Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Neonatology, Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Abstract
BACKGROUND: An infant admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a potentially
stressful event for parents. Severe stress is experienced by parents, affecting their mental health
and relationship, and infants’ development. The current study aims to assess the stress levels among
parents of neonates admitted to NICU and to identify the factors influencing their stress levels.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross‑sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital
of Eastern India over 2 months. Stress levels were assessed using Parental Stressor Scale: NICU
questionnaire among 100 NICU parents (mother or father) with more than 24 h of admission. Stress
was quantified using the Likert scale. The statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software.
RESULTS: In this study, 60.8% parents experienced severe and extreme stress level for overall
stress. The mean for overall stress experienced was 3.71 ± 0.70. There was no significant difference
in overall stress between father and mother (P = 0.65). The highest levels of stress experienced were
in sight and sound subscale (3.23 ± 0.41) followed by relationship with the baby and parental role,”
i.e., 2.46 30. There was no significant association in overall stress score with maternal age, parity,
education level, previous baby being admitted to the NICU (P > 0.05). Stress in sight and sound
domain was statistically significantly higher (P = 0.009) among parents of babies with stay of ≤7 days.
CONCLUSION: These results support wider use in research and clinical practice to identify parental
stress. Interventions can be developed to ameliorate its negative effects on individual, interpersonal,
and societal levels. The stress score was not significantly different between fathers and mothers of
neonates admitted to NICU and the length of stay was significantly associated with sight and sound
domain. Appropriate counseling should be targeted toward both parents. Future intervention studies
should be planned to decrease the stress level among parents.
Keywords
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