Defining Gender in Infant Care

Paul, Kathryn J.; Murosko, Daria; Smith, Vincent C.; Montoya-Williams, Diana; Parga-Belinkie, Joanna

doi:10.1542/neo.24-3-e199

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 14 publications

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“…In the past five years, several scholars have published clinical protocols [ 28 ], case presentations [ 29 ], and insights and suggestions based on clinical wisdom and reviews of the best available literature [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ] on supporting LGBTQ+ families in the NICU, during lactation, and at discharge. To provide family-centered care for LGBTQ+ parents of infants in the NICU, however, it is important to center the perspectives of LGBTQ+ parents themselves and to better understand their experiences in the NICU, particularly since family-centered care emphasizes parent empowerment and the formation of an effective therapeutic relationship with the health team [ 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family-Centered Care for LGBTQ+ Parents of Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Integrative Review

Yinger,

Jones,

Fallin-Bennett

et al. 2024

Children

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Background: Having an infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can disrupt parent well-being, the transition to parenthood, and the typical trajectories of infant and child health. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other sexual and gender minority identity (LGBTQ+) parents, this stress may be compounded by health disparities and fear of stigma and discrimination; however, research is lacking about LGBTQ+ parents of infants in the NICU. Objectives: The purpose of this integrative review was to better understand the experiences of LGBTQ+ parents of NICU infants, with a focus on experiences of stigma and discrimination, sources of strength and resilience, and provision of family-centered care. Method: We searched EBSCOHost, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar between 30 May 2023 and 18 September 2023 for empirical studies published in English in peer-reviewed scholarly journals in which LGBTQ+ parents shared their experiences with having infants admitted to the NICU. Results: We identified six articles that met inclusion criteria, all of which were qualitative studies that included 12–14 LGBTQ+ parents of NICU infants. Conclusions: LGBTQ+ parents in all studies reported instances of perceived stigma and discrimination while their infants were in the NICU, whereas parents in two studies mentioned strength and resilience, and parents in three studies described elements of family-centered care. There is a need for rigorous research on family-centered NICU care that includes questions about sources of strength and resilience in addition to challenges. We propose that future researchers use community engaged methods to center perspectives of LGBTQ+ parents.

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