Abstract
A program for parents has been developed at the Intensive Care Nursery (ICN) 2of the N.C. Baptist Hospital to deal with acute emotional disturbances and to prevent long term adverse consequences of neonatal illness. With activities coordinated by a full-time social work staff, ICN personnel use crisis intervention techniques and stress parent-child contact and parental participation in the care of critically ill infants.
To assess the results of the program, a questionnaire was administered at the time of infant discharge to 61 mothers of infants cared for in the ICN and 42 mothers of normal term infants who received routine hospital care. There were no significant differences between the two groups in socioeconomic status using indices of education, income, occupational or marital status.
Comparing mothers of ICN infants and normal infants, there was no difference in maternal perception of infants as assessed by the Broussard “Neonatal Perception Inventory” or in response to questions related to attachment, expectations, or the emotional impact of the baby's birth. The mothers of critically ill infants had healthy attitudes about their babies, were strongly attached to them, and responded to the crisis by maintaining their emotional integrity.
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Dillard, R., Auerbach, K. & Simon, J. 37 MATERNAL ATTACHMENT AND EXPECTATIONS: A COMPARISON OF MOTHERS OF HEALTHY AND SICK NEWBORNS. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 370 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00042
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00042
