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Background: Many parents report the transition from hospital to home as challenging after the birth of a preterm-born child. This study investigates parental perceptions of community-based follow-up services after hospital discharge, alterations in parental self-efficacy during the early months at home, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among parents, and the relationship between these factors and both NICU experiences and children's regulative behaviors., Methods: In this second phase of a descriptive study, 110 parents returned a digital questionnaire when their child was four months corrected for prematurity. Parents were recruited while hospitalized with their child, in one of eight Norwegian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Thus, the study provides insight into follow-up services across a broad geographical range. Parents' perception of self-efficacy was reported on the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale, and depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Children's regulative behavior was reported on the 6-month version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social and Emotional (ASQ: SE). Using SPSS, associations between variables were investigated in multiple regression analysis in addition to descriptive analysis. Additionally, the examination of repeated measures of parental self-efficacy involved the application of linear mixed models., Results: Parents reported improved perception of self-efficacy from postdischarge to the children's age of four months (F (1,167) = 1233.2, p < 0.001). On average, fathers' self-efficacy improved more than that of mothers. Parents' perception of being well informed prior to discharge from hospital predicted improved self-efficacy (F [1, 29] = 10.4, p = 0.003). Reports of depressive symptoms were at a similar level as previously reported among new parents, as 10.4% of mothers and 6.7% of fathers reported EPDS scores ≥ 10 points. Parents' reports on ASQ: SE show that 15% of the children scored above the recommended cutoff score for three- to nine-month-old children. The parent-reported benefit of follow-up services showed considerable variation. The importance of specific knowledge about prematurity among public health nurses and physicians was frequently mentioned, and public health nurses were perceived as coordinators and mediators of various services., Conclusions: Parents reported improved self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms at similar levels as new parents in general, a few months after discharge from hospital. Childrens' regulatory behavior were reported at levels comparable with term-born infants., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: This scoping review focuses on infant sleep-related factors and themes that are relevant when health practitioners provide preventive health services to expectant and new parents., Methods: A systematic literature search in CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycINFO, published in 2010 or later, identified 1661 records. The search was further narrowed to focus on sleep in healthy term-born infants until the second half of the first year of life. A blinded review by both authors covered 136 papers, of which 43 papers were reviewed in the full text. Finally, 38 articles were included in the data extraction., Results: The analysis process showed that the selected studies formed three main information categories: 11 studies thematised safe infant sleep issues, 10 studies described design and findings from sleep-related intervention studies, and 17 studies focused on different parent-child interactive aspects that may influence the quality and duration of infant sleep in the first six months of life. The main finding is that knowledge about early infant sleep is very complex, and includes both child, parent, and environmental factors. Several studies have shown that the concepts and factors related to safe infant sleep also influence the development of healthy infant sleep patterns. Thus, these aspects are interwoven with each other and should be addressed together in communication with parents., Conclusions: Health practitioners with different professional backgrounds need to search for an agreement on when and how different aspects of sleep-related knowledge should be communicated to new and expectant parents to enable the design of national follow-up programs. Parents want coherent and personalized services regarding infant sleep issues that may allow them to choose sleeping arrangements, routines, and behaviors that fit in with their sociocultural attitudes and traditions. Many different sources and formats may be used to empower parents regarding infant sleep issues. Studies have described the use of group or individual meetings, videos, and written materials. The key issue is the importance of consistent and seamless knowledge-based services., (© 2022. The Author(s).)