The Effect of Empowerment Program on Mother-Infant Interaction and Weight Gain in Preterm Infants

The hospitalization of premature newborns in neonatal intensive care unit causes the family to experience a sense of loss and to disturb the emotional connection of the mother with the newborn. The present study aimed to determine the effect of empowerment programs on mother-infant interaction and the weight gain of premature infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit. In this clinical trial, after obtaining written consent, a total of 140 mothers with infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The empowerment program was performed on mothers of the experimental group and then mother-infant interaction was assessed through the observation form of attachment behavior and the measurement of neonate weight in both groups and the data were analyzed by SPSS-16 software. The mean of the total maternal attachment behaviors in the experimental and control groups were 52.01±6.65 and 36.28±28.09, respectively. The result of the independent t-test (p=0.001) showed that there was statistically a significant difference between the two groups and the mean weight of infants two months after the intervention were 3620±877.31 and 3200±824.85 grams in experimental and control groups, respectively. The result of the independent t-test (p=0.005) showed that there was statistically a significant difference between the experimental and the control groups. Regarding the increase of mother-infant interaction and the weight gain of premature infants, it is recommended to provide the necessary training to parents, especially to mothers, in order to appropriately confront and communicate with the newborn and to empower mothers in order to care for premature neonates.