Stress in Parents of Newborns in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Objective: To identify the level of stress and the most stressful situations for the parents of newborns hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Methods: A descriptive study, with a quantitative approach, performed with parents of newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. For the data collection, the Brazilian version of the Parental Stress Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS: NICU) was used. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Results: The change in the role of mother/father was the subscale in which the highest level of stress was obtained (mean=3.49) and the items considered more stressful in this subscale were "Separated from my baby" (mean=4.00) and "Feeling helpless and unable to protect my baby from pain and painful procedures" (mean=3.78). Conclusion: Hospitalization of a child in a neonatal unit is a stressful experience for parents and there are situations that trigger higher levels of stress.

Vivência materna no contexto da amamentação do recém-nascido hospitalizado e submetido à intervenção cirúrgica

“…When evaluating the stressors present in the NICU, a study showed that the altered maternal role, the baby's separation and helplessness were the main factors that led to an increase in stress levels in the parents. 12 These findings corroborate the present study that infers stress and its causes as one of the difficulties in the breastfeeding process.…”

“…The literature points out the importance of investing in welcoming and harmonious environments to contribute to the mother's permanence in the NICU and, consequently, favoring the mother-baby bond and using proximity to promote MB. 12 Maintenance of lactation is also a challenge emphasized by mothers in this study. Due to the need for a zero diet to perform the surgeries, breastfeeding is interrupted and the drop in milk becomes insufficient, due to anxiety and concern about the child.…”

“…This finding was also identified in other studies that showed this maternal desire to breastfeed, even in the face of the challenges related to breastfeeding and, moreover, identified feelings, such as anguish and frustration, expressed by the mothers who accompany the baby's hospitalization in the NICU. [12][13][14] The neonatal unit has several situations that can generate interference in the mother-baby bond. In addition, one can notice the difficulty of health professionals in supporting mothers to establish the emotional bond.…”

The care provided by the family to the premature newborn: analysis under Leininger’s Transcultural Theory

“…A recent study informs that allowing the family to place the NB in the kangaroo position from the first week of life, whether the baby is on mechanical ventilation or not, strengthens the bond and autonomy to care for the child; and preventing the mother from performing actions related to the maternal role generates feelings of loss of maternal function (29) . So, it is necessary to introduce, from the beginning of hospitalization, the family in care, regardless of the child's clinical conditions, using caution and common sense by the professionals.…”

Family centered care and practice in the neonatal intensive care unit

“…Provide the mother with the possibility of holding her baby in her womb in the first week of life, regardless of whether she is on mechanical ventilation or not, strengthens the mother-baby bond and encourages the woman to feel autonomous to take care of her child. Impairment in the actions of the mother's role, such as breastfeeding, changing diapers, bathing, hugging and kissing the child, causes feelings of loss of function in the mother, negatively impacting the mother-baby relationship (16) .…”