Experiences of Parents of Preterm Children Hospitalized Regarding Restrictions to Interact with Their Children Imposed Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective. To describe the experiences of parents of hospitalized preterm children regarding the restrictions implemented in the neonatal intensive care unit -NICU- during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. Qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and October 2020 with 12 parents of preterm children, whose children were hospitalized and discharged from NICU during the pandemic. The analysis was performed with tools from grounded theory through open and axial coding. Results. The study identified four categories regarding the experience: 1) needing information: refers to the need for clear and close information to compensate for the physical distance; 2) limiting the interaction with the children: expressed as a painful situation, which minimizes opportunities for learning to care at home for their preterm child; 3) the pandemic: adding to the fears: in which the virus appears as a new threat for the children, who are vulnerable given their premature condition; and 4) limiting social support after discharge: identifies that the parents had less family and professional support for care after discharge during times of pandemic. Conclusion. Parents of preterm children lived a difficult experience that became complex within the context of the pandemic. The experiences of parents of preterm children during times of COVID-19 indicate that restrictions to enter neonatal units to prevent the virus transmission limited the interaction with the preterm child and with the health staff and increased the needs for information.

Preterm Birth: A Concerning Global Issue

This article reviewing literature to focus the problem- “Increase preterm child birth” analysis through problem tree, which is the participatory tool of mapping out main problems, along with their causes and effects. Child born preterm has a greater effect on their life than infants born at term in respect of mortality and a variety of health and developmental problems. However, those children born nearer to term represent the greatest number of infants born preterm and also experience more complications than infants born at term. The enormous effects of preterm birth include acute unstable health, central nervous system, hearing, and vision problems, as well as longer -term motor, cognitive, visual, hearing, behavioral, social-emotional, health, and growth problems. The birth of a preterm infant can also bring considerable emotional and economic costs to families and have implications for socioeconomic sector. The impact of preterm child birth is the raising number of mort ality and economic burden to the family as well as to the society. Preterm birth is a complex cluster of problems with a set of overlapping factors of influence. Its causes may include maternal health related problems, individual-level behavioral and psychosocial factors, environmental exposures, medical conditions. Many of these factors occurring combination, particularly in those who are socioeconomically and educationally disadvantaged

CARE FOR PRETERM CHILD IN HOUSE: FATHERLY EXPERIENCES

ABSTRACT Objective: to apprehend the paternal experiences related to the care provided to the preterm child at home by comparing the parents participating or not in the care protocol. Method: a qualitative research, conducted from July to October 2017, with 24 parents of preterm infants after discharge from a teaching hospital in the state of Paraná, Brazil, who participated or not in a care protocol during the period of hospitalization. The analysis was performed through the Collective Subject Discourse. Results: the parents who had the opportunity to participate in the protocol at the hospital reported that this care was important so that they could help their partners with their children at home. However, the parents participating or not in the protocol realize that the mother has a greater bond because of the possibility of greater time availability and because they are the nursing mothers and refer to work as a barrier to child care. Conclusion: the parents participating in the protocol report that it had a positive impact on their child care at home, in contrast, non-participating parents reported that having been included or not in the protocol did not interfere with their conduct at home. However, both groups agree that cultural factors and work are barriers to child care.

Risk for ASD in Preterm Infants: A Three-Year Follow-Up Study

Background. The aim of this study was to examine the long-term risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in individuals who are born preterm and full-term using both observational instruments and parental reports. Neonatal risk factors and developmental characteristics associated with ASD risk were also examined. Method. Participants included 110 preterm children (born at a gestational age of ≤ 34 weeks) and 39 full-term children assessed at ages 18, 24, and 36 months. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, the Social Communication Questionnaire, and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning were administered. Results and Conclusions. The long-term risk for ASD was higher when parental reports were employed compared to observational instruments. At 18 and 24 months, a higher long-term risk for ASD was found for preterm children compared to full-term children. At 36 months, only one preterm child and one full-term child met the cutoff for ASD based on the ADOS, yet clinical judgment and parental reports supported an ASD diagnosis for the preterm child only. Earlier gestational age and lower general developmental abilities were associated with elevated ASD risk among preterm children.