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Family-Centered Care for LGBTQ+ Parents of Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Integrative Review
Olivia Swedberg Yinger1, Aubrey Jones2, Keisa Fallin-Bennett3
1School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
Insights
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) parents experienced stigma and discrimination in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Future research should explore LGBTQ+ family-centered care and resilience factors.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) care
- Parental well-being
- LGBTQ+ health disparities
Background:
- Infant hospitalization in the NICU disrupts parental well-being and family dynamics.
- LGBTQ+ parents face unique stressors, including potential stigma and discrimination, in the NICU setting.
- Limited research exists on the experiences of LGBTQ+ parents with infants in the NICU.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing literature on the experiences of LGBTQ+ parents whose infants were admitted to the NICU.
- To identify themes of stigma, discrimination, strength, resilience, and family-centered care.
- To inform future research and clinical practice.
Main Methods:
- An integrative review of empirical studies was conducted.
- Searches were performed in major academic databases (EBSCOHost, ProQuest, Web of Science, Google Scholar).
- Inclusion criteria focused on peer-reviewed, English-language studies detailing LGBTQ+ parents' NICU experiences.
Main Results:
- Six qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria, involving 12-14 LGBTQ+ parents.
- All studies reported instances of perceived stigma and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ+ parents.
- Sources of strength, resilience, and elements of family-centered care were also identified in some studies.
Conclusions:
- LGBTQ+ parents consistently face stigma and discrimination in the NICU.
- Further research is needed to understand sources of strength and resilience in this population.
- Community-engaged methods are recommended for future research to center LGBTQ+ parental perspectives.
Background:
Having an infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can disrupt parent well-being, the transition to parenthood, and the typical trajectories of infant and child health. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other sexual and gender minority identity (LGBTQ+) parents, this stress may be compounded by health disparities and fear of stigma and discrimination; however, research is lacking about LGBTQ+ parents of infants in the NICU.
Objectives:
The purpose of this integrative review was to better understand the experiences of LGBTQ+ parents of NICU infants, with a focus on experiences of stigma and discrimination, sources of strength and resilience, and provision of family-centered care.
Method:
We searched EBSCOHost, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar between 30 May 2023 and 18 September 2023 for empirical studies published in English in peer-reviewed scholarly journals in which LGBTQ+ parents shared their experiences with having infants admitted to the NICU.
Results:
We identified six articles that met inclusion criteria, all of which were qualitative studies that included 12-14 LGBTQ+ parents of NICU infants.
Conclusions:
LGBTQ+ parents in all studies reported instances of perceived stigma and discrimination while their infants were in the NICU, whereas parents in two studies mentioned strength and resilience, and parents in three studies described elements of family-centered care. There is a need for rigorous research on family-centered NICU care that includes questions about sources of strength and resilience in addition to challenges. We propose that future researchers use community engaged methods to center perspectives of LGBTQ+ parents.
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