Purpose
This descriptive study compared the perceived parental stress levels between parents with very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs) and nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Methods
In total, 83 parents of VLBWIs and 78 NICU nurses were enrolled. Data were collected with the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and analyzed using the t-test and analysis of variance in SAS version 9.4.
Results
The average PSS score was 3.31 among parents and 3.45 among nurses. The stress score was significantly higher among nurses with children (t=2.46, p=.016) and senior nurses (t=2.12, p=.037). There was a significant difference in the stress score according to parents' education (t=3.29, p=.002) and occupation (F=3.14, p=.049) in the sights and sounds subscale. Mothers had significantly higher stress scores than fathers in the parental role alterations subscale (t=2.32, p=.023). Parental stress scores were higher than those perceived by nurses in the infant's appearance and behaviors subscale for breathing patterns (t=2.95, p=.004), followed by jerky/ restless behavior (t=2.70, p=.008).
Conclusion
Nurses should provide explanations to parents of VLBWIs in order to reduce parental stress about the appearances and behavior of VLBWIs. This is more important than aspect of the NICU environment and education about parental roles.

Citations

• What Influences Maternal Stress in The NICU Among Mothers of Preterm Infants?
  Halyna Pavlyshyn, Iryna Sarapuk
  Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare.2025; Volume 18: 5713.     CrossRef
• Relationship between Maternal Stress and Neurobehavioral Indicators of Preterm Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
  Bruna Abreu Ramos, Cibelle Kayenne Martins Roberto Formiga, Nayara Rodrigues Gomes de Oliveira, Patricia Gonçalves Evangelista Marçal, Rui Gilberto Ferreira, Tárik Kassem Saidah, Waldemar Naves do Amaral
  Children.2024; 11(8): 889.     CrossRef
• Parental stress and nurse-parent support in the neonatal intensive care unit: a cross-sectional study
  Dilek Konukbay, Mürşide Vural, Dilek Yildiz
  BMC Nursing.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Fatores associados ao estresse de pais em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal
  Jaquiele Jaciára Kegler, Eliane Tatsch Neves, Augusto Maciel da Silva, Diúlia Calegari de Oliveira, Kellen Cervo Zamberlan
  Acta Paulista de Enfermagem.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef
• The experience of fathers whose infants were hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in South Korea: A scoping review
  Jiyeon Lee, Sunyeob Choi
  Journal of Pediatric Nursing.2023; 72: 36.     CrossRef