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Neonatal Intensive Care

Although there are numerous anecdotal reports of parental stress following preterm birth, there are few empirical studies that document parents' perceptions concerning what is stressful. Of the extant research literature, there are even fewer studies targeting fathers as well as mothers. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare mothers' and fathers' perceptions of stress during the initial few weeks of their preterm infant's NICU hospitalization. Thirty-two mothers and 25 fathers were asked open-ended questions concerning the general experience of having a low-birthweight, premature infant hospitalized in a NICU. They then identified all the things they considered stressful, described the stressor they felt had been the most stressful, and rated the stressfulness of the NICU experience. Results showed that numerous stressors were identified across several different contexts (e.g., NICU, work, family). In addition, there were differences between mothers and fathers in the number and types of stressors. However, when asked to identify which stressor was most stressful, the majority of both mothers and fathers chose stressors related to the infant's health and the physical separation due to the hospitalization. The service implications of these results are discussed.