Parenting stress in mothers after very preterm birth and the effect of the Infant Behavioural Assessment and Intervention Program.

Objective: Purpose of this study was to examine maternal parenting stress as a secondary outcome of the Infant Behavioural Assessment and Intervention Program (IBAIP).

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial 86 very preterm infants and their parents were assigned to the intervention group and 90 to the control group. Maternal parenting stress was assessed with the Dutch version of the Parenting Stress Index at 12 and 24 months post term.

Results: Mothers in the intervention group mothers assessed their infants as happier and less hyperactive/distractible compared with the control group mothers. However, mothers in the intervention group reported more feelings of social isolation.

Conclusions: The IBAIP appears to have made mothers more satisfied about their infants' mood and distractibility, but also may have evoked more feelings of social isolation. Next to long-term evaluation of the development in very preterm born children, follow-up on functioning of their parents is important.