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Cited by 348Infant Development and Preterm CareMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and PostpartumFamily and Disability Support Research

Mothers and Fathers in NICU: The Impact of Preterm Birth on Parental Distress

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Ionio, Chiara, Colombo, Caterina, Brazzoduro, Valeria, Mascheroni, Eleonora, Confalonieri, Emanuela, Castoldi, Francesca, Lista, Gianluca·2016·Europe’s Journal of Psychology
DOI 10.5964/ejop.v12i4.1093PMC PMC5114875
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Abstract

Preterm birth is a stressful event for families. In particular, the unexpectedly early delivery may cause negative feelings in mothers and fathers. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between preterm birth, parental stress and negative feelings, and the environmental setting of NICU. 21 mothers (age = 36.00 ± 6.85) and 19 fathers (age = 34.92 ± 4.58) of preterm infants (GA = 30.96 ± 2.97) and 20 mothers (age = 40.08 ± 4.76) and 20 fathers (age = 40.32 ± 6.77) of full-term infants (GA = 39.19 ± 1.42) were involved. All parents filled out the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Impact of Event Scale Revised, Profile of Mood States, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the Post-Partum Bonding Questionnaire. Our data showed differences in emotional reactions between preterm and full-term parents. Results also revealed significant differences between mothers and fathers' responses to preterm birth in terms of stress, negative feelings, and perceptions of social support. A correlation between negative conditions at birth (e.g., birth weight and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit stay) and higher scores in some scales of Impact of Event Scale Revised, Profile of Mood States and Post-Partum Bonding Questionnaire were found. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit may be a stressful place both for mothers and fathers. It might be useful to plan, as soon as possible, interventions to help parents through the experience of the premature birth of their child and to begin an immediately adaptive mode of care.

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  • Maternal postpartum depression is a strong predictor of paternal anxiety and depression.

    “Since mothers often spend more time in the NICU and experience immediate trauma, maternal postpartum depression is a strong predictor of paternal anxiety and depression [59].”

    From Fathers at risk: Effects of threatened and actual preterm birth on the course of paternal peripartum depression and anxiety (2026) · cites this paper as [59]

    The Results report higher depression scores among mothers of preterm infants and associations between NICU stay and fathers’ anxiety and depression. The Methods (Analysis) and Results report correlations with infant characteristics and hospitalization, not whether maternal postpartum depression predicts paternal anxiety or depression. Searches for maternal depression as a predictor of paternal outcomes found no such analysis in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.74)

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3 of the 60 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Clottey M. Dillard D. M. (2013). Post-traumatic stress disorder and neonatal intensive care. The International Journal of Childbirth Education, 28, 23– 29.
  2. Müller-Nix, C., & Ansermet, F. (2009). Prematurity, risk and protective factors. In C. H. Zeanah, Jr. (Ed.), Handbook of infant mental health (3rd ed.). New York, NY, USA: The Guilford Press.
  3. Prezza, M., & Principato, M. P. (2002). La rete sociale e il sostegno sociale. In M. Prezza & M. Santinello (Eds.), Conoscere la comunità. Bologna, Italy: Il Mulino.
  4. Sameroff, A. J., & Chandler, M. J. (1975). Reproductive risk and the continuum of caretaking casualty. In F. D. Horowitz, E. M. Hetherington, S. Scarr-Salapatek, & G. Siegel (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 4, pp. 187-243). Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press.

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Authors
Ionio, C., Colombo, C., Brazzoduro, V., Mascheroni, E., Confalonieri, E., Castoldi, F., & Lista, G.
Affiliations
  • Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (IT)
  • Ospedale dei Bambini Vittore Buzzi (IT)
Corresponding author
Ionio, Chiara
ORCID
Venue
Europe’s Journal of Psychology
Publisher
Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID)
Published
2016-11-18
Volume
12
Issue
4
Pages
604-621
ISSN
1841-0413 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.5964/ejop.v12i4.1093
PMC
PMC5114875
OpenAlex
W2550032293
Cited by
347
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 1
FWCI
23.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Europe’s Journal of Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • PsychOpen Gold (Leibniz Institute for Psychology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Psychology Archives (cc-by)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Infant Development and Preterm Care
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family and Disability Support Research
Keywords
preterm birth, parental stress, parents, neonatal intensive care unit, negative emotions, perceived social support, postpartum bonding, birth weight, term infants, family stress

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