Dataset Information

Fathers' experiences of supporting their partners during their preterm infant's stay in the neonatal intensive care unit: a multi-method study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To explore how the fathers experience their role as a support for their partner and the relationship with them during their preterm infant's stay in the NICU.

Study design

Multi-method longitudinal study involving ethnographic observation, semi-structured interviews, self-report questionnaires, and clinical information. Twenty fathers of preterm infants hospitalized in a level-III-NICU were included. Data were analyzed using thematic continent analysis.

Results

Three main themes were identified: support for mother (subthemes: putting mother's and infant's needs first; hiding worries and negative emotions; counteracting the sense of guilt; fear that the mother would reject the child), mother's care for the infant (subthemes: observing mother engaged in caregiving; mother has "something extra"), and couple relationship (subthemes: collaboration; bond).

Conclusion

Fathers supporting their partners during the stay in the NICU experience emotional distress and the need for being supported that often are hidden. This demands a great deal of emotional and physical energy.

SUBMITTER: Stefana A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8409081 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Fathers' experiences of supporting their partners during their preterm infant's stay in the neonatal intensive care unit: a multi-method study.

Stefana Alberto A Biban Paolo P Padovani Ezio Maria EM Lavelli Manuela M

Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association 20210901 6

<h4>Objective</h4>To explore how the fathers experience their role as a support for their partner and the relationship with them during their preterm infant's stay in the NICU.<h4>Study design</h4>Multi-method longitudinal study involving ethnographic observation, semi-structured interviews, self-report questionnaires, and clinical information. Twenty fathers of preterm infants hospitalized in a level-III-NICU were included. Data were analyzed using thematic continent analysis.<h4>Results</h4>Th ...[more]

PMID: 34471215

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Project description:Every year in the United States, more than 300,000 infants are admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) where they are exposed to a chemical-intensive hospital environment during a developmentally vulnerable period. The neurodevelopmental impact of environmental exposure to phthalates during the NICU stay is unknown. As phthalate exposure during the third trimester developmental window has been implicated in neurobehavioral deficits in term-born children that are strikingly similar to a phenotype of neurobehavioral morbidity common among children born premature, the role of early-life phthalate exposure on the neurodevelopmental trajectory of premature infants may be clinically important. In this study, premature newborns with birth weight <1500g were recruited to participate in a prospective environmental health cohort study, NICU-HEALTH (Hospital Exposures and Long-Term Health), part of the DINE (Developmental Impact of NICU Exposures) cohort of the ECHO (Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes) program. Seventy-six percent of eligible infants enrolled in the study. Sixty-four of 81 infants survived and are included in this analysis. 164 urine specimens were analyzed for phthalate metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) was performed prior to NICU discharge. Linear and weighted quantile sum regression quantified associations between phthalate biomarkers and NNNS performance, and between phthalate biomarkers and intensity of medical intervention. The sum of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites (?DEHP) was associated with improved performance on the Attention and Regulation scales. Specific mixtures of phthalate biomarkers were also associated with improved NNNS performance. More intense medical intervention was associated with higher ?DEHP exposure. NICU-based exposure to phthalates mixtures was associated with improved attention and social response. This suggests that the impact of phthalate exposure on neurodevelopment may follow a non-linear trajectory, perhaps accelerating the development of certain neural networks. The long-term neurodevelopmental impact of NICU-based phthalate exposure needs to be evaluated.

Dataset Information

Fathers' experiences of supporting their partners during their preterm infant's stay in the neonatal intensive care unit: a multi-method study.

Objective

Study design

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Fathers' experiences of supporting their partners during their preterm infant's stay in the neonatal intensive care unit: a multi-method study.

Similar Datasets

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