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First-time mothers’ knowledge and beliefs regarding early communication development
Williams, Vicki Pearce, Wendy Devine, Sue
Williams, Vicki
Pearce, Wendy
Devine, Sue
Abstract
Limited literature exists in the Australian context about first-time mothers’ knowledge of early communication milestones, their strategies to facilitate speech and language development and understanding of the relationship between early communication skills and future development. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 53 first-time mothers using SurveyMonkeyw. Most participants had a single child between 0 and 12 months old, lived in outer regional areas and were tertiary educated. Friends were a greater source of information than health professionals and mothers varied in their knowledge of early communication milestones. Mothers were aware of a range of strategies to help their child learn communication skills. Thematic analysis revealed first-time mothers had a high level of insight into the importance of early communication development for future learning and social/emotional well-being. The findings indicate a need for increased information provision to first-time mothers regarding early communication development.
Keywords
communication development, first-time, stimulation, maternal knowledge, information source
Date
2014
Type
Journal article
Journal
Early Child Development and Care
Book
Volume
184
Issue
1
Page Range
15-31
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Allied Health
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled