Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 9, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Parental Perception of Risk Associated With Their Premature Infant
Laura Fletcher1, Tammy Pham, Helen Papaioannou
1Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, New Hyde Park (Mss Fletcher and Pham and Drs Papaioannou and Milanaik); and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York (Dr Spinazzola).
Insights
Parental concern about premature infant outcomes is high, even when unsupported by medical data. Educating parents on gestation-adjusted age can reduce anxiety and improve their understanding of developmental expectations.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Parental Mental Health
Background:
- Preterm birth is associated with increased parental stress, depression, and anxiety.
- Parental concern for premature infants persists regardless of gestational age.
- No established gestational age threshold exists for parental concern or infant risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine parental concern regarding medical and developmental outcomes of premature infants.
- To compare parental concerns with infant diagnoses and gestational age.
- To investigate the relationship between parental knowledge and perceived infant outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Surveyed parents of 60 premature infants in a follow-up clinic.
- Assessed parental concern levels for 11 morbidities and gestation-adjusted age.
- Compared parental concern scores with infant chart data using Chi-square tests.
Main Results:
- Many parents expressed concerns not supported by their child's medical diagnoses.
- Mean parental concern scores increased with decreasing gestational age.
- 62% of parents inaccurately reported their child's gestation-adjusted age.
- Parents accurately reporting gestation-adjusted age were more likely to correctly anticipate developmental and growth patterns.
Conclusions:
- Parental anxiety about neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) outcomes can be reduced through clear explanations of gestation-adjusted age and prematurity-related issues.
- Physicians can help decrease parental stress in NICU graduates.
- Further research is needed to link NICU graduate parental stress to condition severity and explore physician interventions.
Background:
Preterm birth has been linked to increased parental stress, depression, and anxiety. Although the rate of neonatal morbidity and mortality decreases with increasing gestational age, recent research has revealed that there is no threshold age for risk or parental concern.
Purpose:
This study examines parental concern about medical and developmental outcomes of their premature infant.
Methods:
Parents of 60 premature infants were surveyed in a follow-up clinic regarding their level of concern about 11 morbidities and their child's gestation-adjusted age; these were compared with the infant's inpatient chart. "Concern scores" were tallied and compared across gestational age groups and knowledge of gestation-adjusted age using Chi-square tests of independence.
Findings:
Many parents reported concerns about morbidities that were unsupported by their child's diagnoses. Across parents of extremely, very, and moderate-late preterm children, the mean concern scores were 13.9, 15.7, and 19.7, respectively. Overall, 62% of parents incorrectly reported the gestation-adjusted age of their child. Parents who were correct were significantly more likely to correctly anticipate abnormal developmental patterns (70%) and growth patterns (65%) than those who were incorrect (33% and 31%, respectively).
Implications For Research:
Future research should focus on whether NICU graduate parental stress levels are directly linked to the severity of their child's condition, and how physicians can help decrease NICU graduate parental stress.
Implications For Practice:
Parental anxiety regarding all gestational age neonatal intensive care unit infant outcomes can be decreased by a thorough explanation of gestation-adjusted age and a discussion of expected prematurity-related issues.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment
01:14Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
Exploration...
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
01:12Relative Risk
01:17Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...