Fathers' stress related to their infants' NICU hospitalization: A mixed research synthesis

Beck, Cheryl Tatano; Vo, Timothea

doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2020.02.001

Cited by 13 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Prior research has demonstrated greater stress related to role alterations for mothers compared with fathers 18 28. Still other research has highlighted unique stressors for fathers in the NICU including divided attention between infant and partners 29 30. In this study, we found that mothers reported less parental stress than fathers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 44%

Sociodemographic risk factors, parental stress and social support in the neonatal intensive care unit

Younge

Jacobs

Tuchman

et al. 2022

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed

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ObjectiveInvestigate relationships among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) parent demographics, reported stress and social support.DesignCross-sectional observation.SettingTertiary referral NICU in Mid-Atlantic USA.PatientsParents (n=300) in the Giving Parents Support trial at enrolment.MeasuresPsychometric scales measured general stress, parental stress, NICU stress and social support. Demographic variables included education level, health insurance type, race, relationship status, age and gender. Length of stay was used to control for illness severity. Associations and potential modifying effects were evaluated using linear regression.ResultsHaving less than a college degree (b=−2.52, SE=0.91) and female parent gender (b=−3.42, SE=1.47) were associated with lower parental stress scores. Older age in years was associated with higher parental stress scores (b=0.21, SE=0.07) but lower NICU stress scores (b=−0.01, SE=0.01). Greater social support scores were associated with lower scores of general (b=−2.76, SE=0.39) and parental stress (b=−1.71, SE=0.47). Less than a college degree (b=−0.26, SE=0.11), Medicaid insurance (b=−0.43, SE=0.11) and black race (b=−0.56, SE=0.12) were associated with decreased social support scores. Level of social support modified the relationship between education and parental stress, with higher social support decreasing education-based differences in parental stress scores (p=0.049).ConclusionSociodemographic risk factors may not infer stress or risk in the anticipated direction. Practice and future research should focus on identifying and supporting NICU families at high risk for stress and low support.Trial registration numberNCT02643472.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 44%

Sociodemographic risk factors, parental stress and social support in the neonatal intensive care unit

Younge

Jacobs

Tuchman

et al. 2022

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed

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“…It is important to remember that parental stress in the NICU does not only pertain to mothers, but also fathers. As such, proper assistance for both parents would be essential to fully support the long-term development of appropriate parent-child dyads in NICUs as well as home ( 35 , 44 , 45 , 62 – 68 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mediational models of maternal stress in neonatal intensive care units

Lau¹,

Turcich²,

Fraley³

2022

Pediatr Med

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Background: Maternal stress in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is well acknowledged. However, there is currently no well-defined support at how to best assist mothers during their infants’ hospitalization. Not only must they confront at the same time their infant’s fragility, but also their own personal trials. In this exploratory study, we examined whether the Multiple-Stressor mediational modeling approach commonly used in Ecology could be used to better assist these parents. This approach calls attention to the overall impact that multiple stressors can have on an organism, i.e., not only in regard to their individual effects, but just as importantly, through their interactions with each other, be they positive or negative. It is hypothesized that the use of such mediational modeling could improve our understanding of the overall impact that multiple stressors can have on NICU mothers. Methods: At 2 weeks postpartum, 30 mothers with infants born between 24 and 29 weeks gestation responded to the following self-reported psychological outcome measures: Affect Intensity Measure (AIM); Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale (CM); Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS); Brief Symptom Inventory-Anxiety (BSI-Anx); Parental Stress Scale: NICU (PSS:NICU); Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS); and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). The “Best Subsets Regression” analysis ( www.minitab.com ) was used to identify the four interactive maternal outcome measures that best correlated with the mediational stress models of interest, namely, Depression, Anxiety, parental NICU stress, Perceived Social Support, and Coping skills. Results: The following mediational models of maternal stress outcomes during their infant’s NICU hospitalization were identified: depression, anxiety, stress of the sights and sounds in the NICU, “the looks of my baby”, my “inability” to be a parent, perceived social support, and coping skills. Conclusions: It is advanced that the use of the Multiple-Stressor approach, with its ability to identify factors associated with particular stressors, can offer psychosocial providers a more tangible understanding of the maternal key elements at the source of maternal stress in NICUs. It is expected that to ease the stressful experiences these mothers encounter, such approach will facilitate the development of more effective interventions to assist these parents’ challenges than currently available.

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“…Moreover, the EPDS has not commonly been administered to the mother's partner. The clinical literature more recently has begun to highlight the impact of preterm birth on fathers' as well as mothers' well-being [30][31][32][33] . For instance, the prevalence of paternal depressive symptoms akin to maternal PPD among fathers of preterm infants has been estimated to be 2-19% higher than for fathers of term infants 19 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental stress and depression in the NICU: an analysis of psychosocial evaluations, infant factors, and stress-related salivary biomarkers

Rubin,

Wolfe,

Pels

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Parents of NICU infants frequently experience psychosocial stress and depression. This prospective observational study aimed to determine (a) parental/infant risk factors for parental depression/stress and (b) associations with salivary stress biomarkers. Parents of NICU infants (predicted hospital stay >2 weeks) were eligible. Parental salivary samples and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and Perceived Stress Scale were obtained in week one, at six weeks, and near discharge. Results were obtained for 66 parents (36 mothers, 30 fathers) of 39 singleton infants. On initial EPDS, 21% of parents (22% of mothers, 33% of fathers) scored sufficiently high (>12) to warrant referral for support/counseling services. Elevated EPDS was associated with parental AM cortisol and infant illness severity. Self-reported stress differed between mothers and fathers. Salivary stress biomarkers, coupled with validated screening questionnaires, are useful in detecting and intervening with parents at risk for stress and depression during their infants’ NICU admission.

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Fathers' stress related to their infants' NICU hospitalization: A mixed research synthesis

Cited by 13 publications

References 31 publications

Sociodemographic risk factors, parental stress and social support in the neonatal intensive care unit

Sociodemographic risk factors, parental stress and social support in the neonatal intensive care unit

Mediational models of maternal stress in neonatal intensive care units

Parental stress and depression in the NICU: an analysis of psychosocial evaluations, infant factors, and stress-related salivary biomarkers

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