Other content tagged: NICU
The need for supporting the mental health of parents after preterm birth
How relationship satisfaction and emotional dependency positively affects the mental health of parents after preterm birth Ilknur Okay, President of our Turkish partner parent organisation El Bebek Gül Bebek and Chair Committee Member of GLANCE, has been pushing the topic of mental health in correlation with the burden of preterm birth forward for many years. Now the trained psychologist has, in collaboration with Çiğdem Yavuz Güler from the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University, Istanbul,…
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What parents want to know about their preterm baby’s care
Researchers explored the knowledge needs and skills acquisition of parents during their baby’s neonatal intensive care stay in California, USA. The study revealed differences in the learning needs and skills acquisition depending on the parents’ age and characteristics of the newborn. Moreover, the infant’s medical course and questions about feeding were the main topics of parental interest. Having a preterm baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is challenging for the family. During…
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Family Rooms in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and Neonatal Outcomes.
Research shows important benefits of parental involvement in neonatal intensive care. Parents spending time with their newborns and especially their engagement in skin-to-skin contact has positive impacts on cognitive development of infants and lowers morbidity and mortality rates. To increase the time families spend with their preterm born babies in NICUs, some hospitals provide infant-parent rooms to allow parents to stay with their child 24 hours a day. To assess the availability and benefits of…
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Visual function in preterm infants: Can early interventions help to improve visual function?
The environment and the procedures at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can be stressful for preterm infants. Thus, brain development might be decelerated, increasing the possibility for visual impairments. However, the clinical trial by Italian researchers has shown that early interventions by parents can have a positive effect on visual functions. Previous research suggests that multisensory stimulation, especially infant massages, can help with brain development and visual maturation in preterm infants. The randomized…
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The impact of visitation restrictions in the NICU during COVID-19
Covid-19 has a big impact on the care given in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The implementation of family centred care has increased in recent years due to many health benefits for the neonates and family, but the Coronavirus pandemic caused hospitals to change their visitation policies. In a study conducted by Murray and Swanson, changes of the visitation rights in the NICUs and the consequences for parents and their newborns are discussed. In order…
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Factors Influencing Implementation of Family-Centred Care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Being in the NICU is a very stressful experience for infants. The stress level even increases when babies are separated from their parents. This can be avoided with Family-Centred Care (FCC), which involves parents in the care for their infants in order to reduce the stress on newborns and parents. Even though research shows that interactions with parents lead to multiple beneficial effects for both parents and infants, including lowering the stress level for…
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Non‐evidence‐based beliefs increase inequalities in the provision of infant‐ and family‐centred neonatal care
Many hospitals in the world still do not recognise the importance and benefits of family-centred care. This hinders parents to engage in potentially life-saving care procedures, like kangaroo mother care or breastfeeding. In a scientific study, Mendizabal-Espinosa and Warren identified obstacles regarding the implementation of family-centred care in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) of two publicly funded hospitals in Mexico. Data was gathered during a 10-month time period, by observing 29 parents (21 mothers…
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New international study on skin care practices in extremely preterm infants – participants requested
EFCNI is glad to support this survey from the University of Sydney that aims to investigate geographical variation in skin management practices in preterm infants born ≤ 27 weeks of gestation. The University of Sydney therefore requests nurses and doctors to participate in this global, ethically approved research study. This will provide a great opportunity for increasing knowledge and improving skin management practices for extremely preterm babies. To participate, a nurse or…
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The impact of COVID-19 on Parents and NICUs: An interview with Livia Nagy
The COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges for NICUs and parents of premature or sick newborns. Due to the risk of Coronavirus getting into the NICU, some units restricted the time parents were allowed to spend with their babies. But other units showed an advanced approach by letting mothers stay with their babies 24/7. We interviewed Livia Nagy from the parent organisation "Melletted a helyem Egyesület" in Hungary on the impact of COVID-19 on NICUs and parents. …
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NeonaTEL: A call centre for parental support during the COVID-19 pandemic, established by the Romanian parent organisation Unu si Unu
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic parents are in need of special support. They have questions which should be answered on daily basis. EFCNIs partner parent organisation Unu si Unu established a call center to stay in touch with parents and parents-to-be and to help them to stay healthy and close to their children in the time of COVID-19. Corina Croitoru from Asociația Unu si Unu in Romania explained how the Call Center works and what is needed to set it up.…
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