TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal Distress in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
T2 - A Concept Analysis
AU - Staver, Morgan A.
AU - Moore, Tiffany A.
AU - Hanna, Kathleen M.
AU - Harris-Haman, Pamela A.
AU - Zukowsky, Ksenia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 National Association of Neonatal Nurses.
PY - 2019/10/1
Y1 - 2019/10/1
N2 - Background: The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can cause significant psychological distress in a mother. There is no common definition of maternal distress in the NICU currently in use. Purpose: To develop a clear conceptual understanding of maternal distress in the NICU using conceptual definitions and empirical findings. Methods/Search Strategy: A literature search was conducted using EBSCOhost, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and Google Scholar. The concept analysis was guided by Walker and Avant's (2011) guide. Findings/Results: Maternal distress in the NICU consists of a combination of depressive, anxiety, trauma, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The symptoms occur together on a spectrum and present differently in each mother. The antecedents to maternal distress are a NICU hospitalization and a perceived interruption to the transition to motherhood. Consequences of maternal distress in the NICU are issues with developing a healthy maternal-infant bond, adverse infant development, and decreased maternal quality of life. Implications for Practice: A complete understanding of maternal distress in the NICU will lead to increased awareness of adverse mental health states in this population. Implications for Research: Identification of mothers at risk for maternal distress in the NICU, as well as the identification of antecedents and consequences related to the mother and the infant from maternal distress in the NICU. Using a single, clear definition of maternal distress in the NICU population will lead to a more cohesive body of literature.
AB - Background: The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can cause significant psychological distress in a mother. There is no common definition of maternal distress in the NICU currently in use. Purpose: To develop a clear conceptual understanding of maternal distress in the NICU using conceptual definitions and empirical findings. Methods/Search Strategy: A literature search was conducted using EBSCOhost, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and Google Scholar. The concept analysis was guided by Walker and Avant's (2011) guide. Findings/Results: Maternal distress in the NICU consists of a combination of depressive, anxiety, trauma, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The symptoms occur together on a spectrum and present differently in each mother. The antecedents to maternal distress are a NICU hospitalization and a perceived interruption to the transition to motherhood. Consequences of maternal distress in the NICU are issues with developing a healthy maternal-infant bond, adverse infant development, and decreased maternal quality of life. Implications for Practice: A complete understanding of maternal distress in the NICU will lead to increased awareness of adverse mental health states in this population. Implications for Research: Identification of mothers at risk for maternal distress in the NICU, as well as the identification of antecedents and consequences related to the mother and the infant from maternal distress in the NICU. Using a single, clear definition of maternal distress in the NICU population will lead to a more cohesive body of literature.
KW - concept analysis
KW - maternal distress
KW - neonatal intensive care unit
KW - perinatal anxiety
KW - postpartum depression
KW - posttraumatic stress
KW - trauma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072785461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85072785461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/ANC.0000000000000642
DO - 10.1097/ANC.0000000000000642
M3 - Article
C2 - 31306234
AN - SCOPUS:85072785461
SN - 1536-0903
VL - 19
SP - 394
EP - 401
JO - Advances in Neonatal Care
JF - Advances in Neonatal Care
IS - 5
ER -