| Thesis Details |
 Title | Stress Experiences of Parents with Premature Infants in a
Special Care Nursery |
|
Author | Lau, Rosalind G. L. |
|
Institution | Victoria University |
|
Date | 2001 |
|
Abstract | This project is a controlled prospective longitudinal study of stress
experiences of parents with premature infants born from 30-35 weeks
gestation being cared for in a tertiary special care nursery (SCN). Sixty
mothers and 59 fathers of premature infants and 60 mothers and fathers
of term infants were recruited into the study. A range of repeated selfreports
and biochemical markers of stress (cortisol and tribulin) were
carried out on 5 measuring times through approximately a total of 24
weeks for parents of premature infants and 17 weeks for parents of term
infants.
Parents of premature infants reported higher stress levels than parents of
term infants within the first week of infant’s birth but had lower
biochemical markers of stress. The stressors perceived by these parents
in a SCN were appearance and behaviour of the infants and the delayed
in performing the parental role. Parents used both emotion- and problemfocused
coping strategies to deal with the stressful events.
A follow-up telephone interview of these parents a year after the birth of
their premature infant found that most parents expressed the experience
as positive. A few parents were concerned over the neurodevelopmental
and cognitive outcomes of their infants. Implications for clinical practice
were discussed.
|
| Thesis
|
01front.pdf 106.6 Kb
02whole.pdf 1259.6 Kb
|
