Background: Studies of parents' psychological well-being in single-family rooms in neonatal intensive care units have shown conflicting results.
Aims: To compare emotional distress in the form of depression, anxiety, stress and attachment scores among parents of very preterm infants cared for in a single-family rooms unit vs an open bay unit.
Study design: Prospective survey design.
Subject: Parents (132) of 77 infants born at 28 0/7-32 0/7 weeks of gestation in the two units.
Outcome measures: Duration of parental presence was recorded. Scores for depression (The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), anxiety (The State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory, Short Form Y), stress (The Parent Stressor Scale: neonatal intensive care unit questionnaire and The Parenting Stress Index-short form) and attachment (Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale) measured 14 days after delivery, at discharge, expected term date and four months post-term.
Results: Parents were present 21 hours/day in the single-family room unit vs 7 hours/day in the Open bay unit. Ninety-three percent of the fathers in the single-family rooms unit were present more than 12 hours per day during the first week. Mothers in the single-family rooms had a significantly lower depression score -1.9 (95% CI: -3.6, -0.1) points from birth to four months corrected age compared to mothers in the Open bay unit, and 14% vs 52% scored above a cut-off point considered being at high risk for depression (p<0.005). Both mothers and fathers in the single-family rooms reported significantly lower stress levels during hospitalization. There were no differences between the groups for anxiety, stress or attachment scores after discharge.
Conclusion: The lower depression scores by the mothers and lower parental stress scores during hospitalization for both parents supports that single-family rooms care contribute to parents' psychological wellbeing.