EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INFANT NEURODEVELOPMENTAL STATUS AND PARENTAL VISITATION AND INVOLVEMENT IN A NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

Background: Children born prematurely are at risk for long-term neurocognitive delays and poor academic performance at school-age. Research suggests parental involvement during a child’s treatment in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a positive factor in infant neurological development. Parents of a preterm baby may not be as involved, however, because of socioeconomic factors limiting visitation, caution and uncertainty about interacting with a medically fragile newborn, and parental psychological factors such as stress and anxiety making visitation and interaction difficult. No previous research has examined neurological status in this context. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between neurodevelopmental status and both the frequency and type of parental involvement during a child’s hospitalization after birth. Biological parents (n=18) of infants hospitalized for at least seven days in the NICU at a large southeastern medical center completed a survey upon their infant’s discharge, which assessed barriers to, reasons for, and facilitators of visiting their infant in the NICU. Infants’ electronic health records were reviewed to obtain frequency of parental visitation, type of involvement, length of hospitalization, infant medical history, and neurological assessment results. Results: Increased parental visitation and involvement for dads was related to abnormal neurological status.