ERIC Number: EJ1077983
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Nov
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9630
EISSN: N/A
Family Nurture Intervention in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Improves Social-Relatedness, Attention, and Neurodevelopment of Preterm Infants at 18 Months in a Randomized Controlled Trial
Welch, Martha G.; Firestein, Morgan R.; Austin, Judy; Hane, Amie A.; Stark, Raymond I.; Hofer, Myron A.; Garland, Marianne; Glickstein, Sara B.; Brunelli, Susan A.; Ludwig, Robert J.; Myers, Michael M.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, v56 n11 p1202-1211 Nov 2015
Background: Preterm infants are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is designed to counteract adverse effects of separation of mothers and their preterm infants. Here, we evaluate effects of FNI on neurobehavioral outcomes. Methods: Data were collected at 18 months corrected age from preterm infants. Infants were assigned at birth to FNI or standard care (SC). Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (Bayley-III) were assessed for 76 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 45); the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for 57 infants (SC, n = 31; FNI, n = 26); and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was obtained for 59 infants (SC, n = 33; FNI, n = 26). Results: Family Nurture Intervention significantly improved Bayley-III cognitive (p = 0.039) and language (p = 0.008) scores for infants whose scores were greater than 85. FNI infants had fewer attention problems on the CBCL (p < 0.02). FNI improved total M-CHAT scores (p < 0.02). Seventy-six percent of SC infants failed at least one of the M-CHAT items, compared to 27% of FNI infants (p < 0.001). In addition, 36% of SC infants versus 0% of FNI infants failed at least one social-relatedness M-CHAT item (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Family Nurture Intervention is the first NICU intervention to show significant improvements in preterm infants across multiple domains of neurodevelopment, social-relatedness, and attention problems. These gains suggest that an intervention that facilitates emotional interactions between mothers and infants in the NICU may be key to altering developmental trajectories of preterm infants.
Descriptors: Premature Infants, Neonates, Neurological Impairments, At Risk Persons, Neurological Organization, Mothers, Parent Child Relationship, Toddlers, Comparative Analysis, Intervention, Family Programs, Check Lists, Child Behavior, Infants, Cognitive Development, Child Development, Scores, Language Skills, Attention, Social Development, Control Groups, Experimental Groups
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Center for Research Resources (NIH/DHHS)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Bayley Scales of Infant Development; Child Behavior Checklist
Grant or Contract Numbers: UL1RR024156