This paper describes parent participation in a clinical trial of preventive parent training (PT) targeting low-income parents of young children. Participation encompassed enrollment, attendance, and engagement. Average enrollment rate was 34.9%, although enrollment rates were significantly higher in the control (39.1%) than in the intervention (30.6%) centers. Parents attended an average of 39% of the PT sessions. Higher attendance was associated with lower parenting self-efficacy, more parent-reported child behavior problems, and attending the first PT session. Level of engagement in the PT sessions was related to improvements in parent and child outcomes. Findings suggest that attendance is linked to parent perceived need for help and that resources should be focused on ensuring parent attendance at the first intervention session.

Objective To compare the trajectories and determine the predictors of maternal distress, defined as a continuous spectrum of symptomatology and elevated symptomatology, of depression, anxiety and perinatal-specific post-traumatic stress (PPTS), in mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants throughout the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization. Method 69 mothers completed psychological questionnaires within the first month of their infant’s NICU hospitalization and again two weeks prior to NICU discharge. Multiple regression models determined maternal psychological, reproductive, sociodemographic, and infant medical predictors of maternal distress. Results PPTS remained stable throughout the NICU hospitalization while other aspects of distress declined. Previous psychological history and infant medical variables predicted higher PPTS but no other aspects of distress. Reproductive variables predicted anxiety and PPTS; history of fetal loss initially predicted lower PPTS, but throughout hospitalization primipara status emerged as a predictor of higher anxiety and PPTS. Sociodemographic variables predicated initial, but not later, depressive distress. Conclusion Psychological screening is important in the NICU. The PPTS profile suggests it may require distinct treatment. Primiparas should be targeted for intervention.

Aim To examine associations between maternal NICU visitation rates, maternal psychological distress (“distress”), and preterm infant outcome post-NICU discharge in a contemporary cohort of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Methods This was a prospective study of 69 mothers and their VLBW infants. Distress was assessed 1 month post-birth, 2 weeks prior to NICU discharge and after NICU discharge at 4 months corrected age [CA]. Maternal NICU visitation rates were calculated for the first 2 weeks and 1 month post-birth as well as for the entire NICU hospitalization. Regression analyses adjusted for the impact of 1. maternal and infant characteristics and distress on maternal visitation rates and 2. the impact of visitation on long-term maternal distress, and rates of infant clinic attendance and rehospitalization. Results Greater number of children in the home, maternal exposure to a greater number of potentially traumatic events prior to childbirth, and lower maternal anxiety consistently predicted lower visitation rate. Lower maternal visitation rate predicted higher maternal depression scores at infants’ 4 month CA visit. Maternal NICU visitation rate did not predict post-NICU discharge infant clinic attendance or rehospitalization. Conclusion Distress is an important predictor of visitation. In turn, visitation is associated with long-term maternal distress.

The pregnancy and health-care experience of expectant parents who receive a prenatal diagnosis of their unborn infant is distinctively fraught with uncertainty. Health-care providers (HCPs) that care for parents during this uncertain time have an exceptional opportunity to positively impact parental outcomes. An integrative literature review was conducted to explore HCPs' impact on parents' experiences of receiving a prenatal diagnosis. Thirty-three articles met study inclusion criteria (n=18 qualitative; 6 quantitative; 9 mixed methods). HCP communication was the major theme identified, because of its overarching impact on parents' experiences of receiving a prenatal diagnosis of their unborn infant. Parents' perception of the information communicated to them about their unborn infant's diagnosis by their HCP, and the manner in which that information is communicated to them, affects parents' ability to cope with the diagnosis. Recommendations for health-care delivery models, and for future research are discussed.

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