Objective To compare the trajectories and determine the predictors of maternal distress, defined as a continuous spectrum of symptomatology and elevated symptomatology, of depression, anxiety and perinatal-specific post-traumatic stress (PPTS), in mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants throughout the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization. Method 69 mothers completed psychological questionnaires within the first month of their infant’s NICU hospitalization and again two weeks prior to NICU discharge. Multiple regression models determined maternal psychological, reproductive, sociodemographic, and infant medical predictors of maternal distress. Results PPTS remained stable throughout the NICU hospitalization while other aspects of distress declined. Previous psychological history and infant medical variables predicted higher PPTS but no other aspects of distress. Reproductive variables predicted anxiety and PPTS; history of fetal loss initially predicted lower PPTS, but throughout hospitalization primipara status emerged as a predictor of higher anxiety and PPTS. Sociodemographic variables predicated initial, but not later, depressive distress. Conclusion Psychological screening is important in the NICU. The PPTS profile suggests it may require distinct treatment. Primiparas should be targeted for intervention.

Aim To examine associations between maternal NICU visitation rates, maternal psychological distress (“distress”), and preterm infant outcome post-NICU discharge in a contemporary cohort of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Methods This was a prospective study of 69 mothers and their VLBW infants. Distress was assessed 1 month post-birth, 2 weeks prior to NICU discharge and after NICU discharge at 4 months corrected age [CA]. Maternal NICU visitation rates were calculated for the first 2 weeks and 1 month post-birth as well as for the entire NICU hospitalization. Regression analyses adjusted for the impact of 1. maternal and infant characteristics and distress on maternal visitation rates and 2. the impact of visitation on long-term maternal distress, and rates of infant clinic attendance and rehospitalization. Results Greater number of children in the home, maternal exposure to a greater number of potentially traumatic events prior to childbirth, and lower maternal anxiety consistently predicted lower visitation rate. Lower maternal visitation rate predicted higher maternal depression scores at infants’ 4 month CA visit. Maternal NICU visitation rate did not predict post-NICU discharge infant clinic attendance or rehospitalization. Conclusion Distress is an important predictor of visitation. In turn, visitation is associated with long-term maternal distress.

Objective To examine first-time NICU mothers’ perceptions of the initial effect and stress of their birth experiences and hospitalizations of their infants and what facilitated or hindered the development of their maternal roles within the context of the NICU. Design A qualitative descriptive design. Setting A 57 bed, tertiary NICU in Chicago. Participants Twenty-three mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants hospitalized in the NICU. Methods Participants were a subset of a larger longitudinal mixed-method study of psychological distress in 69 mothers of VLBW infants. Mothers were interviewed using an adaptation of the Clinical Interview for Parents of High-Risk Infants (CLIP) approximately six weeks after the births of their infants. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results Mothers characterized the infants’ births and hospitalizations as a time of overwhelming change culminating in a new perspective on life. Primary themes were Loss, Stress and Anxiety; Adapting; Resilience; Peer Support; and “I’m a NICU Mom.” Mothers rated peer support as the most facilitative and supportive aspect of developing the maternal role in the NICU. Conclusion Peer support and role modeling by NICU-based breastfeeding peer counselors helped the mothers throughout every stage of their infants’ hospitalizations, from giving them hope, to helping them begin to develop maternal identity, to providing anticipatory guidance about taking their infants home. Talking points are provided for nurses who work in NICUs without dedicated peer support to help mothers establish a healthy mother-infant relationship.

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Background: The association between human milk (HM) feeding in the NICU and neurodevelopmental (ND) outcome in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants is unclear. Limitations of previous studies include a lack of exact estimates of HM dose and of generalizability to minority populations. Objective: To determine the impact on ND outcome of an exact dose of HM received in the NICU in a diverse, contemporary cohort of VLBW infants. Methods: We included 430 VLBW infants born in the period 2008-2012 for whom the mean daily dose (DD) of HM received during the stay in the NICU (NICU HM-DD) was calculated prospectively from the daily nutritional intake from admission to discharge. Outcomes included Bayley-III index scores at 20 months' corrected age (CA) as assessed upon ND follow-up, which were collected retrospectively. Multivariable linear regression analyses controlled for neonatal and social risk factors. Results: Each 10 mL/kg/day increase in NICU HM-DD was associated with a 0.35 increase in cognitive index score (95% CI [0.03-0.66], p = 0.03), but no significant associations were detected for the language or motor indices. Conclusions: There is a significant dose-dependent association between NICU HM intake and cognitive scores at 20 months' CA. Further follow-up will determine whether these findings persist at school age, and could help alleviate the special-education and health-care burden in this population.