Parental stress management using relaxation techniques in a neonatal intensive care unit: A randomised controlled trial.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of relaxation techniques on the stress/anxiety of parents with hospitalised premature infants, three months following discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit.

Study Design: A randomised controlled trial was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit of a tertiary maternity hospital including 59 parents, who were randomised into two groups: 31 in the intervention group and 28 in the control group. Parents in the intervention group practiced three different relaxation techniques, in addition to undergoing the same information-based training courses as did the parents of the control group.

Breast milk tocopherol content during the first six months in exclusively breastfeeding Greek women.

Purpose: To determine tocopherol and fat content of Greek mother's milk during the first 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding and correlate with maternal diet characteristics.

Methods: Milk samples and dietary records were obtained by mothers at 1st (n = 64), 3rd (n = 39) and 6th (n = 23) month postpartum. Milk tocopherol content was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC) and fat content by the crematocrit method.

Elevated morning serum interleukin (IL)-6 or evening salivary cortisol concentrations predict posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents six months after a motor vehicle accident.

Background: This study examined prospectively the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the sympathetic nervous system and inflammatory factors in children shortly after a motor vehicle accident (MVA) in relation to later posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development.

Patients And Methods: Fifty six children, aged 7-18, were studied after an MVA and 1 and 6 months later; 40 subjects served as controls. Morning serum cortisol and interleukin (IL)-6 and plasma catecholamine concentrations were measured within 24h after the event.

The natural history of neuroendocrine changes in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after motor vehicle accidents: progressive divergence of noradrenaline and cortisol concentrations over time.

Background: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the catecholaminergic system are involved in the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This was a prospective and longitudinal study of neuroendocrine physiology in children with PTSD following a motor vehicle accident (MVA).

Methods: Sixty children aged 7-18 were studied immediately after an MVA and 1 and 6 months later.