Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) into IYCF‑E

The Infant Feeding in Emergencies (IFE) Core Group, in partnersip with the MAMI Global Network and the Global Nutrition Cluster (GNC), present:

Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support into Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies programming 

This multilingual webinar took place on Wednesday, 11 February, 14:00 – 15:30 CET/Geneva time  
🔊 English | Français | Español | العربية

WATCH NOW (EN, FR, AR, ES)

This practitioner-oriented session examines how maternal stress, trauma, and psychosocial distress affect breastfeeding, infant and young child feeding, caregiver–infant bonding, and infant mental health in humanitarian settings. Importantly, the webinar highlights concrete suggestions, practical recommendations, and real-life solutions to help ensure that counselling and support services prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of stress and trauma, enabling women and their infants to continue successful breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding practices. 

Through realistic role-play scenarios from emergency contexts, participants engaged in trauma-informed counselling approaches, techniques, and language that can be immediately applied in their own programmes. 

Session outcomes

Participants will:

• Strengthen their understanding of the evidence linking trauma, caregiver wellbeing, and IYCF outcomes

• Observe interactive role-play scenarios presenting trauma-informed counselling language and approaches

• Increase awareness and understanding of available IYCF-E and MAMI tools

• Reflect on operational challenges and identify practical, actionable steps for programme integration in their own settings

Languages

🎧 The webinar recording is available with audio tracks in English into French, Spanish, and Arabic throughout the whole webinar.

Intended participants

This webinar is particularly relevant for Humanitarian and emergency practitioners, including programme managers, technical advisers, health and nutrition workers, IYCF-E and MHPSS specialists, lactation counsellors, government counterparts, and partners.

We strongly encourage colleagues working in humanitarian and fragile settings to join this global exchange and strengthen trauma-informed, integrated support for mothers and their children.

Have questions?

For questions or additional information about the event, please contact Alessandro Iellamo at [email protected] and Rachael Menezes at [email protected]