Parental mentalizing, which is the capacity to understand behavior in terms of mental states and to reflect this back to a child through speech, is a key construct in child development. Adults with high mentalization promote children’s secure attachment, mentalization and self-regulation. This study describes this competency in a sample of teachers from Chilean nurseries in interaction with 12-month-old children during a storytelling scenario and compares it with the children’s mothers. The sample comprised 208 adults (104 teachers and 104 mothers). The adults were asked to tell 2 stories to the children, and these situations were recorded, transcribed, and codified using guidelines that identified 4 references to mental states (desires, cognitions, emotions, and attributes) and 4 references to nonmental states (causal and factual talk, physical states, and connections with the child’s life). Research Findings: The results showed significant differences between the educational staff and the mothers, and the teachers performed better than the mothers in terms of both greater mentalization and a greater number of references to desires, causal talk, emotions, and physical states. Practice or Policy: The results provide evidence regarding the supportive role played by educational staff in children’s development, especially in underprivileged sectors.

La sensibilidad materna se define como la habilidad de la madre para tomar conciencia, interpretar adecuadamente y responder de forma apropiada y contingente a las señales y comunicaciones del infante (Ainsworth el al., 1978). Esta se encontraría relacionada con múltiples factores. Diversos estudios señalan que el género del niño(a), el nivel socioeconómico, nivel educacional de la madre, entre otros, explican las diferencias en sensibilidad materna. A partir de estos antecedentes, el presente estudio reporta los resultados de un trabajo acerca de las variables predictoras de sensibilidad materna en una muestra de díadas madre- hijo(a) de un año de edad que asisten a sala cuna. La sensibilidad materna se evaluó con la Escala de Sensibilidad del adulto, E.S.A (Santelices et al, 2012) y las variables sociodemográficas con un cuestionario ya validado en estudios previos. Los resultados reflejan efectivamente que tanto el nivel educacional de la madre, su edad y el nivel socioeconómico son predictores estadísticamente significativos de la sensibilidad materna.

Background Given the support for the numerous benefits of breastfeeding, a better understanding of social and health determinants is necessary, particularly in under-researched populations. We examined determinants of breastfeeding initiation and duration using a national cohort of Chilean mothers. Methods Participants included 13 738 families enrolled in the Encuesta Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia cohort. Data were collected in 2010 and 2012. Families from all regions of the country were considered. Breastfeeding information was collected via maternal report and standardised assessments were used to collect information on maternal IQ and personality. Logistic and linear regressions were used to identify predictors of breastfeeding initiation and duration. Results Breastfeeding was initiated by 95.2% of mothers. Variation in duration of breastfeeding was large, ranging from 1 to 48 months (M = 11.74; SD = 8.74). Maternal IQ, low-risk prenatal behaviours, conditions at birth and the presence of a partner were relevant predictors of both initiation and duration of breastfeeding, whereas personality and contextual/socioeconomic factors were relevant only for breastfeeding duration. Differences between regions were observed. Rates of caesarean deliveries are alarmingly high and triple that of the global WHO recommendations, at 45% of deliveries in Chile, which are implicated in both initiation and duration. Conclusions Breastfeeding rates exceed Chilean target goals although vary by region. Global targets now need to be focused on. Social and health determinants are implicated in both initiation and duration of breastfeeding. These findings suggest important targets for policy development and breastfeeding initiatives in Chile, particularly concerning the reduction of surgical deliveries.