Uncertainty and perinatal post‐traumatic stress disorder in the neonatal intensive care unit

Parents of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at increased risk of developing perinatal post‐traumatic stress disorder (PPTSD), a mental health condition known to interfere with healthy parental and infant attachment. Feelings of uncertainty about illness have been theorized as a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in nursing & health 2022-12, Vol.45 (6), p.717-732
Main Authors: Malin, Kathryn J., Johnson, Teresa S., Brown, Roger L., Leuthner, Jonathan, Malnory, Margaret, White‐Traut, Rosemary, Rholl, Erin, Lagatta, Joanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aftercare
Family medical history
Hospitalization
Humans
Illnesses
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infants
Intensive care
Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Medical screening
Mental disorders
Mental health
Neonatal units
Newborn babies
NICU
parent uncertainty
Parents & parenting
Parents - psychology
Patient Discharge
Perinatal
perinatal post‐traumatic stress disorder
Post traumatic stress disorder
Prospective Studies
PTSD
Risk factors
Stress
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Support services
Traumatic stress
Uncertainty
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Parents of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at increased risk of developing perinatal post‐traumatic stress disorder (PPTSD), a mental health condition known to interfere with healthy parental and infant attachment. Feelings of uncertainty about illness have been theorized as an antecedent to post‐traumatic stress, however the relationship has not been explored in parents of infants requiring care in the NICU. The purpose of this prospective study was to explore parental uncertainty during and after NICU discharge and the relationship between uncertainty and PPTSD. The sample consisted of 319 parents during NICU hospitalization and 245 parents at 3 months postdischarge. Parents who screened positive for PPTSD 3 months after hospital discharge reported more uncertainty both while in the NICU and 3 months after hospital discharge (p 
ISSN:0160-6891
1098-240X
DOI:10.1002/nur.22261