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Published on: January 7, 2020
Stress in Fathers of Premature Newborns Admitted in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Sourabh Dutta1, Rama Mahajan, Sunil K Agrawal
1Departments of Pediatrics and *Psychiatry, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. Correspondence to: Dr Sourabh Dutta, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160 012, India. sourabhdutta@yahoo.co.in.
Insights
Fathers of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units experience significant stress, primarily driven by financial burdens. Factors like infant health and parental role also contribute to fatherhood stress.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) care
- Paternal mental health
- Family-centered care
Background:
- Preterm infants admitted to NICU pose unique challenges for families.
- Paternal stress is a critical factor in infant and family well-being.
- Limited research exists on fathers' stress in NICU settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and sources of stress in fathers of preterm infants.
- To identify factors influencing paternal stress during NICU admission.
- To understand the temporal changes in paternal stress.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire-based study involving repeated interviews with fathers.
- Assessment of stress across domains including infant health, maternal illness, staff behavior, parental role, home affairs, and finances.
- Calculation of raw and standardized stress scores at multiple time points (days 7, 17, and 27).
Main Results:
- Financial burden emerged as the primary stressor throughout the study period.
- Stress related to staff behavior and altered parental role showed a decrease over time.
- Infant birthweight, father's age, occupation, and education were independent predictors of stress levels.
Conclusions:
- Fathers of preterm infants in NICU settings experience considerable stress.
- Financial concerns are the predominant source of stress for these fathers.
- Interventions should address financial support and parental role adaptation for fathers in NICU.
Objective:
To study stress in fathers of preterm infants admitted in a neonatal intensive care unit.
Methods:
Questionnaire-based study. Questionnaire included domains on infants health, maternal illness, staff behavior, parental role, home affairs and finances. Eligible fathers were repeatedly interviewed on day 7 (n=80), day 17 (n=59) and day 27 (n=28). Raw and standardized stress scores were calculated.
Results:
Financial burden was the main stressor at all times. Stress related to staff behavior and altered parental role reduced with time. Birthweight and fathers age, occupation and education independently predicted stress.
Conclusion:
Fathers of preterm infants admitted in hospital are stressed, primarily due to financial burden.
