Stress Levels of Parents of Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Coping Methods

Objective: An unexpected birth and then the admission of the baby to the intensive care unit is a great source of anxiety and stress for families. In this study, it was aimed to reveal the stress levels, and the stress factors of the parents of the infants admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the methods of coping with these. Materials and Method: Research environment of this descriptive study consisted of parents of infants who were hospitalized in a tertiary NICU of a university hospital. For the data collection, Parents and Infants Description Form, Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit were used. Results: A total of 81 parents participated in the study. The mean scores of parents obtained from sights and sounds subgroup were 3.320.6 (moderately stressful), from infant behavior and appearance subgroup were 3.580.5 (very stressed), from parental role subgroup were 3.510.7 (very stressed), and the overall score average was found to be 3.510.6 (very stressed). It has been determined that parents of premature babies, parents of infants with a birth weight of 1500 grams or less, and parents of intubated infants are more stressed. Parents, as ways of coping with stress, have indicated that they want to take care of babies and want to know more about their infants and intensive care environment. Conclusion: More inclusion of the parents to care for their babies in NICU and more information may help to reduce the stress on them.