Abstract

RUIZ, Ana Lía; CERIANI CERNADAS, José M.; CRAVEDI, Verónica  and  RODRIGUEZ, Diana. Estrés y depresión en madres de prematuros: un programa de intervención. Arch. argent. pediatr. [online]. 2005, vol.103, n.1, pp.36-45. ISSN 0325-0075.

Advances in premature newborn care have been highly successful. Nevertheless, various side effects have also been noted. Experience shows that premature birth and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission usually produce undesired effects on parents, mainly maternal stress and depression. Our aim was to assess a psychological intervention program to provide support to the parents of premature infants during their hospitalization. Patients, material and methods. A total of 60 premature infants under 1,500 g who survived and were discharged from the NICU, were enrolled between January 5th, 1997 and November 20th, 1999. Single mothers, multiple gestations, congenital anomalies and parents refusal to give their consent, were not included. Parents were divided in two groups: intervention (n= 31) and control (n= 29). A delayed time method was used for randomization in order to avoid simultaneity between groups. The control group received the usual care of the Division of Neonatology. The intervention group received an individualized care based on an interdisciplinary and multifactorial program. The evaluation was performed according to specific scales. Results. There were no differences between the groups in medical, demographic, educational and social variables. The intervention group showed significant lower levels of maternal stress and depression (p< 0.001). In the control group, 62% of the mothers reported that the experience was "highly stressful", significantly higher than that of the intervention group (6.4%; p< 0.0001). Conclusion. A psychosocial model of intervention applied in mothers of premature infants may significantly reduce maternal stress and depression. This intervention may improve the mother-infant bonding and the future development of the child.

Keywords : Very low birth weight premature infants; Maternal stress and depression; Psychosocial intervention program.

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