' behaviour. All in all, the newsletter appeared to help parents understand their infant better. This suggests that similar monthly newsletters could offer an inexpensive way to reach a large number of parents in need of help. The lower stress levels may stem from the fact that the mothers who received the newsletter had a greater understanding of the meanings of infant behaviour. Such understanding might translate into better parent-child relationships down the road.
Pediatrics
December 2008