Stress in Mothers of Newborns Admitted To the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Introduction: The hospitalization of a newborn in a neonatal intensive care unit is a stressful event for the family.
Objective: To assess the level of stress reported by mothers and the relationship with sociodemographic and clinical variables, in relation to various stressors.
Methods: A descriptive and longitudinal study was conducted in mothers of 58 critical newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care at Guanabacoa Hospital Gynecobstetric from January 2016 to December 2017. The parental stress scale was applied. It had four subscales: sights and sounds, baby appearance and behavior, relationship with the baby and parental role, and relationship with the staff.
Results: The average age was 24 years, pre-university education level in 50% of cases. Multiparous with eutocic delivery was present in 62.07%, preterm in 74.14% and 50% underweight. The most frequent cause of admission was respiratory distress, 41.38% required non-invasive mechanical ventilation. The average hospital stay was 7 days. The subscales that yielded the highest scores of stress were relationship with the baby and parental role, and appearance and behavior of the baby.
Conclusions: The stress generating elements in the mothers studied were identified with the application of the parental stress scale. This encourages promoting cognitive, emotional and behavioral practices, stimulation techniques and basic care to help parents cope better with hospitalization.