Parental post-traumatic reactions after premature birth: implications for sleeping and eating problems in the infant
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Published on: November 20, 2015
B Pierrehumbert1, A Nicole, C Muller-Nix
1Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Lausanne, Switzerland. blaise.pierrehumbert@ip.unil.ch
Insights
Parental post-traumatic stress after premature birth significantly predicts children's sleeping and eating issues, independent of initial risks. Early intervention for parents is crucial for better child outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal Medicine
- Developmental Psychology
- Trauma Studies
Background:
- Advances in perinatal medicine increase survival rates for very low birthweight infants.
- Parental stress from infant survival threats and medical procedures can be traumatic.
- Parental post-traumatic stress reactions are understudied as a factor in child development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of parental post-traumatic stress reactions on infant sleeping and eating problems.
- To identify predictors of adverse developmental outcomes in preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- Study included 50 families with premature infants (25-33 weeks gestation) and 25 with full-term infants.
- Perinatal risks were assessed during hospitalization.
- Parents were interviewed at 18 months postpartum and completed the perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder questionnaire (PPQ).
Main Results:
- Perinatal risk severity partially predicted child problems.
- Parental post-traumatic stress intensity independently predicted child sleeping and eating problems.
- Parental response to premature birth is a key mediator of later adverse outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Parental psychological response to premature birth influences child outcomes.
- Preventive interventions targeting parental stress are recommended.
- Addressing parental trauma is vital for improving developmental trajectories of preterm infants.
Background:
Progress in perinatal medicine has made it possible to increase the survival of very or extremely low birthweight infants. Developmental outcomes of surviving preterm infants have been analysed at the paediatric, neurological, cognitive, and behavioural levels, and a series of perinatal and environmental risk factors have been identified. The threat to the child's survival and invasive medical procedures can be very traumatic for the parents. Few empirical reports have considered post-traumatic stress reactions of the parents as a possible variable affecting a child's outcome. Some studies have described sleeping and eating problems as related to prematurity; these problems are especially critical for the parents.
Objective:
To examine the effects of post-traumatic reactions of the parents on sleeping and eating problems of the children.
Design:
Fifty families with a premature infant (25-33 gestation weeks) and a control group of 25 families with a full term infant participated in the study. Perinatal risks were evaluated during the hospital stay. Mothers and fathers were interviewed when their children were 18 months old about the child's problems and filled in a perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder questionnaire (PPQ).
Results:
The severity of the perinatal risks only partly predicts a child's problems. Independently of the perinatal risks, the intensity of the post-traumatic reactions of the parents is an important predictor of these problems.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that the parental response to premature birth mediates the risks of later adverse outcomes. Preventive intervention should be promoted.
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