Parents' Experiences of the First Year at Home with an Infant Born Extremely Preterm with and without Post-Discharge

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 25, 2025

A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
05:04

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

703

Erika Baraldi1, Mara Westling Allodi1, Ann-Charlotte Smedler2

  • 1Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|December 16, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Parents of extremely preterm (EPT) infants face significant challenges during the first year home, experiencing ongoing child-related worries and personal emotional distress. Early intervention may offer a sense of security and support.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Parental mental health
  • Child development

Background:

  • Increasing survival rates of extremely preterm (EPT) infants necessitate understanding post-discharge family experiences.
  • Previous quantitative studies indicate elevated parental depression, PTSD, and anxiety.
  • Qualitative exploration is needed to understand the lived experiences of parents with EPT infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To qualitatively explore the experiences of parents with EPT infants during their first year at home in Sweden.
  • To identify key concerns and challenges faced by these families.
  • To compare experiences between an early intervention group and a treatment-as-usual group.

Main Methods:

  • Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 parents of 14 EPT infants.
  • Participants included parents from an early intervention group (8) and a treatment-as-usual group (9).
  • Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes in parental experiences.

Main Results:

  • Three primary themes emerged: child-related concerns, parental emotional state, and altered family dynamics.
  • Parents consistently reported prolonged worries about their child's well-being.
  • Parents in the early intervention group noted benefits such as increased security and knowledgeable support.

Conclusions:

  • The first year at home for parents of EPT infants is characterized by persistent parental worries and concerns about their own emotional state.
  • Parental experiences are influenced by child-related factors, their own inner state, and family dynamics.
  • Early intervention may provide crucial support and enhance parental feelings of security.

Keywords:
early interventionfollow-uphome visit programinfancyparent-child interactionparenthoodpreterm infantqualitative researchstrengths-based approach

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection08:08

Author Spotlight: Capturing Infant-Caregiver Interactions Through Synchronized Multimodal Data Collection

Published on: May 31, 2024

1.2K
Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit11:50

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

Published on: January 7, 2020

27.2K

Related Concept Videos

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...
116
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...
312
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
254
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships. 
47.8K
Attachment Styles01:24

Attachment Styles

Jeffrey Simpson's attachment theory suggests that early caregiver relationships shape lasting patterns of behavior and emotional regulation, known as attachment styles. These patterns are organized along two key dimensions: self-esteem and interpersonal trust. The intersection of these dimensions produces four primary attachment styles that typically persist throughout life and significantly influence how individuals form and maintain relationships.Secure Attachment StyleIndividuals with a...
94
Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles01:28

Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles

Attachment theory, developed initially to explain infant–caregiver bonds, has been extended to illuminate patterns of intimacy in adult romantic relationships. Psychologists Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver proposed that the attachment styles observed in infancy form a framework for how individuals approach emotional closeness and conflict in adulthood. These attachment styles—secure, avoidant, and anxious—are linked to enduring patterns of behavior and emotional regulation in...
185