Effect of stress mangment training on Stress and Anxiety level of the mothers of peremature infants admitted to NICU

Objective (s):

Hospitalization of premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is associated with stress and anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of stress management training on stress and anxiety level of the mothers of premature infants admitted to NICU.

The present study was a quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all mothers of infants admitted to NICU in Shahid Sadoughi Hospital. Using convenient sampling method, 60 mothers were selected and randomly assigned in two groups the experimental and the control groups. Both groups completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale Questionnaire (DASS-21) in the pre-test and post-test stages. Experimental group received stress management for eight weeks including a 90-minutes training session twice per week. The control group receive the routine care. The pre- and post-test data was analyzed to achieve the study objective.

The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of the stress and anxiety scores of the experimental group were 16.33 ± 1.88 and 15.30 ± 2.18 in the pre-test and 12.13 ± 1.91 and 10.41 ± 1.99 in the post-test. also the mean and standard deviation of the stress and anxiety scores of the control group were 15.97 ± 1.81 and 15.07  ±1.96 in the pre-test and 15.63 ± 2.15 and 14.90 ± 1.82 in the post-test. Therefore, stress management training has significantly reduced the stress scores and anxiety of mothers of premature infants admitted to the intensive care unit in the experimental group (P<0.001).

Stress management training can be used as an effective intervention to reduce stress and anxiety in preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care units.