Supporting New Parents Through Home Visits Effects on Mother-Infant Interaction

In a study of family support through home visiting, paraprofessionals provided informal social support to low income parents during pregnancy and for 1 year afterward. Most infants were normal, but cases involving neurologic disorders are described as examples of the helping role of paraprofessional home visitors. Mother-infant interaction was better at 4 months in home-visited families than in controls, especially with teen and Hispanic mothers and other subgroups. Paraprofessionals can help families with developmentally disabled children in a variety of ways.