Comparative Evaluation of Parental Stress Experiences Up to 2 to 3 Years After Preterm and Term Birth.
Natascha Schuetz Haemmerli, Sakari Lemola, Diane Holditch-Davis and 1 others
PMID 32108660WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of preterm children described intense stress around birth, neonatal intensive care, discharge, and early months.
Two to three years later, their overall parenting stress was similar to parents of full-term children, though mothers reported more stress in their own parental role than fathers.
Key findings
01Parents of preterm children described birth, neonatal intensive care, transfers, discharge, and the first months at home as periods of serious strain and emotional work.
02Two to three years after birth, total parenting stress was similar for parents of preterm and full-term children, and for mothers and fathers.
03In the parent domain, mothers averaged 4.66 points higher than fathers, where higher scores mean more stress.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The participants were volunteers from two-parent heterosexual families, mostly well-educated and middle-class, with relatively healthy children, so more burdened families may be missing. Parents whose child died after birth were excluded, and some consenting parents did not respond, had no time, had no interest, or had language problems. The interviews were conducted 2 to 3 years after birth and relied on photographs to recall early events, so memory may have shaped the accounts. The study did not monitor parenting stress over the long term and did not test any intervention. Multiple births were not treated as an independent factor, and the preterm group included twins, triplets, and quadruplets.
Declared interests
The authors state that they disclose any potential financial or ethical conflicts of interest regarding the submission.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the similar total stress scores at 2 to 3 years as proof that preterm birth has no lasting effect on families. The study did not test an intervention, excluded families whose child died, and recruited mostly well-educated, middle-class volunteers, while qualitative accounts described intense stress around birth, neonatal intensive care, discharge, and early home life.