Abstract
Negative changes in sibling behavior have been documented following the birth of a newborn. They may be exaggerated by the prolonged hospitalization which occurs when sick neonates are admitted to NICUs. We randomly assigned 15 siblings (ages 3.8–7.25 years) of infants admitted to our NICU to a visiting group (n=8 permitted inside NICU, touch, hold neonate) or a control group (n=7 came to hospital for interview only). A structured interview was administered to sibs directly after the visit. Parents responded to questionnaires comparing the child's behavior before and after the neonate's birth, one week after admission to NICU and one week after experimental (or control) intervention. 80% of all children showed some behavioral changes after birth of the infant and both groups showed improved behavioral trends following the intervention. No differences were found between groups. 3/5 siblings in the control group and 0/5 in the visiting group gave negative or fearful descriptions of the hospital (p=0.08). None of the visits were disruptive of patient care and none of the children asked to leave the unit. Parents' comments were uniformly favorable. No nosocomial infections were documented following visits. In this study no detrimental effects and some favorable effects were found when siblings of this age were permitted to visit sick neonates in the hospital.
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Tolbert, B., Schwab, F., Bagnato, S. et al. 99 VISITING BY SIBLINGS IN A NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU). Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 456 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00108
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00108