Work

Maternal parenting stress changes over the first year of life in infants with complex cardiac defects and in healthy infants

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most prevalent congenital defect diagnosed in 1:100 live births. Complex CHD conditions that require surgical interventions early in life and prolonged hospitalizations, can be life-threatening and cause profound stress to families who face health, and quality-of-life issues. The first year after the baby is born (infancy) is critical, as during this year most medical interventions occur. The initial period of hospitalization and early care of an infant with complex CHD at home requires parental adjustment to the environment of cardiac intensive care unit (CICU), and to the multiple post-surgical caretaking demands. Studies report on high parenting stress levels in the pediatric CHD population, compared to other (healthy or sick) pediatric populations. Elevated parenting stress levels have been widely linked to adverse outcomes in individuals and families, Such as parental anxiety and depression, disturbed parent-child relationship, decreased familial wellbeing and quality of life, maladaptive behaviors and poor social competence among children. Although parenting stress has gained research attention in recent years in the CHD pediatric populations, longitudinal stress trajectories over infancy have not been studied yet. The infancy period is critical for establishing a healthy-infant-parent relationship, which directly impacts infant development and important for the family system readjustment to the new structure, roles, and routines. Whereas the general expectation from parenting stress is to diminish over time, as part of the normal adjustment process to the parenting role, critical pediatric cardiac condition introduces additional complexities to the process, which may alter the natural trajectory of the familial readjustment. The aim of the current study was to examine changes in parenting stress over infancy in mothers of infants with CHD and compare them to those of mothers of healthy infants.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10825703

Authors: Golfenshtein, Nadya, Hanlon, Alexandra L, Medoff-Cooper, Barbara

Institutions: University of Pennsylvania, University of Haifa, Virginia Tech, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Language: English

Topic: Family and Disability Support Research

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green