Application of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Framework to the NICU

Adv Neonatal Care. 2023 Dec 7. doi: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000001122. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Infants and families requiring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care often experience significant stress and trauma during the earliest period of the infant's life, leading to increased risks for poorer infant and family outcomes. There is a need for frameworks to guide clinical care and research that account for the complex interactions of generational stress, pain, toxic stress, parental separation, and lifelong health and developmental outcomes for infants and families.PURPOSE: Apply the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) framework in the context of the NICU as a usable structure to guide clinical practice and research focused on infant neurodevelopment outcomes and parental attachment.METHODS: An overview of ACEs is provided along with a detailed discussion of risk at each level of the ACEs pyramid in the context of the NICU. Supportive and protective factors to help mitigate the risk of the ACEs in the NICU are detailed.RESULTS: NICU hospitalization may be considered the first ACE, or potentially an additional ACE, resulting in an increased risk for poorer health outcomes. The promotion of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and implementation of trauma-informed care and individualized developmental care potentially counter the negative impacts of stress in the NICU.IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: Nurses can help balance the negative and positive...

Source: Advances in Neonatal Care - December 7, 2023 Category: Nursing Authors: Kathryn J Malin Dorothy Vittner Umber Darilek Kelly McGlothen-Bell Allison Crawford Rebecca Koerner Britt Frisk Pados Diana Cartagena Jacqueline M McGrath Ashlee J Vance Source Type: research