Parent Education: The Cornerstone of Excellent Neonatal Nursing Care

Abstract

When an infant is admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a family is also admitted. With this admission come parents, siblings, the extended family, and friends who each have different educational needs as they learn to care for and interact with the newborn, as well as provide support for the family. Numerous studies have been conducted identifying the various stressors NICU families experience and how best to meet their emotional as well as educational needs. Neonatal intensive care unit nurses play an integral role in educating NICU families during hospitalization and also in preparing them for discharge. The goal of parenting education is to provide support and information that allows parents to move from the hospital setting, where care for the newborn is overseen by health professionals, to caring for the newborn confidently and independently at home. How NICU parents adapt and gain confidence in their parenting experience is influenced by previous experience, support from others, parental stress and coping, individual learning styles including literacy and communication, and individual infant characteristics. Neonatal intensive care unit nurses must identify factors influencing the parents' learning styles and adapt necessary education strategies to meet the needs of families in their care. Neonatal intensive care unit parents bring an array of backgrounds to the parenting experiences that influence their ability to learn. Parents who have previous parenting experience may feel confident in their ability to care for newborns yet challenged by feelings of inadequacy in their ability to care for a premature infant who seems fragile and vulnerable. Added to the perception of vulnerability can be the premature infant's immature neurobehavioral state that may not provide parents with feedback or cues indicating care is meeting the infant's needs. Reassurance and education addressing the immature responses and how to read premature infant cues can reassure