Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
11:50

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Published on: January 7, 2020

Parental experiences during the first period at the neonatal unit after two developmental care interventions

S M van der Pal1, C M Maguire, S le Cessie

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|October 17, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Developmental care, including NIDCAP, showed little effect on parental stress and confidence in preterm infants. Fathers" and mothers" stress levels became more similar with NIDCAP, possibly due to increased father involvement.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Developmental psychology
  • Parental well-being

Background:

  • Developmental care is increasingly recognized for preterm infant individualized care.
  • NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program) is an extended form of developmental care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of basic developmental care and NIDCAP on parental stress, confidence, and perceived nursing support.
  • To compare standard care with basic developmental care and NIDCAP.

Main Methods:

  • Two randomized controlled trials were conducted.
  • Trial 1: Standard care vs. basic developmental care (n=133).
  • Trial 2: Basic developmental care vs. NIDCAP (n=150).
  • Parents of infants born <32 weeks gestational age completed questionnaires.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were observed in parental confidence, perceived nursing support, or overall parental stress.
  • The NIDCAP intervention group showed a trend towards a smaller difference in stress levels between mothers and fathers (p = .03).

Conclusions:

  • Basic developmental care and NIDCAP had minimal impact on parental experiences in the early neonatal period.
  • NIDCAP may help reduce disparities in parental stress between mothers and fathers, potentially by enhancing paternal involvement.
Abstract

More Related Videos

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect05:04

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect

Published on: September 22, 2023

Related Concept Videos

Parental Care00:55

Parental Care

Many animals exhibit parental care behavior, including feeding, grooming, and protecting young offspring. Parental care is universal in mammals and birds, which often have young that are born relatively helpless. Several species of insects and fish, as well as some amphibians, also care for their young.
Relationship with Parents: Attachment01:28

Relationship with Parents: Attachment

Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that physical...
Development of the Oral Microbiota01:28

Development of the Oral Microbiota

The establishment of the oral microbiome begins before birth, challenging the long-held belief that the fetal oral cavity is sterile. The presence of oral microbes such as Streptococcus and Fusobacterium in amniotic fluid suggests that microbial exposure may occur in utero, potentially through translocation from the maternal oral or gastrointestinal tract. This early colonization primes the neonatal immune system and sets the stage for subsequent microbial succession. Maternal health,...
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...