Infant Mental Health Awareness Week marked in Kilkenny and New Ross

The HSE, at the Maternity Service of St. Luke’s General Hospital Carlow/Kilkenny and in New Ross Library in Co. Wexford, recently marked Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2026.

St. Luke’s General Hospital Carlow/Kilkenny

St. Luke’s Maternity Service highlighted the week by focusing on the theme of attunement, in encouraged expectant parents to connect with their growing baby and skin to skin contact.

It is the subject of a video on the MUMA Postnatal Hub Instagram profile. MUMA (Minding YoU and Me Always) is a service provided to mothers and their partners for up to six weeks after the birth of their baby and up to six months for pelvic health. Care is provided by a team of midwives and a clinical specialist physiotherapist from St Luke’s and the Hub is community based in both Carlow and Kilkenny and complements existing HSE community healthcare services.

Attunement in this instance was demonstrated by a family in the St. Luke’s Neonatal Unit, where new preterm baby Danny enjoyed the “Kangaroo Parent Care” in skin to skin contact with his mum Paula.

Staff education sessions on facilitating attunement took place in the Neonatal Unit for Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2026 and was attended by Clinical Nurse Manager Maureen O’Sullivan, Neonatal Nurse Ailbhe Gaffney and Staff Member Barbara Gleeson . The multidisciplinary team across Maternity and Neonatal Services were provided with refreshments as an opportunity to promote discussion on infant mental health. New babies also received a gift to mark the week which included baby socks, a toy and cellular blanket.

New Ross Library

A parent information session on attunement was held in New Ross Library during Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2026. Organisers spoke with parents about children’s brain development and how being attuned with your child can support a child’s early development.

What is Attunement?

A care givers ability to notice and respond to a child’s needs or recognise shifts in their behaviour is one of the strongest influences on attachment between parent and child. Perfect Attunement between two people is very rare, no one gets it right all the time!

It can be built with:

• Active listening – learn to recognise subtle nonverbal cues from baby by giving them your full undivided attention.
• Empathy – understanding your child’s needs starts with empathising and validating those needs when they are expressed.
• Open Communication – Children learn how to regulate, communicate and express their own emotions by watching their care givers.