Stress and Coping Mechanisms among Mothers Baby’s Admitted to NICU at Rafedia Hospital رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

Background: The number of non-preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit s is substantial and growing, Neonatal care units are “high technology unit. The sickest preterm infants may be in hospital for many months, Parents of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit experience stress from a variety of causes which are often poorly understood by clinician’s measurement of parental stress in the neonatal intensive care unit. Aim: To assess the stress and coping strategies of mothers of neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit in Rafedia hospital. Methods: The study was a descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional study. Data collected through the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS: NICU) and Coping Health Inventory for Parents (CHIP). The population of the study was mothers of neonates admitted in the NICU in Rafedia hospital for a period of two months January 1 to March 1, 2022). Pilot 20study with 200 mothers. Results: There was negative small association between parental stress and parental coping health among mothers (r= -.234) at P< 0.001. Also, there were association between subscales of parental stress and subscales of parental coping health, no statistically significant differences between demographic characteristics and parental stress scores, and coping strategies (P> 0.05). Conclusions: Having an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit it a stressful experience associated with many difficulties. Most parents expressed shock, sadness, crying, worries about their infant's health, mothers of preterm need support. Spirituality and religion, helps them face the challenges of having their baby hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit.