State Change in Preterm Infants in Response to Nursing Caregiving: Possible Gender Effects

Abstract

Sleep and wake state distribution did not differ statistically by gender; however, the rate of state change in male infants was twice that of females (p=.012) at discharge. At discharge, male infants received approximately twice as many care episodes as females. At discharge, the rate of state change in response to caregiving in male infants was four times that of female infants (p=.026). Males exhibited a greater percentage of caregiving episodes related to state change than did females at discharge (p=.018). Findings suggest further exploration of possible gender differences in state regulation and state change in response to caregiving.

Caregiving and positioning effects on preterm infant states over 24 hours in a neonatal unit in Taiwan

“…Control variables: time (day and hour), GA, PMA, and NTISS. (Ingersoll & Thoman, 1999;Thomas et al, 2008). Our study findings are similar to a report that QS increased when the infant was alone with no caregiving offered, and waking states increased when the infant was with caregivers (Brandon et al, 1999).…”

“…Infants' sleep/wake patterns have been conceptualized in the transactional model (Thomas, Tsai, & Brown, 2008) as resulting from interactions between infants and their socialcontextual environment. Indeed, sleep organization is shaped by early interactions between preterm infants and the caregiving environment (Sameroff, 2009;Thomas et al, 2008).…”

“…Indeed, sleep organization is shaped by early interactions between preterm infants and the caregiving environment (Sameroff, 2009;Thomas et al, 2008). Development of infant sleep was also influenced by infant maturation, infant traits, and nursing caregiving (Brandon, Holditch-Davis, & Beylea, 1999;Ingersoll & Thoman, 1999;Thomas et al, 2008).…”

“…Indeed, sleep organization is shaped by early interactions between preterm infants and the caregiving environment (Sameroff, 2009;Thomas et al, 2008). Development of infant sleep was also influenced by infant maturation, infant traits, and nursing caregiving (Brandon, Holditch-Davis, & Beylea, 1999;Ingersoll & Thoman, 1999;Thomas et al, 2008). However, infant states in these studies were recorded for only 3-4 hours (Brandon et al, 1999;Thomas et al, 2008) via video camera (Ingersoll & Thoman, 1999;Thomas et al, 2008).…”

A Longitudinal Description of Heart Rate Variability in 28—34-Week-Old Preterm Infants

“…Recently, it was reported that males experience more episodes of nursing care at discharge compared to females (Thomas, Tsai, & Brown, 2008). Following participation in the study reported here, more males (2) than females (1) went on to develop NBRS risk scores indicating high-risk status.…”