The Role of Peer Support in the Development of Maternal Identity for “NICU Moms”

Abstract

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.

Depression, Anxiety, and Perinatal-Specific Posttraumatic Distress in Mothers of Very Low Birth Weight Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

“…The present investigation will report on distress variables. HM results have been published previously (16). Data collection and analyses summarizing visitation, parenting and neurodevelopmental outcomes are currently underway.…”

“…Limitations include the use of maternal self-report of psychological distress, design that cannot imply cause and effect, relatively small sample size that while consistent with relevant literature potentially reduced statistical power, exclusion of mothers with term or late preterm infants in the NICU, and the fact that this study focused only on the NICU hospitalization. The present investigation occurred in a NICU with a breastfeeding peer counselor program and it is possible that, while not its primary intention, this program provides psychosocial support to mothers that may impact the generalizability of the current findings (16). An additional weakness was the inevitable variability that existed in the interim days between T1 and T2 data collection because T2 was contingent upon estimated time of discharge, which varied by VLBW infant.…”

The evolution of family‐centered care: From supporting parent‐delivered interventions to a model of family integrated care

“…Peer‐to‐peer support from parents of children who previously were cared for in an NICU setting is an effective psychoeducational intervention, providing parents with support from a nonprofessional peer who has “walked in their shoes.” Peer parents receive training in how to listen and share lessons from their own experience without offering medical advice or serving in a therapist role. Peer support can be effective when provided in person, one‐to‐one or in groups, or remotely using e‐mail, text, video conferencing, or telephone modalities (Bourque et al, ; Bracht et al, ; Hall, Ryan, Beatty, & Grubbs, ; Rossman, Greene, & Meier, ).…”

Sacred Spaces

“…19, 20 Social support includes both emotional and instrumental support and requires an environment conducive to information exchange through personal networks 21 and through caring interactions with others. 22 …”