Abstract
Objective: Parental involvement in the care of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is common, but little is known about stress responses in mothers and infants.
Aim: To evaluate the effect of family-centered care on salivary cortisol reactivity in mothers and infants and the correlation between the mothers' and the infants' salivary cortisol.
Method: This study is part of a randomized controlled trial conducted at two level-II NICUs, including Family Care (FC), where parents were able to stay 24 hours/day from admission to discharge, and Standard Care (SC). To investigate the cortisol response, saliva was collected from 289 preterm infants and their mothers before and after a diaper change at the time of discharge.
Result: No significant differences were found between the two groups in baseline or response cortisol concentrations, either in mothers or in infants. The results revealed a correlation between preterm infants' and their mothers' baseline and response cortisol in the FC group: r=0.31 (p=0.001) and r=0.24 (p=0.01), respectively. Such correlation was not observed in the SC group: r=0.14 (p=0.14) and r=0.18 (p=0.07), respectively.
Conclusion: Parents' presence throughout the hospital stay may accelerate the relationship of the mother-infant dyad and improve their ability to follow each other's cortisol rhythm. The significance of the measured cortisol levels is still unclear, but this model of FC may have a positive impact on the attachment process.
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Mörelius, E., Broström, E., Westrup, B. et al. The Stockholm Neonatal Family-Centered Care Study: Effects on Salivary Cortisol in Infants and their Mothers. Pediatr Res 70 (Suppl 5), 54 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2011.279
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pr.2011.279