Early Life Stress, DNA Methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2, and Oral Feeding Skill Development in Preterm Infants: A Pilot Study.

Background: Early life stress exposure in preterm infants may alter DNA methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2, disrupting neurobehaviors needed for oral feeding (PO) skill development.

Purpose: To (1) examine the feasibility of the study protocol; (2) describe early life stress, DNA methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2, and PO skill development; and (3) explore the association between DNA methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2 and infant characteristics, early life stress, and PO skill development.

Method: We employed a longitudinal descriptive pilot study (N = 10).

Epigenetics Embedding of Oral Feeding Skill Development in Preterm Infants: A Study Protocol.

Background: Preterm infants face challenges to feed orally, which may lead to failure to thrive. Oral feeding skill development requires intact neurobehaviors. Early life stress results in DNA methylation of NR3C1 and HSD11B2, which may disrupt neurobehaviors.

Feasibility of Stress Research in Premature Infant-Maternal Dyads During and After Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization.

Background: Stress from preterm infant admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is associated with infant and maternal physiologic changes, including endocrine and epigenetic alterations. Little is known about the mechanisms connecting NICU stress to biologic changes, and whether preterm infant and maternal stress are reciprocal. As a preliminary step, feasibility and acceptability of measuring indicators of stress are required.

The H-HOPE behavioral intervention plus Kangaroo Mother Care increases mother-preterm infant responsivity in Malawi: a prospective cohort comparison.

Background: Early behavioral intervention to promote development is recommended as the standard of care for preterm infants, yet is not provided in Malawi. One such intervention is H-HOPE (Hospital to Home: Optimizing the Premature Infant's Environment). In US studies, H-HOPE increased mother-preterm infant responsivity at 6-weeks corrected age (CA).

Descriptive Longitudinal Pilot Study: Behaviors Surrounding Feeding of Preterm Infants Who Received Extended Tube Feedings.

Purpose: Seventy percent of preterm infants experience challenges with oral feeding and commonly require tube feedings. Yet it is not well understood how these behaviors change over time while infants are receiving tube feedings only and through the transition to oral feedings. The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the change in behaviors surrounding feeding and with respect to advancing Post Menstrual Age (PMA) for preterm infants who received extended tube feedings during hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Uncertainty and perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Parents of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at increased risk of developing perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PPTSD), a mental health condition known to interfere with healthy parental and infant attachment. Feelings of uncertainty about illness have been theorized as an antecedent to post-traumatic stress, however the relationship has not been explored in parents of infants requiring care in the NICU. The purpose of this prospective study was to explore parental uncertainty during and after NICU discharge and the relationship between uncertainty and PPTSD.

Scoping review of interventions to support families with preterm infants post-NICU discharge.

Background: A successful transition from the NICU to home is fundamental for the long-term health and well-being of preterm infants. Post-NICU discharge, parents may experience a lack of support and resources during the transition to home. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify post-NICU discharge interventions that may reduce parental stress and provide support to families with preterm infants.

Acceptability of an mHealth Family Self-management Intervention (myFAMI) for Pediatric Transplantation Families: Qualitative Focus.

Background: Around 1800 pediatric transplantations were performed in 2021, which is approximately 5% of the annual rate of solid organ transplantations carried out in the United States. Effective family self-management in the transition from hospital to home-based recovery promotes successful outcomes of transplantation. The use of mHealth to deliver self-management interventions is a strategy that can be used to support family self-management for transplantation recipients and their families.

Early Postpartum Maternal and Newborn Responses to Auditory, Tactile, Visual, Vestibular, and Olfactory Stimuli.

Objective: To compare maternal psychological well-being, newborn behavior, and maternal and newborn salivary oxytocin (OT) and cortisol before and after two maternally administered multisensory behavioral interventions or an attention control group.

Design: Randomized prospective clinical trial.

Setting: U.

Exploration of Aromatherapy in a Pediatric Outpatient Surgical Setting: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: To explore whether an aromatherapy product, QueaseEASE, could be used to supplement standard postoperative nursing care for children experiencing discomfort from postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in a pediatric outpatient surgical setting.

Design: Evidence-based practice project resulting in a prospective, descriptive research design.

Methods: English-speaking pediatric outpatient surgical patients 8 to 17 years of age were evaluated for symptoms of discomfort during the postoperative phase of care, using the Baxter Animated Retching Faces (BARF) scale and offered the QueaseEASE aromatherapy product.

Feasibility and Acceptability of a mHealth Self-Management Intervention for Pediatric Transplant Families.

Families of pediatric solid organ transplant recipients need ongoing education and support in the first 30 days following hospital discharge for the transplantation. The purpose of this report is to describe the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a mHealth family-self management intervention, (), designed to improve post-discharge outcomes of coping, family quality of life, self-efficacy, family self-management, and utilization of health care resources. We enrolled 46 primary family members.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Discharge Teaching and Child Challenging Behaviors.

This study compares quality of discharge teaching and care coordination for parents of children with challenging behaviors participating in a nursing implementation project, which used an interactive iPad application, to usual discharge care. Unlike parents in the larger quasi-experimental longitudinal project, parents of children with challenging behaviors receiving the discharge teaching application (n = 14) reported lower mean scores on the quality of discharge teaching scale-delivery subscale ( = 8.2,  = 3.

Protocol for implementation of an evidence based parentally administered intervention for preterm infants.

Background: Multi-sensory behavioral interventions for preterm infants have the potential to accelerate feeding, growth, and optimize developmental trajectories and increase parents' interactive engagement with their infants. However, few neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) provide evidence-based standardized early behavioral interventions as routine care. Lack of implementation is a major gap between research and clinical practice.

A Behavioral Epigenetics Model to Predict Oral Feeding Skills in Preterm Infants.

Background: Preterm infants experience a multitude of prenatal and postnatal stressors, resulting in cumulative stress exposure, which may jeopardize the timely attainment of developmental milestones, such as achieving oral feeding. Up to 70% of preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit experience challenges while initiating oral feeding. Oral feeding skills require intact neurobehavioral development.

Engaging Parents in Education for Discharge (ePED): Evaluating the Reach, Adoption & Implementation of an Innovative Discharge Teaching Method.

Purpose: This paper describes the evaluation of the implementation of an innovative teaching method, the "Engaging Parents in Education for Discharge" (ePED) iPad application (app), at a pediatric hospital.

Design And Methods: The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used to guide the evaluation. Three of the five RE-AIM elements are addressed in this study: Reach, Adoption, and Implementation.

Using the Engaging Parents in Education for Discharge (ePED) iPad Application to Improve Parent Discharge Experience.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of the Engaging Parents in Education for Discharge (ePED) iPad application on parent experiences of hospital discharge teaching and care coordination. Hypotheses were: parents exposed to discharge teaching using ePED will have 1) higher quality of discharge teaching and 2) better care coordination than parents exposed to usual discharge teaching. The secondary purpose examined group differences in the discharge teaching, care coordination, and 30-day readmissions for parents of children with and without a chronic condition.

Neighborhood disorder predicts lower serum vitamin D levels in pregnant African American women: A pilot study.

Pregnant African American women are more likely to live in neighborhoods with more disorder (e.g., vacant housing, littler, crime) and to have vitamin D deficiency due to their darker skin pigmentation and poor production of vitamin D [25(OH)D] from ultraviolet rays.

Impact of an integrated mother-preterm infant intervention on birth hospitalization charges.

Objective: To examine whether the H-HOPE (Hospital to Home: Optimizing the Preterm Infant's Environment) intervention reduced birth hospitalization charges yielding net savings after adjusting for intervention costs.

Study Design: One hundred and twenty-one mother-preterm infant dyads randomized to H-HOPE or a control group had birth hospitalization data. Neonatal intensive care unit costs were based on billing charges.

A Pilot Study of Oxytocin in Low-Income Women With a Low Birth-Weight Infant: Is Oxytocin Related to Posttraumatic Stress?

Background: Negative outcomes related to prematurity may lead to maternal distress. Mothers of premature/low birth-weight infants report increased posttraumatic stress (50%) and depressive symptoms (63%) compared with mothers of full-term infants. Low-income, minority mothers with greater posttraumatic stress and depression have an increased risk for premature/low birth-weight delivery compared with their white counterparts.