Peer-reviewed article
Small hands, big ideas: exploring nurturing care through Beatrice Alemagna’s ‘What is a Child?’
Claudia Ravaldi, Alfredo Vannacci ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how a children's picture book by Beatrice Alemagna can help perinatal healthcare professionals understand and practice nurturing care. Forty-two professionals including midwives, doctors, nurses and psychologists discussed the book in forums, and their conversations were analyzed to identify themes. The research found that the book helped professionals from different fields move beyond their specific expertise to think more holistically about caring for newborns and young children. Different professional groups focused on different aspects of care, but the book's visual and metaphorical language helped bridge these differences.
Key points
- Medical professionals emphasized physical health (20.8%) and nutrition (32.1%) in discussions
- Psychologists focused more on early learning opportunities (28.3%) and responsive caregiving (21.0%)
- Four primary themes emerged: power of metaphors, collective care and community support, temporality of care, and transformative dialogue
- The picture book encouraged professionals to move beyond domain-specific perspectives toward holistic nurturing care
- Carefully selected picture books can serve as tools for professional development in perinatal care
Limitations
The study involved discussion forum analysis rather than observation of actual practice changes or measurement of outcomes for children and families. It is unclear whether exposure to the picture book led to sustained changes in how professionals delivered care or improved child health and development outcomes.
Abstract
This study examines the use of Beatrice Alemagna's picture book 'What is a Child?' as a tool for understanding and implementing nurturing care principles in perinatal healthcare settings. Through mixed-methods analysis of forum discussions among 42 perinatal professionals, including psychologists, midwives, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and early childhood educators, we explored how engagement with the book's metaphorical and visual elements facilitated professional reflection and development. Qualitative analysis revealed four primary themes: the power of metaphors in conveying complex caregiving concepts, the importance of collective care and community support, understanding the temporality of care and fostering transformative dialogue. Quantitative analysis showed significant differences in thematic engagement across professional groups, with medical professionals emphasising physical health (20.8%) and nutrition (32.1%), while psychologists focused more on early learning opportunities (28.3%) and responsive caregiving (21.0%). However, the picture book's narrative framework encouraged professionals to transcend their domain-specific perspectives, fostering a more holistic appreciation of nurturing care principles. These findings suggest that carefully selected picture books can serve as sophisticated tools for professional development in perinatal care, particularly in translating abstract theoretical concepts into actionable insights while honouring different professional perspectives and expertise.