The contribution of maternal psychological functioning to infant length of stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Figures & data

Figure 1 Maternal participation process.

Abbreviation: NICU, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Table 1 Demographic information for participants

Variable	n (total =111)	% of sample
Race
Caucasian	68	61.3
African American	20	18.0
Native American	12	10.8
Hispanic	6	5.4
Other	5	4.5
Marital status
Married	48	43.2
Single parent	25	22.5
Partnered	31	27.5
Divorced	4	3.6
Separated	3	2.7
Education
Some college or higher	55	49.5
High school diploma	35	31.5
Some high school	20	18.0
Prior mental health history
Depression	28	25.2
Anxiety	25	22.5
Substance use disorder	8	7.2
Insurance
Medicaid	89	77.5
Private	19	17.1
Both	3	2.7

Table 2 Sample infant characteristics

Covariates	n	Median (25th%–75th%)
Gestational age	111	30.0 (27.0, 33.0)
Birth weight	106	1.75 (1.08, 3.10)
Length of stay	111	39.0 (23.0, 70.0)
Multiple gestation: “No” count (%)		90 (84.91)

Table 3 Infant characteristics by group

Covariates	Any previous mental health issue?
	No		Yes
	n	Median (25th%–75th%)	n	Median (25th%–75th%)
Gestational age	67	30.0 (27.0, 32.0)	44	31.5 (27.0, 33.0)
Birth weight	65	1.59 (1.06, 3.11)	41	1.77 (1.12, 2.94)
Length of stay	67	45.0 (25.0, 71.0)	44	34.0 (19.5, 68.5)
Multiple gestation: “No” count (%)		50 (78.13%)		40 (95.24%)

Table 4 Regression parameters for mothers with previous mental health issues and no previous mental health issues

Mental health history	Variable	Regression parameter (95% CI)	P-value
Previous mental health issues	Intercept	10.75	NA
	Substance abuse	24.48 (8.06, 40.91)	0.0035
	CRIB score	6.63 (4.66, 8.60)	<0.0001
No previous mental health issues	Intercept	30.77	NA
	Delivery type	−13.70 (−24.02, −3.37)	0.0093
	Infant appearance	6.87 (1.87, 11.87)	0.0071
	CRIB score	3.96 (2.65, 5.27)	<0.0001

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; CRIB, Clinical Risk Index for Babies; NA, not available.

Table 5 Analyses stratified by previous mental health issues

	Previous mental health issues		No previous mental health issues
Spearman correlation with LOS	Birth weight	r=−0.770	Birth weight	r=−0.697
	CRIB score	r=0.666	CRIB score	r=0.708
	Gestational age	r=−0.880	Gestational age	r=−0.870
	Infant appearance	r=0.299	Infant appearance	r=0.409
			PDSS ELB	r=0.266
			PDSS total	r=0.243
			Parental role	r=0.318
			STAI	r=0.381
Spearman correlation with LOS, controlling for CRIB score	Birth weight	r=−0.617	Birth weight	r=−0.460
	Gestational age	r=−0.789	Gestational age	r=−0.752
			Infant appearance	r=0.271
			STAI	r=0.267
Categorical predictors of LOS (Wilcoxon test)	Prior anxiety	P=0.0034	Delivery type PPD severe	P=0.0007
				P=0.0295
Categorical predictors of LOS, controlling for CRIB score (variables tested individually, not together, using ANOVA)	Substance abuse	P=0.0034	Delivery type	P=0.0023
	Prior anxiety	P=0.0169

Note: Only statistically significant analysis results are shown.

Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance; CRIB, Clinical Risk Index for Babies; LOS, length of stay; PPD, postpartum depression; STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; PDSS, postpartum depression screening scale; ELB, emotional lability.