[Post-traumatic stress disorder in premature newborns]

Preterm newborns are physiologically immature and vulnerable. Following birth, they must face a battery of adverse stimuli, radically different from the warmth of the mother's womb. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of emotional alterations in the neonate and to examine the influence of physical contact with the mother during the infant's stay in the Neonatal-Intensive-Care-Unit (NICU).

Prospective follow-up study of a group of 15 neonates admitted to a NICU, together with a control-group of 15 full-term neonates, not admitted to a NICU.

The number of responses considered to be pathological observed among neonates, in the mothers' arms was 0.6-per-hour and in the incubator/cot, 20.6, (p < 0.001). There were statistically significant differences as regards the presence of pathological reactions to external stimuli, which tended to produce a repeated sensation of living out the traumatic event (RR = 3.3).

Beyond a doubt, many factors should be taken into consideration in order to prevent the development of PTSD, and research such as the present leads us to believe that studies should be made of possible modifications to the environmental surroundings of the NICU.