"The World In Crisis – what would infants say to us? Development and Context"
Prof Astrid Berg, University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch

Abstract:
What would infants say to us if they were able to speak? And how would we reconcile what they tell us with the multiple crises that young children and their families are facing today? The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis states that environmental factors during critical periods of development have a life long effect on our biological systems. Current research confirms what the older classic studies have shown, and what psychoanalysis has hypothesized even before. The impact of context is central, so that in war torn situations, the caregiver- infant relationship is fundamental and can act as a buffer against the direct experience of horror. As an Association that is concerned with the rights of infants, WAIMH has a responsibility for giving voice to those that cannot yet speak, and to making that known, and to intervening where it is possible. Ways to reach caregivers have to be found via global organizations. WAIMH has a responsive membership that is willing and ready to offer a thinking, reflective space for care workers in the frontline. How to bring this willingness together with the enormous need is however not that simple, and is a challenge we as an Association have to face and engage with.

Presented at WAIMH 2024 Interim World Congress
June 7th, 2024 Tampere, Finland