Infants In Neonatal Intensive Care Research Articles

An innovative low-cost breast pump-hire program to enhance breastfeeding rates in a neonatal intensive care unit.

To evaluate the outcomes of a low-cost hospital-grade breast pump hire program for women experiencing financial hardship with infants in neonatal intensive care. A multi-method evaluation including data audits and surveys. Twenty-four electric breast pumps were purchased and rented to mothers at a cost of $1/day. To be eligible, mothers needed to have given birth to an infant <32 weeks and/or <1500 g and self-identified as experiencing financial hardship. Data were collected by (1) a retrospective audit to evaluate infant feeding and clinical outcomes at hospital discharge; (2) prospective telephone surveys to evaluate women's satisfaction with the program; and (3) analysis of the breast pump register to determine any loss or damages. Twenty-four mothers of 26 infants participated in the program. More than half of the infants were exclusively breastmilk fed at hospital discharge, and more than three-quarters were fed a combination of breastmilk and formula. Women who intended to formula feed were supported to provide breastmilk to their infants in the first few weeks of life. Most participants were highly satisfied with the program. Women reported that accessibility to a hospital-grade breast pump improved their ability to provide expressed breastmilk to their infants. Most participants were 'extremely satisfied' with the performance of the breast pump. One-quarter of the women reported that they would have exclusively formula-fed if they did not have access to the breast pump hire program. The audit of the equipment register showed no reported technical issues, loss or damages. The findings suggested that the low-cost breast pump hire program supported equitable care, increasing women's ability to provide expressed breastmilk for their infants. Providing access to low-cost hospital-grade breast pumps to mothers of vulnerable infants is likely to prevent poor infant clinical outcomes and improve women's care satisfaction. Nil.

Parent and Therapist Perceptions of the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Benefits of a Weekly Therapist-Led Massage Program for Extremely Preterm Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care.

Mothers of extremely preterm infants experience high rates of mental health disorders that impair maternal-infant interaction and lead to worse infant developmental outcomes. Therapist Education and Massage for Parent-Infant Outcomes (TEMPO) is a therapist-led program that standardizes the nature and frequency of parent education through weekly scheduled therapy sessions. Using a family-centered approach, the therapist facilitates positive maternal-infant interactions and massage interventions from birth throughout hospitalization with the goal of improving maternal mental health. This qualitative study presents the results of 19 parent interviews and of a focus group of four TEMPO interventionists to elicit feedback about the program. Overall, parents and therapists viewed the program positively. Parents and therapists valued the focus on parent education and engagement to increase parent competence and bonding opportunities. Both groups acknowledged that infant massage had both infant-centered and parent-centered benefits. One area where parent and therapist views did not align was regarding feasibility of TEMPO. Parents noted multiple logistical challenges to regular NICU visitation, but ultimately agreed that attending weekly therapy sessions was feasible. Therapists noted increased time and effort required of TEMPO and felt that institutional and system-level changes would be necessary to implement weekly parent education as standard of care.

Forehead monitoring of heart rate in neonatal intensive care.

Heart rate is an extremely important physiological parameter to measure in critically unwell infants, as it is the main physiological marker that changes in response to a change in infant condition. Heart rate is routinely measured peripherally on a limb with a pulse oximeter. However, when infants are critically unwell, the blood supply to these peripheries is reduced in preference for central perfusion of vital organs such as the brain and heart. Measurement of heart rate with a reflection mode photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensor on the forehead could help minimise this problem and make it easier for other important medical equipment, such as cannulas, to be placed on the limbs. This study compares heart rates measured with a forehead-based PPG sensor against a wrist-based PPG sensor in 19 critically unwell infants in neonatal intensive care collecting 198h of data. The two heart rates were compared using positive percentage agreement, Spearman's correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis. The forehead PPG sensor showed good agreement with the wrist-based PPG sensor with limits of agreement of 8.44bpm, bias of -0.22bpm; positive percentage agreement of 98.87%; and Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.9816. The analysis demonstrates that the forehead is a reliable alternative location for measuring vital signs using the PPG.

Impact of a short period of prone versus supine nursing in preterm neonates less than 32 weeks on weight gain: A prospective observational study

Background: Postnatal growth depends on multiple factors such as gestational age, associated morbidities, and the nutrition and varies from one newborn to another. Preterm babies in neonatal intensive care unit are very much susceptible to growth faltering even after adequate nutrition and supplements. The positioning of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care has an impact on their survival and neurological outcome. Prone positioning is known to improve oxygenation, minute ventilation, and functional residual capacity. Quiet undisturbed sleep in preterms has helped them to conserve energy for growth. Objective: To determine the effect of prone versus supine position on weight gain in infants less than 32 weeks of gestational age. Design: Prospective observational study. Participants: Twenty-two neonates were recruited. Results: On day 1, in the prone position, 63.6% gained weight vs. 59.1% in the supine position (P = 0.425). On day 2, in prone, 72.7% has gained vs. 63.6% in supine (P = 0.359). On day 3, in prone, 68.2% gained weight vs. 63.6% in supine position (P = 0.426). Conclusion: Nursing a baby in a prone position has demonstrated weight gain over nursing in a supine position though not statistically significant.

Effect of the Kangaroo Mother Method after Preterm Delivery on Maternal Stress and Anxiety in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic-A Cohort Study.

The kangaroo mother method (KMM) may benefit infants and mothers in many ways. However, few studies focused on its efficacy on maternal anxiety and stress, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine the effect of the kangaroo mother method (KMM) on postnatal stress and anxiety in mothers of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cohort study of two groups of 56 mother-infant dyads recruited from a neonatal intensive care unit was conducted. Two groups were compared in terms of the mean duration of KMM during the twelve days of the study: the intervention group (mean duration of more than ninety minutes per day) and the control group (less than ninety minutes). Maternal stress was measured using the Parental Stressor: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS: NICU) scale and STAI E/R questionnaire before and after intervention (KMM). Demographic and other maternal covariates were extracted from medical records. Daily NICU records were used to track the frequency and duration of KMM sessions. Mothers of the intervention group scored lower on the PSS: NICU and STAI E/R, although no statistically significant differences were found (p > 0.05). Contrary to research based on biological and physiological parameters in newborns or performed before the COVID-19 pandemic, the differences found in applying subjective scales in mothers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic were not significant. Therefore, mothers' perception of physical contact with their preterm infants may not have been as positive due to their fear of transmitting COVID.

Validation of a Wound Tool for Assessment of Surgical Wounds in Infants.

Wound assessment is a critical part of the care of hospitalized infants in neonatal intensive care. Early recognition and initiation of appropriate treatment of wounds are imperative to facilitate wound healing and avoid complications such as secondary infection and wound dehiscence. There are, however, no validated tools for assessing surgical wounds in infants. The aim of this study was to develop and interrogate a tool for the assessment of surgical wounds. Specific aims for the tool included interrater reliability (give a consistent and dependable result independent of user) and test criterion validity (give an accurate assessment of the wound compared with an expert). This was an exploratory cohort study involving a structured wound tool applied by nursing staff to 40 surgical wounds. The wounds were also assessed by wound experts (a pediatric wound care nurse and a pediatric surgeon). Comparisons were made to elucidate estimates of reliability and validity. The wound tool demonstrated interrater reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.775 (95% CI, 0.665-0.862) as well as criterion validity with rank correlation coefficient of 0.55 (95% CI, 0.34-0.76) to 0.71 (95% CI, 0.53-0.88). To obtain 100% sensitivity to distinguish mild from moderate-severe wounds, a low cutoff score was needed. Wound assessment continues to be a subjective exercise, even with the utilization of a tool. Additional research is needed for strategies to support the assessment of surgical wounds in infants. Such tools are needed for future research, particularly when multiple institutions are involved.

The developmental origins of health and chronic kidney disease: Current status and practices in Japan.

The concept of the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) views unfavorable perinatal circumstances as contributing to the development of diseases in later life. It is well known that such unfavorable circumstances play an important role as a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in infants born with prematurity. Low birthweight (LBW) is believed to be a potential contributor to CKD in adulthood. Preterm and/or LBW infants are born with incomplete nephrogenesis. As a result, the number of nephrons is low. The poor intrauterine environment also causes epigenetic changes that adversely affect postnatal renal function. After birth, hyperfiltration of individual nephrons due to low nephron numbers causes proteinuria and secondary glomerulosclerosis. Furthermore, the risk of CKD increases as renal damage takes a second hit from exposure to nephrotoxic substances and acquired insults such as acute kidney injury after birth among infants in neonatal intensive care. Meanwhile, unfortunately, recent studies have shown that the number of nephrons in healthy Japanese individuals is approximately two-thirds lower than that in previous reports. This means that Japanese premature infants are clearly at a high risk of developing CKD in later life. Recently, several DOHaD-related CKD studies from Japanese researchers have been reported. Here, we summarize the relevance of CKD in conjunction with DOHaD and review recent studies that have examined the impact of the upward LBW trend in Japan on renal health.

Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes - Inpatient Versus Outpatient Management: an Evidence-Based Review.

According to current guidelines, inpatient management until birth is considered standard in pregnant women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). With the increasing burden on obstetric departments and the growing importance of satisfaction and right to self-determination in pregnant women, outpatient management in PPROM is a possible alternative to inpatient monitoring. The most important criterion for this approach is to ensure the safety of both the mother and the child. Due to the small number of cases (n = 116), two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing inpatient and outpatient management were unable to draw any conclusions. By 2020, eight retrospective comparative studies (cohort/observational studies) yielded the following outcomes: no significant differences in the rate of maternal complications (e.g., chorioamnionitis, premature placental abruption, umbilical cord prolapse) and in neonatal morbidity, significantly prolonged latency period with higher gestational age at birth, higher birth weight of neonates, and significantly shorter length of stay of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care, shorter hospital stay of pregnant women, and lower treatment costs with outpatient management. Concerns regarding this approach are mainly related to unpredictable complications with the need for rapid obstetric interventions, which cannot be performed in time in an outpatient setting. Prerequisites for outpatient management are the compliance of the expectant mother, the adherence to strict selection criteria and the assurance of adequate monitoring at home. Future research should aim at more accurate risk assessment of obstetric complications through studies with higher case numbers and standardisation of outpatient management under evidence-based criteria.

Mapping the Field in Stress, Anxiety, and Postpartum Depression in Mothers of Preterm Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care.

Objective: The main aim of this study was to describe and conduct a bibliometric analysis of the state of research on stress, anxiety, and postpartum depression in mothers of preterm infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Background: Women affected by premature births are particularly exposed to mental health difficulties in the postpartum period. The desire to comprehend and the growing interest in research on stress, anxiety, and postpartum depression in mothers of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care have led to a substantial rise in the number of documents in this field over the last years. Thus, it makes it vital to regularly review the state of knowledge on this phenomenon in order to identify progress and constraints, to stimulate reflection, and to encourage progress in future research. Method: This study examined 366 articles published in the Scopus database (1976–2020). Keyword analysis was also used to identify hot research trends to be developed in future studies. This study complies with the PRISMA-Scr guidelines for quality improvement research in the EQUATOR network. Results: Our results reveal that research in this field is in a period of high production and allows this flourishing body of work to be organized into different periods, highlighting the most important themes. In such a way, our research enriches the lively field by presenting a comprehensive understanding of the field. Discussion: The key contribution of this study is the development of a conceptual map of research on stress, anxiety, and postpartum depression in mothers of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units.

Fathers\u2019 experiences of feeding their extremely preterm infants in family-centred neonatal intensive care: a qualitative study

BackgroundExtremely preterm infants need advanced intensive care for survival and are usually not discharged before they reach the time of expected birth. In a family-centred neonatal intensive care unit both parents are involved at all levels of care including the feeding process. However, studies focusing on fathers in this situation are scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of feeding extremely preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care unit from fathers’ perspectives.MethodsThe study adopts a qualitative inductive method, reported according to the COREQ checklist. Seven fathers of extremely preterm infants (gestational age 24–27 weeks) in neonatal intensive care in Sweden were interviewed by telephone after discharge in 2013–2014. The interviews were analysed using a qualitative content analysis and confirmed by triangulation in 2021.ResultsSix sub-categories and two generic categories formed the main category: “a team striving towards the same goal”. The fathers were equally involved and engaged members of the feeding team all hours of the day. The fathers shared responsibility and practical duties with the mothers, and they provided as much support to the mothers as they could. However, the fathers found it difficult to support and encourage the mothers to breastfeed and express breastmilk when the breastmilk production was low. The fathers experienced a loss when breastfeeding was not successful.ConclusionsThe findings indicate that fathers want to be involved with infant care, including night-time feeds, and long and demanding feeding processes. Fathers and staff need to collaborate to provide the best support to mothers during the feeding process. This study may inspire hospital staff to acknowledge and support fathers to become more involved in the oral feeding process when an infant is born extremely preterm.

Investigation into the flow rate of bottle teats typically used on an Australian neonatal unit

ABSTRACT Aims and objectives Premature and medically fragile infants in neonatal intensive care may be establishing oral feeding skills during their admission. Not all infants can achieve breastfeeding and bottle feeding is the recognised alternative. Choosing a bottle with a manageable flow rate can enable a positive feeding experience. The flow rate of teats used on an Australian NICU were tested to determine their actual flow rate and the variation of flow observed. Design and methods Flow rate of five different teats were tested by attaching each teat to a breast pump and measuring the output of milk after 1 minute. Range of flow rate and variability in flow rate values of the five teats used were compared. Results and conclusions The results identified differing flow rates as well as individual variation of flow rates for all teats used on an Australian NICU.The Sepal Green /small size nipple/slow flow was the fastest flow rate teat (mean 25.34 mL /minute). The Sepal White / ultra-slow flow teat had the slowest flow rate (mean 7.34 mL/minute). Measurement of variability in flow rate identified a moderate - high mean flow rate for the Sepal White ultra -slow flow teats (CoV = 0.2), with a low mean flow rate for Sepal Green slow flow / small nipple (CoV = 0.06). Data confirmed variability of flow rates both within and between teats used.Flow rate and variability are important factors to consider when selecting supportive feeding equipment for preterm infants.

Identification of the Range of Nursing Skills Used to Provide Social Support for Mothers of Preterm Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care.

Background Hospitalization of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is a stressful experience for parents. Iranian NICUs do not have specified levels of care, nor do they integrate supportive methods of parent support such as family-centered care approaches. This study investigated the range and types of neonatal nursing support, as perceived by mothers of preterm infants, and its association with mothers' satisfaction with infant care in the NICU. Methods This is a descriptive, correlational study of mothers of preterm infants who were hospitalized in three different NICUs in Iran. A convenience sampling method was used. Data were collected using three questionnaires that identified (i) demographic information; (ii) social support available; and (iii) parent satisfaction with infant care. Results Mothers (N = 110) generally rated the support from nurses as being moderate. Correlation analysis identified a moderate association of neonatal nurse social support domains for affirmational (r = 0.44) and concrete aid (r = 0.41), a moderately strong association for affectional support (r = 0.64), and total social support (r = 0.60) with mothers' satisfaction. Conclusion There were positive associations between social support from nurses and mothers' satisfaction with the care of their infants. Therefore, planning to promote and create opportunities for neonatal nurses to support mothers in NICU is important to promote increased maternal satisfaction in infant care.

Parent Satisfaction With Care and Treatment Relates to Missed Nursing Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

Background: The satisfaction of parents of infants in neonatal intensive care is important to parent-infant bonding and parents' ability to care for their baby, including after discharge. Given the principal caregiver role of nurses in this setting, parent satisfaction is influenced by high quality nursing care. Nursing care that is required but missed, such as counseling and support, might influence parent satisfaction. How missed nursing care relates to parent satisfaction is unknown.Objective: To describe the satisfaction of parents of infants in neonatal intensive care and to determine how satisfaction relates to missed nursing care in a sample of USA nursing units.Methods: The design was cross-sectional and correlational. Thirty neonatal intensive care units that participate in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators were recruited. To maximize sample variation in missed care, the highest and lowest quartile hospitals on missed nursing care, measured by nurse survey, were eligible. Ten parents of infants who were to be discharged were recruited from each site to complete a survey. Parent satisfaction was measured by the EMPATHIC-38 instrument, comprising five subscales: information, care and treatment, organization, parental participation, and professional attitude, and a total satisfaction score. Multivariate regression models were estimated.Results: Parent satisfaction was high (5.70 out of 6.00). The prevalence of missed care was 25 and 51% for low and high missed care units, respectively, and 40% for all units. On average, nurses missed 1.06 care activities; in the low and high missed care units the averages were 0.46 and 1.32. Over 10% of nurses missed activities that involved the parent, e.g., teaching, helping breastfeeding mothers, and preparing families for discharge. One standard deviation decrease in missed care activities at the unit level was associated with a 0.08-point increase in parent satisfaction with care and treatment (p = 0.01).Conclusion: Parents in USA neonatal intensive care units are highly satisfied. Neonatal intensive care nurses routinely miss care. Parent satisfaction with care and treatment is related to missed nursing care. Nursing care that is missed relates primarily to the care of the baby by the parents, which could have long term health and developmental consequences.

A Remote Respiration Rate Measurement Method for Non-Stationary Subjects Using CEEMDAN and Machine Learning

Respiratory Rate (RR) monitoring can inform healthcare providers of early indicators of critical illnesses. However, the obtrusive nature of contact-based sensors for RR monitoring makes them uncomfortable for extended use and vulnerable to movement-derived noise. Hence, camera-based approaches have attracted considerable attention as they enable contact-free RR monitoring. This paper presents an improved non-contact method for RR monitoring that leverages camera derived remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) to measure RR. Unlike previous work, the proposed method supports subject movement during monitoring. We apply Independent Component Analysis (ICA) on the RGB channels of facial videos to distinguish the source (i.e. PPG signal) from noise. We use the Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN) scheme to decompose the selected ICA output into its Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs). We propose a Machine Learning (ML) algorithm to select the IMF that best reflects the RR. We evaluated the proposed method on 200 facial videos collected from 10 subjects. Our approach decreased the RMSE by at least 39.6% compared to state-of-the-art techniques when subjects were stationary. For subjects in movement, we achieved an RMSE of 2.30 BPM (breaths/min). The proposed method can facilitate non-contact continuous measurement of RR for various clinical and home-based healthcare solutions including the monitoring of infants in neonatal intensive care, elderly individuals in senior care centers, patients in hospital emergency waiting rooms, and prisoners on suicide watch.

Stress experienced by mothers of preterm newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit.

To evaluate the stress level of mothers of preterm infants with gestational age ≤34 weeks, hospitalized in neonatal intensive care. A cross-sectional study with 74 mothers of premature infants in neonatal intensive care, who answered the "Parental Stress Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit" instrument, validated in Brazil. The mean stress level was 4.41 (± 0.77) and the general stress level was 4.36 (± 0.76), with a significant difference (p <0.001) between the subscale "Alteration in parental roles" and other subscales, meaning that mothers were in a very stressful situation. All items in the subscale "Alteration in parental roles" of the "Parental Stress Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit" were identified as the main source of stress experienced by mothers. This study suggests carrying out further studies with other methodologies to increase the knowledge of maternal stress in the national context, applying care interventions involving the parents.

Psychosocial support for parents of extremely preterm infants in neonatal intensive care: a qualitative interview study

BackgroundExtremely premature infants (those born before 28 weeks’ gestational age) are highly immature, requiring months of care at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). For parents, their child’s grave medical condition and prolonged hospitalization are stressful and psychologically disruptive. This study aimed at exploring the needs of psychosocial support of parents of extremely premature infants, and how the NICU as an organization and its staff meets or fails to meet these needs.MethodSixteen open-ended interviews were conducted with 27 parents after their infant’s discharge from the NICU. Inductive content analysis was performed.ResultsFour themes were identified: Emotional support (with subthemes Empathic treatment by staff, Other parents as a unique source of support, Unclear roles of the various professions); Feeling able to trust the health care provider; Support in balancing time spent with the infant and other responsibilities; Privacy.Parents of extremely premature infants needed various forms of emotional support at the NICU, including support from staff, professional psychological help and/or companionship with other patients’ parents. Parents were highly variable in their desire to discuss their emotional state with staff. The respective roles of nursing staff, social workers and psychologists in supporting parents emotionally and identifying particularly vulnerable parents appeared unclear. Parents also needed to be able to maintain a solid sense of trust in the NICU and its staff. Poor communication with and among staff, partly due to staff discontinuity, damaged trust. Parents struggled with perceived pressure from staff to be at the hospital more than they could manage and with the limited privacy of the NICU.ConclusionsThe complex and individual psychosocial needs of parents of extremely preterm infants present many challenges for the NICU and its staff. Increasing staffing and improving nurses’ competence in addressing psychosocial aspects of neonatal care would help both nurses and families. Clarifying the roles of different professions in supporting parents and developing their teamwork would lessen the burden on nurses. Communicating with parents about their needs and informing them early in their NICU stay about available support would be essential in helping them cope with their infant’s hospitalization.

Factors associated with decision-making preferences among parents of infants in neonatal intensive care.

Factors associated with decision-making preferences among parents of infants in neonatal intensive care.

Effects of Nutrition Supplementation on Osmolality of Expressed Human Milk.

Provision of human milk to premature infants optimizes outcomes, but it must be supplemented to meet their nutrient and caloric requirements for growth. Our objective was to quantify the osmolality of human milk mixed with commercially available human milk fortifiers (HMF) and powdered infant formula, as currently fed to premature infants, simulating standard neonatal intensive care unit feeding practices for mixing and refrigerator storage. Expressed human milk (EHM) samples obtained from mothers of premature infants (≤32 weeks gestation) were mixed with standard commercial products, and osmolalities were quantified. HMF significantly increased the micronutrient content and osmolality of EHM. Osmolalities were 291 ± 6mOsm/kg (mean ± SD) for unsupplemented milk, and 505 ± 5 and 315 ± 19 mOsm/kg after supplementation to 24 kcal/oz using 2 current U.S. Liquid EHM fortifiers. When using powdered infant formulas to further increase the caloric content of fortified EHM >24 kcal/oz, osmolalities increased by 10.5-23.0 mOsm/kg for each additional kcal/oz. The use of powdered formulas alone (without HMF) increased osmolality without comparable increases in nutrient content. Refrigeration for 24 hours did not affect osmolalites. Our finding that several common feeding formulations exceed 450 mOsm/kg, and the lack of evidence of adverse effect, raise the question of whether current maximum osmolality guidelines should be reevaluated to enable optimal nutrition for infants in neonatal intensive care.

Successfully implementing and embedding guidelines to improve the nutrition and growth of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care: a prospective interventional study

ObjectivesWe aimed to improve the nutritional care of preterm infants by developing a complex (multifaceted) intervention intended to translate current evidence into practice. We used the sociological framework of Normalization...

Giving Voice to the Psychological in the NICU: A Relational Model

Despite evidence indicating high rates of distress among parents with infants in neonatal intensive care, few neonatal intensive care units (NICU) have psychologists on staff. Recently, the National Perinatal Association (NPA) has recommended that all NICUs staff psychologists dedicated to supporting families and medical providers. This article presents a three-part model of NICU psychological interventions that is relationship-based and context attentive, including: (1) the maternal/paternal experience, (2) transition to home, and (3) work with staff. The narrative descriptions are grounded in case vignettes, and supported by the literature as well as survey research obtained from a nation-wide sample of psychologists (n = 20) currently working in a NICU setting. Combined, a significant number of behavioral objectives are identified, and explored through the lens of ethical care and treatment in a NICU setting.