Parenting across the Lifespan: Perinatal Mental Health, Infant Feeding, and Child Development

Drawing on eight studies across seven countries, parental mental health, social support, caregiving demands, family relationships, structural determinants, and intervention preferences were investigated within the context of parenting and child development during years of dependency. Parenting stress predicted caregiving burden, burnout, guilt, shame, emotional exhaustion, and poor wellbeing. This was exacerbated when parenting experiences failed to align with societal expectations. This was also exacerbated for parents of children with disabilities, autism, or additional support needs. Learned resourcefulness, parenting resolution, high social support, and high relationship satisfaction all buffered parenting stress. In an intervention-based investigation, fathers valued practical, free, face-to-face parenting programmes, with programme content influencing engagement more strongly than delivery format or facilitator characteristics. Structural influences also affected infant outcomes. National-level analyses demonstrated that female education, employment, and lower air pollution reduced infant mortality. Additionally, more challenging infant temperament was significantly associated with increased antibiotic prescribing, suggesting the potential influence of parental stress and clinical bias. To summarise, parental wellbeing, family relationships, social support, and environmental conditions collectively shape infant and child outcomes. The Special Issue reinforces the need for accessible, family-focused services and more inclusive research that better represents diverse parenting populations.