The effect of mothers′ empowerment program on premature infants′ weight gain and duration of hospitalization

Abstract

Background:The readiness of mothers to take care for infants at discharge is a critical issue. Poor readiness of mothers in taking care of premature infants at the time of discharge is associated with potential adverse consequences. This study examined the effect of implementing mothers’ empowerment program on the weight gain and duration of hospitalization in premature infants.Materials and Methods:This study was a quasi-experimental before-after study with a control group, in which 80 mothers with premature infants who were hospitalized in NICU Level II of two hospitals were recruited in the study. Mothers’ empowerment program was implemented as a three-stage training program for the intervention group. Mothers’ readiness questionnaire was completed by the mothers before the intervention and at the discharge time. The changes in mean of mothers’ readiness scores were compared in both the groups.Results:The mean of daily weight gain in infants of the intervention group (3.95 g) was significantly higher than that of the infants in the control group (−0.9 g) (P = 0.003). The average duration of hospitalization for infants in the intervention and control groups was 15.45 days and 20.95 days, respectively, showing a statistically significant difference (P = 0.003).Conclusions:Providing training to the mothers regarding how to care for premature infants can be a useful and effective method in the process of weight gain of premature and low-birth newborns, and may shorten the duration of infants’ hospitalization.

Effect of mothers’ empowerment program on premature infants’ attachment and weight gain

“…In relation to mothers' occupation, less than two thirds and majority respectively of mothers in both study and control group were housewives and more than half in study group from urban area compared to less than two thirds of them in control group from rural region. These findings were consistent with [33] they studied the effect of mothers' empowerment program on premature infants' weight gain and duration of hospitalization and concluded that, the most of the mothers were housewives and majority of them live in rural place. Regarding to causes of deliver preterm infants, half mothers in the study group and less than two thirds in the control had preterm rupture of membrane, this result congruent with [34] they reported that, majority of the mothers were delivered in 32 gestational weeks from premature rupture of membrane, preeclampsia and diabetes.…”

Indonesian mothers' beliefs on caring practices at home for preterm babies after hospital discharge: A qualitative study

“…Mothers often question their ability to care for their infants at home without the support of staff and technology that have been readily available in the hospital (Jefferies, 2014). A mother's lack of readiness to take care of her preterm infant at the time of hospital discharge is associated with potential adverse consequences that may increase the length of hospital stay, increase acute care episodes (visits to the clinic or emergency department or hospital readmissions), and reduce the mother's ability to care for the infant at home (Beheshtipoor et al, 2013;Karbandi et al, 2015;Mohammaddoost et al, 2016;Peyrovi et al, 2016;Vonderheid et al, 2016).…”