Parental Evaluation of a Tour of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit During a High-Risk Pregnancy

doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.1997.tb01508.x

Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing

Volume 26, Issue 1, January 1997, Pages 59-65

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.1997.tb01508.x Get rights and content

Objective

To describe parents’ reaction to a prenatal tour of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) during a high-risk pregnancy and identify advice they have for other parents and health care professionals who participate in a such a tour.

Design

Naturalistic inquiry, a qualitative approach.

Setting

Semistructured interviews were conducted in the hospital or parents’ home.

Participants

Thirteen expectant parents who had toured a NICU during a high-risk pregnancy.

Main Outcome Measures

Three categories of information were described by the parents: (a) a description of the tour; (b) benefits of the tour; and (c) an evaluation of the way that the tour was arranged and conducted, including advice to health care professionals and other parents.

Results

All parents recommended that parents diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy be offered a prenatal tour of the NICU. The tour benefited parents and (a) decreased fears, (b) inspired hope for the infant’s prognosis, (c) provided reassurance about the care in the NICU, and (d) prepared parents for their infant’s hospitalization in the NICU.

Conclusions

Parents experiencing a high-risk pregnancy benefit from a tour of the NICU. The tour familiarized parents with the NICU and the type of care that their newborn would require. However, during the tour, more attention should be given to the parental role in the NICU.

Section snippets

Literature Review

The reactions of parents to a tour of the NICU during a high-risk pregnancy have not been investigated systematically. However, in one article, the author described the evaluation of an anticipatory support program for high-risk parents that included a prenatal tour of the NICU (Montgomery, 1989). Parents who toured the NICU reported that it helped them to understand what to expect, and they recommended such a tour to other parents.

Despite the lack of research, a prenatal tour of the NICU for

Design

Naturalistic inquiry was the qualitative approach used in this study. The focus of naturalistic inquiry is on understanding the subjects’ realities, which are the meanings individuals give to experiences to make sense of them (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). In contrast to more controlled studies, the design is naturalistic and emergent. Although a broad plan for the design is outlined at the beginning of the study, the design changes, based on the investigator’s insights during data collection and

Results

Seventeen interviews were conducted: Six parents completed only the first interview, four parents completed the first and second interviews, and three parents completed one interview after the neonate was born. Seven of the first interviews were conducted within 1 week after the tour, and three were conducted either 11 or 12 days after the tour. The second interview was conducted between 2 and 7 weeks after the neonate’s birth; only one neonate was still in the NICU at the time of the second

Discussion

The data from this study support the findings of Montgomery (1989). Specifically, parents who experience a high-risk pregnancy benefit from a tour of the NICU and recommend the tour to other parents. The findings from this study also provide an initial understanding of tour characteristics that parents perceive as beneficial.

In this study, parents reported that although the tour familiarized them with the NICU and the type of care that their newborn would receive, it did not prepare them

Implications for Practice and Research

Although this study represents a small sample of parents, it provides general guidelines. The findings indicate that parents who are diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy should be offered a tour of the NICU. Health care providers who care for parents during a high-risk pregnancy should familiarize themselves with the NICU so that they can support parents and encourage them to participate in a tour.

The tour should be scheduled at a convenient time, enabling a support person to accompany the

Acknowledgment

This study was funded by a grant from the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). It received an honorable mention award at AWHONN’s 1995 Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Clinical StudiesParental Evaluation of a Tour of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit During a High-Risk Pregnancy

Objective

Design

Setting

Participants

Main Outcome Measures

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Literature Review

Design

Results

Discussion

Implications for Practice and Research

Acknowledgment

Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing

Nursing Clinics of North America

The effect of newborn intensive care on parents’ psychological well-being

Children’s Health Care

Stressors reported by mothers of hospitalized premature infants

Neonatal Network

The principles for family-centered neonatal care

Pediatrics

Naturalistic inquiry

The information and support needs of mothers of premature infants

Journal of Pediatric Nursing

An expanded sourcebook: Qualitative data analysis

Clinical Studies
Parental Evaluation of a Tour of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit During a High-Risk Pregnancy