Researcher Spotlight: Heather Liebregts
Tell us about yourself!
I am a psychology PhD candidate at Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, Murdoch University. I am gratefully supervised by Dr Renita Almeida (Murdoch University), Dr Alex Metse (University of the Sunshine Coast), Dr Andrea Steele (Murdoch University) and Prof. Rhonda Marriott (Director, Ngangk Yira Institute for Change). Our research takes a translational approach to the development of an infant sleep intervention for parents in Western Australia that is informed by parent preferences for infant sleep support, as well as facilitators and barriers to implementation in a public health setting. We are interested in the integration of multiple perspectives on infant sleep to develop an intervention that gives parents choice beyond the existing options available for evidence-based infant sleep support.
Outside of my research I have worked clinically with mothers and babies in community perinatal mental health settings both during my clinical psychology training and beyond. I am also currently completing an infant observation program as part of my ongoing post-qualification training in child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy. I grew up in Manjimup in the South West Boojarah region, a place that nurtured in me a great love for the outdoors. When I am not working on my research, you’ll find me knitting, hiking, swimming laps in the ocean or nose-deep in a book.
“I hope to see an emphasis on equitable research which prioritises the application of Aboriginal knowledge to generate culturally informed approaches to models of care for Aboriginal infants and their families.”
What makes you passionate about your field of study?
The field of infant mental health is multidisciplinary, with infant sleep being no exception. As researchers we have an important and exciting role to take on to integrate findings from multiple disciplines. Our work so far has established that infant sleep interventions are typically informed by biomedical perspectives that problematise infant nightwaking and crying, and therefore advise parents to take up a pattern of nighttime responding to their infants that promotes independent infant sleep. While this approach works well for some parents, for other parents this does not align with their cultural values or parenting practices, and many parents may experience distress trying to follow this advice or be left short of options. Through our research we have an opportunity to incorporate evolutionary and sociocultural anthropology perspectives that normalise infant nightwaking and crying within the context of the evolved biology of infants and their expectations regarding their nighttime sleeping environment. Taking an interdisciplinary approach to infant sleep support is an important step towards meeting infant developmental needs whilst also considering their unique family cultural and social contexts.
Although I am early in my career, I have already seen the distress parents and their babies can experience when parents are struggling with uncertainty and confusion around how to help their babies with their sleep, particularly when advice is found to conflict with their own parenting style. Early infancy in a child’s life can be a tender time for the whole family, and for infants to thrive their caregivers also need to be supported. I am passionate about cultivating parents’ capacity to orient themselves to the internal experience of their infants and the special relationship they have with their infants to help promote shared joy and meaningful communication between them. It has been heartening to see in my work the positive and enduring impact early intervention can make for an infant and their family, especially when sensitivity to a family’s cultural values and social context is upheld. This has strengthened my interest in targeting public health innovation for infant sleep support as a research priority.
What outcomes are you hoping to see from your research?
The primary outcome we hope to see from our research is the translation of our research findings on parent preferences for infant sleep support into the development of an infant sleep intervention that is feasible and acceptable to parents. We will consult an advisory group of community stakeholders throughout our work to ensure its relevance and value to the families we aim to support. Our research will also provide us with a much-needed understanding of the current landscape regarding evidence-based infant sleep interventions, in terms of the theories that inform them and the specific components they comprise. These findings will help us to identify the gaps that exist in infant sleep support which will not only inform the development of our intervention but will hopefully inform future advancement in this area beyond our project. More broadly we hope that our findings will be translated into an integrative, interdisciplinary approach to infant sleep support within the public health system, and that greater understanding and appreciation for diverse cultural practices around infant sleep generates more choice for parents regarding infant sleep support. Beyond the scope of this project, we anticipate our findings will inform the thoughtful development and assessment of an infant sleep model of care that is equitable and culturally safe for Aboriginal parents and their families.
What are your hopes for infant mental health research and practice in Australia?
Researchers in the field of infant mental health are uniquely placed to draw on multiple scientific disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, and medicine in their endeavours to develop creative solutions to supporting infants and their families. I can imagine that greater integration of these disciplines across researchers and within broader research teams would enhance innovation with significant practical applications. I have found translational research to be exciting and rewarding and hope to see more research focused on taking thoughtful steps towards synthesising existing findings, exploring facilitators and barriers to implementation, and co-designing with community partners to translate research more effectively into policy and practice. I also hope to see an emphasis on equitable research which prioritises the application of Aboriginal knowledge to generate culturally informed approaches to models of care for Aboriginal infants and their families. More generally across infant mental health research and practice in Australia, I hope to see more curiosity about all the ways infants communicate with us, greater awareness of the uniqueness and complexity of infants as individual persons, and advocacy for the internal experience of infants to be thought about, attended to, and respected.
