PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Kangaroo Care(KC) on anxiety, maternal role confidence, and maternal infant attachment of mothers who delivered preterm infants. METHODS: The research design was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest. Data was collected from September 1. 2006 to June 20. 2007. The participants were 22 mothers in the experimental group and 21 in the control group. KC was applied three times per day, for a total of ten times in 4 days to the experimental group. RESULTS: The degree of anxiety was statistically significantly different between the two groups but maternal role confidence and maternal infant attachment was statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: This data suggests that KC was effective for mothers anxiety relief but it was not effective for maternal role confidence and maternal infant attachment of mothers. The implications for nursing practice and directions for future research need to be discussed.
Adult ; *Anxiety ; Female ; Humans ; Infant Care/*methods ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature/*psychology ; Maternal Behavior/psychology ; Mother-Child Relations ; Mothers/*psychology ; Neonatal Nursing

PURPOSE: The present survey was conducted to investigate the perceptions among nurses of neonatal pain and the associated use of pharmacologic measures (PMs) and nonpharmacologic comfort measures (CMs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Pain perception, the necessity and actual use of PMs and CMs, and their relationships were investigated and compared according to nurses' positions, educational levels, the existence of guidelines, and prior education on neonatal pain management. METHODS: Participants were 141 nurses from five NICUs at university hospitals. A questionnaire was developed by researchers based on previous studies of neonatal pain management and current practices in surveyed NICUs. Five-point Likert scales were used to assess nurses' perceptions of pain, the necessity of PMs and CMs, and their actual use in 29 painful procedures. RESULTS: The mean scores of perceived pain and the necessity of PMs and CMs were 3.68, 2.96, and 3.79 points, respectively. The actual use of PMs and CMs was 1.67 and 2.63 points, respectively. The perceived necessity of PMs correlated with the actual use of PMs (r = .316, p < .001), and CMs were performed (r = .390, p < .001). Keeping or reading guidelines, or receiving education on pain management resulted in a higher perception of the necessity of PMs. CONCLUSION: Korean nurses in NICUs often underestimate the necessity of pain relief measures and use few PMs or CMs. Therefore, systematic approaches to implement guidelines, such as adaptation of guidelines for each NICU, dissemination of guideline content to all NICU staff, and regular measurements of compliance with the guidelines, are recommended.
Adult ; *Attitude of Health Personnel ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; *Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Intensive Care, Neonatal/*methods ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/*psychology ; Pain/nursing ; Pain Management/*methods/psychology/*utilization ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the professional nurse's postpartum breast-feeding support on breast-feeding prevalence for mothers who delivered in Baby-Friendly Hospitals (BFH). METHODS: This quasi experimental study was designed with a nonequivalent control group post test. The subjects of this study were 55 mothers who were hospitalized in the delivery room of a university hospital which was selected as a BFH in Daegu from October 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. Twenty nine mothers were assigned to the experimental group and 26 mothers to the control group. Postpartum breast-feeding support by nurses' telephone calls to the experimental group was provided once a week for 4 weeks postpartum and then once a month for 16 weeks postpartum. Four post tests were given at postpartum week 4, 8, 12, and 16. The control group was given a telephone call at postpartum week 4, 8, 12, and 16. RESULTS: The breastfeeding prevalence of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group for each period. CONCLUSION: Postpartum breast-feeding support by nurses may be a useful intervention to increase breast-feeding prevalence.
Adult ; *Breast Feeding/epidemiology/psychology/statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Health Education/methods ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Care ; Infant, Newborn ; Maternal-Child Nursing ; Nursing Theory ; *Postnatal Care ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; *Social Support ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test the effects of infant massage (auditory (mother's voice), tactile/kinesthetic (massage) and visual (eye to eye contact) stimulation) on weight and height of infant and mother-infant interaction with normal infants over a period of 4 weeks. METHOD: This study was designed as a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The experimental group infants (aged 2-6 months) participated in one of the infant massage programs at the health district center for 4 weeks. The control group (N=26) was paired with the experimental group (N=26) by matching the infant's age and sex. Infant weight, height, and mother-infant interaction were measured two times and recordings of the mother-infant interaction were done using the video equipment in a room at the health center for 10 minutes. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of massage, there were no significant differences weight gain and height increase between the two groups. Comparison of the total scores for the mother-infant interaction between the two groups showed a significant difference (t=5.21, p=.000). There were also significant differences on maternal response (t=3.78, p=000), infant response (t=5.71, p=000) and dyadic response (t=4.05, p=000) in the mother-infant interaction between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results of this study reassure that infant massage facilitates the mother-infant interaction for infants and mothers who give massage to their baby.
Anthropometry ; *Body Height ; *Body Weight ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Child Development ; Child Psychology ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Health Education/*organization & administration ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Behavior ; Infant Care/methods/psychology ; Male ; *Massage/education/methods/psychology ; *Mother-Child Relations ; *Mothers/education/psychology ; Nursing Evaluation Research ; Object Attachment ; Single-Blind Method ; Temperament ; Verbal Behavior ; Videotape Recording

INTRODUCTIONThis study aimed to examine how improving infant sleep impacted the emotional well-being of mothers.

METHODSThe participants were 80 mothers of infants aged 6-12 months; they attended a primary care medical clinic in Adelaide, Australia, for assistance with infant sleep problems. Behavioural intervention consisted of a 45-minute consultation, where verbal and written information describing sleep physiology and strategies to improve infant sleep was provided. Mothers were followed up 2-6 weeks later. Mothers rated their confidence (C), pleasure (P) and frustration (F) on a scale from 0 to 10, and completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 at each consultation. The number of night-time awakenings and time taken to see an improvement in infant sleep were also reported.

RESULTSThere was a significant increase in the C and P scores, and a significant decrease in the F scores (all p < 0.001). The mean total CPF score increased significantly from 14 to 25 (maximum score = 30). There was also a significant decrease in depression, anxiety and stress in the mothers (all p < 0.001). The mean number of maximum night awakenings also decreased significantly, from 4.9 to 0.5 (p < 0.001). The mean time taken to see improved infant sleep, as reported by the mothers, was 2.8 nights.

CONCLUSIONA single consultation using a behavioural strategy to improve infant sleep was effective in improving infant sleep and in increasing maternal emotional well-being. In particular, the scores for 'pleasure in being a mother' increased dramatically.

Adult ; Australia ; Depression, Postpartum ; etiology ; prevention & control ; psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Care ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Mother-Child Relations ; Mothers ; psychology ; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; complications ; prevention & control

PURPOSE: Common conditions, such as dehydration or respiratory infection can aggravate hypoxia and are associated with interstage mortality in infants who have undergone palliative surgery for congenital heart diseases. This study was done to evaluate the efficacy of a home monitoring program (HMP) in decreasing infant mortality. METHODS: Since its inception in May 2010, all infants who have undergone palliative surgery have been enrolled in HMP. This study was a prospective observational study and infant outcomes during HMP were compared with those of previous comparison groups. Parents were trained to measure oxygen saturation, body weight and feeding volume and to contact the hospital through the hotline for emergency situations. Telephone counseling was conducted by clinical nurse specialists every week post discharge. RESULTS: Forty-one infants were enrolled in HMP. Nine hundred telephone counseling sessions were conducted. Seventy-three infants required telephone triage with the most common conditions being gastrointestinal (50.7%) and respiratory symptoms (32.9%). With HMP intervention, interstage mortality decreased from 18.6% (8/43) to 9.8% (4/41) (chi2=1.15, p=.283). CONCLUSION: Results indicate that active measures and treatments using the HMP decrease mortality rates, however further investigation is required to identify various factors that contribute to hemodynamic complications during the interstage period.
Body Temperature ; Body Weight ; Caregivers/education/psychology ; Counseling ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital/mortality/prevention & control/*surgery ; Heart Rate ; Hospitalization ; Hotlines ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Monitoring, Physiologic/*methods ; Oxygen Consumption ; Palliative Care ; *Program Evaluation ; Prospective Studies ; Time Factors