Raylene Phillips, MD, MA, FAAP, FABM, IBCLC

Biography:

After raising three children as a stay-at-home mother, Dr. Phillips received a master’s degree in Developmental Psychology with a focus on mother-infant attachment, became NIDCAP certified as a Preterm Infant Developmental Specialist, and then attended medical school at University of California, Davis. She completed her pediatric residency and neonatology fellowship at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital in S. California and is an attending neonatologist in the Level 4 NICU at the same hospital. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics/Neonatology at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and is Pediatric Department Chair and Medical Director of Neonatal Services at Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta. Dr. Phillips is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and a past president of the National Perinatal Association (NPA). She is currently President of the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH), a global non-profit organization with a mission to support healthy infant-parent relationships before and after birth. Her passion is to honor and nurture the earliest connections between babies and their parents.

Abstract: Building Strong Bonds: The Neurobiology of Parent-Infant Attachment in the NICU

Developing secure bonds of attachment is a major developmental task for all human babies, a process that is considered to be foundational for future mental health and even physical wellbeing. The mechanism for doing so is called “nurturing,” and a growing body of evidence supports the impact of nurturing on physiologic stability, co-regulation and growth, as well as brain development and ongoing physical and emotional health. The first bond of attachment is between mother and baby and begins before birth. Separation of mothers and babies always causes stress and interrupts the bonding and attachment process. When temporary separation is necessary in the NICU, there are ways we can support mothers and babies to help minimize the detrimental effects of separation and to promote healing. This presentation will describe the neuroscience behind parent-infant bonding and attachment and the neurobiology of skin-to-skin contact as a modality for nurturing babies. We will describe ways to communicate with NICU babies in a manner that enhances bonding and attachment and promotes the development of trust as well as enhances brain and language development. We will discuss ways to support babies, mothers, families, and staff in promoting bonding and attachment in the NICU.