Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Health related quality of life (HRQoL) in mothers of premature infants at NICU discharge

Journal of Perinatology volume 39, pages 1356–1361 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Premature delivery and a potential Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission may be associated with the risk of poor maternal health. We aimed to examine the mothers’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at the time of infant discharge.

Study design

Fifty mothers completed the Medical Outcomes Study-Short Form 12. It has a Physical Component Score (PCS) and Mental Component Score (MCS), both with a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10. Analysis included infant, maternal, and pregnancy-related characteristics.

Results

In multivariable analyses, a household income of <150K lowered the PCS by 10 points (p = 0.003) compared to those with higher incomes. Marginal significance was noted in GA, for every week gained the PCS score was lower by 1.5 points.

Conclusion

Several risk factors are associated with lower physical health ratings in mothers of preterm infants at discharge. This information can be used to inform providers in their anticipatory guidance to the family and follow-up plans.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Preedy VR, Watson RR. Handbook of Disease Burdens and Quality of Life Measures. 1st ed. New York: Springer-Verlag; 2010.

  2. Montoya Arizabaleta AV, Orozco Buitrago L, Aguilar de Plata AC, Mosquera Escudero M, Ramírez-Vélez R. Aerobic exercise during pregnancy improves health-related quality of life: a randomised trial. J Physiother. 2010;56:253–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lee SY, Hsu HC. Stress and health-related well-being among mothers with a low birth weight infant: the role of sleep. Soc Sci Med. 2012;74:958–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Woollett A, Parr M. Psychological tasks for women and men in the postpartum. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 1997;15:159–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Lamarca GA, Leal Mdo C, Leao AT, Sheiham A, Vettore MV. Oral health related quality of life in pregnant and post partum women in two social network domains; predominantly home-based and work-based networks. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2012;10:5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Moura MR, Araujo CG, Prado MM, Paro HB, Pinto RM, Abdallah VO, et al. Factors associated with the quality of life of mothers of preterm infants with very low birth weight: a 3-year follow-up study. Qual Life Res. 2017;26:1349–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Haas JS, Jackson RA, Fuentes-Afflick E, Stewart AL, Dean ML, Brawarsky P, et al. Changes in the health status of women during and after pregnancy. J Gen Intern Med. 2005;20:45–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Negron R, Martin A, Almog M, Balbierz A, Howell EA. Social support during the postpartum period: mothers’ views on needs, expectations, and mobilization of support. Matern Child Health J. 2013;17:616–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Akyn B, Ege E, Kocodlu D, Demiroren N, Yylmaz S. Quality of life and related factors in women, aged 15–49 in the 12-month post-partum period in Turkey. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2009;35:86–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Torkan B, Parsay S, Lamyian M, Kazemnejad A, Montazeri A. Postnatal quality of life in women after normal vaginal delivery and caesarean section. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2009;9:4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hill PD, Aldag JC. Maternal perceived quality of life following childbirth. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2007;36:328–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Donohue PK, Maurin E, Kimzey L, Allen MC, Strobino D. Quality of life of caregivers of very low-birthweight infants. Birth. 2008;35:212–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Mautner E, Greimel E, Trutnovsky G, Daghofer F, Egger JW, Lang U. Quality of life outcomes in pregnancy and postpartum complicated by hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2009;30:231–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Reid T, Bramwell R, Booth N, Weindling AM. A new stressor scale for parents experiencing neonatal intensive care: the NUPS (Neonatal Unit Parental Stress) scale. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 2007;25:66–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Padden T, Glenn S. Maternal experiences of preterm birth and neonatal intensive care. J Reprod Infant Psychol. 1997;15:121–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Henderson J, Carson C, Redshaw M. Impact of preterm birth on maternal well-being and women’s perceptions of their baby: a population-based survey. BMJ Open. 2016;6:e012676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Tarkka M-T, Paunonen M, Laippala P. Social support provided by public health nurses and the coping of first-time mothers with child care. Public Health Nurs. 1999;16:114–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Turner C, Boyle F, O’Rourke P. Mothers’ health post-partum and their patterns of seeking vaccination for their infants. Int J Nurs Pract. 2003;9:120–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Stewart A, Ware J. Measuring functioning and well-being: the medical outcomes study approach. Durham, NC: Duke University Press; 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Ware JEKM, Keller SD. SF-12: how to score the SF-12 physical and mental health summary scales. Lincoln: Quality Metric Incorporated; 1998.

  21. Wang P, Liou SR, Cheng CY. Prediction of maternal quality of life on preterm birth and low birthweight: a longitudinal study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2013;13:124.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Brummelte S, Galea LAM. Postpartum depression: etiology, treatment and consequences for maternal care. Horm Behav. 2016;77:153–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. O’Hara MW, Swain AM. Rates and risk of postpartum depression—a meta-analysis. Int Rev Psychiatry. 1996;8:37–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. (CDC) CfDCaP, editor. Prevalence of selected maternal and child health indicators for Massachusetts, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), 2012–2015. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Atlanta, GA; 2018.

  25. Morin M, Vayssiere C, Claris O, Irague F, Mallah S, Molinier L, et al. Evaluation of the quality of life of pregnant women from 2005 to 2015. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2017;214:115–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Schytt E, Hildingsson I. Physical and emotional self-rated health among Swedish women and men during pregnancy and the first year of parenthood. Sex Reprod Health. 2011;2:57–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Darcy JM, Grzywacz JG, Stephens RL, Leng I, Clinch CR, Arcury TA. Maternal depressive symptomatology: 16-month follow-up of infant and maternal health-related quality of life. J Am Board Fam Med. 2011;24:249–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Fobelets M, Beeckman K, Buyl R, Daly D, Sinclair M, Healy P, et al. Mode of birth and postnatal health-related quality of life after one previous cesarean in three European countries. Birth. 2018;45:137–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Shields-Poe D, Pinelli J. Variables associated with parental stress in neonatal intensive care units. Neonatal Netw. 1997;16:29–37.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Schappin R, Wijnroks L, Uniken Venema MM, Jongmans MJ. Rethinking stress in parents of preterm infants: a meta-analysis. PLoS ONE. 2013;8:e54992.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Woodward LJ, Bora S, Clark CA, Montgomery-Honger A, Pritchard VE, Spencer C, et al. Very preterm birth: maternal experiences of the neonatal intensive care environment. J Perinatol. 2014;34:555–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Gjerdingen DK, Chaloner KM. The relationship of women’s postpartum mental health to employment, childbirth, and social support. J Fam Pract. 1994;38:465–72.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Bialoskurski MM, Cox CL, Wiggins RD. The relationship between maternal needs and priorities in a neonatal intensive care environment. J Adv Nurs. 2002;37:62–69.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Maher J, Souter K. ‘It’s much easier to get help for the baby’: women, postpartum health and maternal and child health care groups. Health Sociol Rev. 2014;15:104–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Amorim M, Silva S, Kelly-Irving M, Alves E. Quality of life among parents of preterm infants: a scoping review. Qual Life Res. 2018;27:1119–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Building U.S. capacity to review and prevent maternal deaths. Report from nine maternal mortality review committees. 2018. http://reviewtoaction.org/Report_from_Nine_MMRCs

  37. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 736. Optimizing postpartum care. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131:e140–e150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Ms. Wenyang Mao for statistical consultation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Evelyn Obregon, Jonathan S. Litt & Marie C. McCormick

  2. Division of Newborn Medicine Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jonathan S. Litt & Marie C. McCormick

  3. Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    Palak Patel

  4. Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA

    Tiglath Ziyeh

  5. Department of Social Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Marie C. McCormick

Authors
  1. Evelyn Obregon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jonathan S. Litt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Palak Patel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tiglath Ziyeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Marie C. McCormick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie C. McCormick.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Obregon, E., Litt, J.S., Patel, P. et al. Health related quality of life (HRQoL) in mothers of premature infants at NICU discharge. J Perinatol 39, 1356–1361 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-019-0463-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-019-0463-1

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links