1. Parent Engagement Correlates With Parent and Preterm Infant Oxytocin Release During Skin-to-Skin Contact
- Author
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Haifa A. Samra, Nefeli Maria Makris, Dorothy Vittner, Elizabeth Brownell, Samantha Butler, Jacqueline M. McGrath, and Kelsey Smith
- Subjects
Male ,Skin to skin ,Mothers ,Oxytocin ,law.invention ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Randomized controlled trial ,law ,030225 pediatrics ,Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ,Medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Cortisol level ,integumentary system ,business.industry ,Infant, Newborn ,Infant ,General Medicine ,Object Attachment ,Parental engagement ,Mother-Child Relations ,Disadvantaged ,Kangaroo-Mother Care Method ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,business ,hormones, hormone substitutes, and hormone antagonists ,Infant, Premature ,Clinical psychology ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Preterm infants remain increasingly neurodevelopmentally disadvantaged. Parental touch, especially during skin-to-skin contact (SSC), has potential to reduce adverse consequences.To examine relationships between parental engagement and salivary oxytocin and cortisol levels for parents participating in SSC intervention.A randomized crossover design study was conducted in a neonatal intensive care unit; 28 stable preterm infants, mothers, and fathers participated. Parental engagement was measured using the Parental Risk Evaluation Engagement Model Instrument (PREEMI) prior to hospital discharge. Saliva samples for oxytocin and cortisol levels were collected 15-minute pre-SSC, 60-minute during-SSC, and 45-minute post-SSC.Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation to measure relationships between parental engagement composite scores and salivary oxytocin and cortisol levels. A significant negative correlation between paternal engagement and paternal oxytocin levels (r = -0.43; P = .03) and a significant negative correlation between infant oxytocin levels and maternal engagement (r = -0.54; P = .004) were present. Adjusted linear regression models demonstrated that as infant oxytocin levels increased during SSC, maternal engagement scores significantly decreased at discharge (β = -.04; P = .01). Linear regression, adjusting for infant oxytocin and cortisol levels, showed that as paternal oxytocin levels increased, there was a significant decrease in paternal engagement (β = -.16; P = .03) and as paternal cortisol levels increased, there was a significant decrease in paternal engagement (β = -68.97; P =.05).Significant relationships exist between parental engagement and salivary oxytocin and cortisol levels. Defining parent engagement facilitates identification of parent risks and needs for intervention to optimize preterm outcomes.The PREEMI can serve as a standardized instrument to examine parent engagement.
- Published
- 2018