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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Parental Health After Preterm Birth: Insights From the National Survey of Children's Health
Erin E Von Klein1, Carolyn Foster2, Joseph Zickafoose3
1Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (EE Von Klein), Nashville, Tenn.
Insights
Parents of very low birthweight (VLBW) children report poorer physical health. This highlights a critical need to address parental health burdens following complex infant births.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Parental Health Outcomes
- Public Health
Background:
- Parents of preterm infants, especially those with low birthweight (LBW) or very low birthweight (VLBW), face increased risks of neglecting their own health.
- Medically complex infants require significant parental attention, potentially impacting caregiver well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the self-reported health of parents with very low birthweight (VLBW) or low birthweight (LBW) children to parents of normal-weight, full-term infants.
- To identify disparities in parental health based on infant birthweight and gestational age.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cross-sectional data from the National Survey of Children's Health (2016-2022).
- Analyzed self-reported parent health in relation to child's birthweight categories (VLBW, LBW, term-normal weight).
- Employed multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for child and household sociodemographic factors.
Main Results:
- Parents of VLBW children reported significantly higher rates of fair/poor physical health compared to parents of term-normal weight children (10.9% vs. 3.9%).
- No significant differences in adjusted mental health were found between parents of VLBW and term-normal weight children.
- Parents of LBW children showed a trend toward higher fair/poor health, but results were not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
- Significant physical health disparities exist for parents of VLBW infants compared to parents of term-born, normal-weight infants.
- Addressing the elevated health burden in parents of VLBW children is crucial due to links with long-term negative health outcomes and increased mortality risk.
- Pediatricians should integrate caregiver health screenings into NICU discharge and routine well-child visits.
Objective:
Parents of children born preterm are at risk of neglecting their own medical needs following the birth of a medically complex child. This study examines the self-reported health of parents of preterm children born with low birthweight (LBW; 1500-2499 g) or very low birthweight (VLBW; <1500 g) compared with parents of term children of normal weight (term; ≥2500 g).
Methods:
We examined self-reported health among parents with children 0 to 3 years of age using the National Survey of Children's Health (2016-2022), a cross-sectional dataset. We used multivariable logistic regression to analyze parent's self-reported health by gestational age-birthweight categories, adjusting for child and household sociodemographics.
Results:
Parents of children born VLBW had higher rates of fair/poor physical health versus parents of term children (10.9% vs. 3.9%, odds ratio [aOR] 2.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-5.49). Parents of VLBW children had higher rates of poor/fair mental health compared to parents of term children (8.5% vs. 5.1%), but the differences were not significant in adjusted analyses. While parents of children born LBW trended toward higher odds of fair/poor health, the differences were not significant in adjusted analyses.
Conclusions:
We found important differences in reported physical health among parents of children born VLBW compared to parents of children born at term with normal birthweight. This elevated health burden is critical to address, as self-reported poor health is linked to long-term negative health consequences and increased parental mortality risk. Pediatricians should consider screening for caregiver health concerns during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge and well-child visits.
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