Parental contact in the neonatal special care unit

Abstract

Parental telephone calls and visits are analysed during the entire stay of the premature infant in the neonatal special care unit in Leuven, Belgium. It is concluded that the summation of parental visits and telephone calls is a better measure of parental contact than parental visits or parental telephone calls separately. This measure is significantly related to parental profession. It is not significantly related to the distance between the family home and the hospital, to the presence of a car or a telephone at home or to the presence of siblings. Parental contacts remain stable during the entire stay of the baby in the neonatal special care unit.

Measuring Parental Presence in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

“…17,26,30,33 Also in four studies, increased presence was correlated with increased socioeconomic advantage. 17,28,36,37 Older maternal age was associated with increased presence in three studies. 29,32,33 However, in another analysis, younger maternal age correlated with increased presence.…”

“…The presence of other children was the most common factor associated with a significant decrease in parental presence in the NICU, as reported by nine studies 26,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] ; followed by extended distance to the hospital or other travel concerns, as reported by seven studies. 24,26,30,31,34,36,37 In four studies, parental presence increased when parents had the opportunity to stay with or close to their infant. 17,26,30,33 Also in four studies, increased presence was correlated with increased socioeconomic advantage.…”