Maternal anxiety and family support among mothers of neonates admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: Birth of a newborn requiring admission to NICU represents traumatic experience for some parents. Objective: The present study aimed to determine the maternal anxiety and family support experienced by mothers of neonates admitted in NICU and to find the relationship between them. Materials and methods: A survey approach using descriptive correlative survey design was adopted for the study. Data was collected from 20 mothers of neonates admitted in NICU of Kasturba Hospital, Manipal using purposive sampling. The data collection instruments include: Demographic Proforma, State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Family Support Scale Results: Findings of the study revealed that majority 65% of mothers had state anxiety whereas 80% had trait anxiety. Mean state anxiety was 52.55± 18.15, trait anxiety was 53.55 ± 14.46. Majority 80% of mothers had high family support.(M=38.4 ± 8.8). Maternal state anxiety (ρ= -0.655, p<0.05) and maternal trait anxiety (ρ= -0.638, p < 0.05) with family support was negatively correlated and it is inferred that as family support increases there will be decrease in the anxiety level of mothers. Conclusion: Mothers exhibit high levels of anxiety during their neonate’s hospitalization. Early identification of anxiety level has implications for support of mothers during hospitalization of their newborns.