Postpartum Health Experiences of Women with Newborns in Intensive Care: The Desire to Be by the Infant Bedside as a Driver of Postpartum Health.

Introduction: Women with infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) encounter multiple challenges following childbirth, including greater burden of chronic disease and increased risk for depression, compared with women with well infants. At the same time, they are confronted with the trauma of a hospitalized infant while also managing their postpartum recovery. Limited research exists describing the health needs of these women, despite the many numbers living this experience daily.

Health Needs of Mothers of Infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit : A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: Mothers with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) face a host of challenges following childbirth. Limited information is available on these mothers' postpartum health needs and access to services.

Objective: To identify health needs of NICU mothers, access to services, and potential service improvements.

Addressing Unmet Maternal Health Needs at a Pediatric Specialty Infant Care Clinic.

Objective: The objective of this intervention was to evaluate the feasibility of screening mothers of medically fragile infants in the domains of 1) depression, 2) tobacco exposure, and 3) family planning at a post-neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) developmental pediatric visit. Additionally, we sought to estimate the percentage who met criteria for further evaluation in the three domains assessed.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to 100 caregivers of medically fragile infants at a specialty, post-NICU clinic visit.