Efficacy of Parent Interventions during Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Admission

Abstract

Supporting the mental health and care giving competency of parents whose children are born prematurely can positively impact the growth and development of these babies (Teti & Gelfand, 1991). Many Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) across the country provide interventions to support parents whose babies are born prematurely (Newborn, 2012). Individual perception of intervention success can manifest self-esteem and competency (Crnic, Ragozin, Greenberg, Robinson, & Basham, 1983b). Focusing on providing parents with effective supports and strategies is crucial because parent competencies affect their ability to support their child's development and have meaningful interactions that form attachment with their babies. Early interactions impact babies' long-term social and emotional development and that early interactions are linked to children's development of emotional and behavioral disabilities, rate of expulsion, and rate of incarceration later in life (Clark, Woodward, Horwood, & Moor, 2008). Participants responded to a survey that evaluated whether they feel the interventions they were offered positively impacted their NICU experience and infant care-taking aptitude. The parent survey provided access to perceived success of hospital interventions parents experienced during their child's NICU stay. The study targeted parents whose babies were in the NICU for more than three weeks and born at, at most, 34 weeks of gestation. Parents were asked to reflect on the interventions in which they participated during the NICU stay .