Impact of Parent Presence and Engagement on Stress in NICU Infants

Adv Neonatal Care. 2024 Apr 1;24(2):132-140. doi: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000001146. Epub 2024 Feb 7.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are exposed to frequent stressors that impact their neurodevelopmental outcomes. Parent presence and engagement are considered critical to improving infant outcomes, yet associations between cumulative NICU parent presence, engagement, and infant stress are infrequently examined.PURPOSE: To examine associations between NICU infant stress and the amount (hours per week) or frequency (days per week) of parent presence and skin-to-skin care (SSC).METHODS: A secondary analysis of a data set representing 78 NICU families was conducted. Infant acuity was measured using Neonatal Medical Index (NMI) scores. Parent presence and SSC data were collected from electronic medical records. Infant stress was measured using resting salivary cortisol levels collected at NICU discharge (median = 33 days of life).RESULTS: More cumulative SSC was associated with lower discharge cortisol in NICU infants for SSC measured in hours per week (P = .03) or days per week (P = .05). Cumulative parent presence was not significantly associated with infant cortisol at discharge. Hierarchical regression analyses examining timing of parent presence supported a model including admission cortisol, NMI score, and parent presence during weeks 1 to 4 of life for explaining infant stress at discharge (R2 = 0.44, P = .004). Analyses examining timing of SS...
Source: Advances in Neonatal Care - Category: Nursing Authors: Source Type: research