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Register for Nurses Are Main Source of Support for NICU Parents
New journal article explores nurses' role in helping parents who have
an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit
Washington, D.C., December 2, 2008 — When an infant is admitted into
the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), parents often experience
challenges with establishing their roles as parents because their
newborn infants — out of necessity — spend more time in the care of
medical professionals than with their families.
A new article in the November/December issue of the Journal of
Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing (JOGNN), published by the
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN),
concludes that nurses are well positioned to assist families during
this difficult time because they are at the forefront of patient and
family care.
"Parenting in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,”
by Lisa M. Cleveland, RN, MN, CPNP, IBCLC, takes an in-depth look at 60
studies that focus on parents who have infants in the NICU, with the
goal of uncovering the specific needs of these parents and what nurses
can do to positively support them to establish their role as parents.
According to the article, parents with an infant in the NICU have six
main needs. These needs include the following:
- to receive accurate information and be included in their infants' care;
- to be able to watch over and protect their infants;
- to have contact with their infants;
- to be perceived positively by the nursery staff;
- to receive specialized attention, especially fathers; and
- to establish a therapeutic relationship with the nursing staff.
To assist parents with these needs, the article determines that nurses can provide support in the following ways:
- by providing emotional support to parents;
- by empowering parents;
- by providing a welcoming environment; and
- by giving parents the opportunity to practice new parenting skills with their infants in the NICU with assistance from the nursing staff.
"With the birth of premature infants on the rise in the United States,
this article highlights the important role nurses can play during this
time in the families' lives,” says Karen Peddicord, RNC, PhD, executive
director of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal
Nurses.
Although November was Prematurity Awareness Month, AWHONN focuses on
this important issue year round as it is one of AWHONN's primary health
policy issues.
About JOGNN
The Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing (JOGNN) is
the bimonthly peer-reviewed journal of the Association of Women's
Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.
About AWHONN
The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
(AWHONN) is the foremost nursing authority that advances the health
care of women and newborns through advocacy, research and the creation
of high quality, evidence-based standards of care.
AWHONN's 23,000 members worldwide are
clinicians, educators and executives who serve as patient care
advocates focusing on the needs of women and infants.
A leader in professional development, AWHONN is the first and only
association to be awarded the designation Premier Provider by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center for innovation and excellence in
Continuing Nursing Education.
AWHONN was founded in 1969 as the Nurses Association of the American
College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The association became a
separate nonprofit organization called the Association of Women's
Health and Neonatal Nurses in 1993. For more information, please visit
us at: www.awhonn.org
For more information or interviews, contact:
Kristin Mellon for AWHONN
202-296-2002
klm@ecius.net
