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Maternal mental health and engagement in developmental care activities with preterm infants in the NICU

Journal of Perinatology volume 43, pages 871–876 (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To examine associations between maternal mental health and involvement in developmental care in the NICU.

Study design

Mothers of infants born <32 weeks gestation (n = 135) were approached to complete mental health screening questionnaires at two weeks after admission. Mothers who completed screening (n = 55) were further classified as with (n = 19) and without (n = 36) elevated scores. Mothers’ frequency, rate, and duration of developmental care activities were documented in the electronic health record.

Results

35% of screened mothers scored above the cutoff for clinical concern on ≥1 measure. No significant differences between the 3 groups were identified for rates, frequency, or amount of all developmental care, kangaroo care, and swaddled holding.

Conclusion

Elevated scores on maternal mental health questionnaires did not relate to developmental care. Maternal developmental care engagement may not indicate mental health status. Universal screening for psychological distress is required to accurately detect symptoms in mothers of hospitalized preterm infants.

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Data availability

Deidentified Data will be made available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the NICU nurses, clinical psychologists, and clinical research coordinator, Molly Fradin Lazarus, for their contributions to data collection. We thank the parents and families of the LPCH NICU for their generous participation in this study.

Funding

All phases of this study were supported by the Stanford University 2019 Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Innovator Grants (R. J. Shaw, PI) and the National Institutes of Health- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K.E. Travis, PI; 5R00HD8474904; H.M. Feldman, PI; 2RO1- HD069150).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Katherine E. Travis, Melissa Scala.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Sarah E. Dubner, Maya Chan Morales, Virginia A. Marchman & Katherine E. Travis

  2. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Virginia A. Marchman

  3. Division of Child Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Richard J. Shaw

  4. Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Melissa Scala

Authors
  1. Sarah E. Dubner
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  4. Richard J. Shaw
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  6. Melissa Scala
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Contributions

SED contributed to data acquisition and data interpretation and drafted the manuscript. MCM performed initial data analyses and drafted the manuscript. VAM performed data analysis and data interpretation and revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. RS contributed to the conception and design of the study, data acquisition, and reviewed the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. KET contributed to study design, data acquisition, and data interpretation, and reviewed the manuscript for critically important intellectual content. MS conceptualized the study, contributed to interpretation of the data, and reviewed the manuscript for critically important intellectual content. All authors approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa Scala.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The Stanford University Institutional Review Board approved the experimental protocol (#IRB-54650). All data were collected in the course of routine clinical care. Participants were not required to give consent for this retrospective analysis. The study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Dubner, S.E., Morales, M.C., Marchman, V.A. et al. Maternal mental health and engagement in developmental care activities with preterm infants in the NICU. J Perinatol 43, 871–876 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-023-01661-0

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