The Relationship Between the Participation of Mothers in Baby Caregiving and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the relationship between the participation of mothers in baby caregiving in the neonatal intensive care unit and post-traumatic stress disorders. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Sivas Numune Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between April and October 2021. Data of the study were collected with a face-to-face survey method conducted with 284 mothers. In the study, it was determined that mothers; who had a high level of education, were employed, had a nuclear family structure, were breastfeeding, and received discharge training had higher participation in caregiving. On the contrary, it was determined that mothers; who were housewives, whose baby was of the gender they did not want, who evaluated the health status of their baby and themselves as moderate, and who had more than one child had more posttraumatic stress disorder. As the result of the research, to increase mothers' education level, informing them and supporting them psychologically during this period are recommended.